Glen Ridge Rape Case

On March 1, 1989, Glen Ridge High School football players raped a mentally handicapped girl. 

• The rape took place in Glen Ridge, New Jersey which is a wealthy suburb in Essex County, New Jersey.  It is a small community where everyone knows each other. 
• The football players knew the victim because she had grown up around them.  She was their age, but attended a different high school because of her mental capabilities.  She was about 17 years old, but had the mentality of an 8-year old. 
• On the day of the rape, the football players lured her into the basement of the home of one of the football players.
• Once there, some of the men undressed and also undressed the victim.  She was forced to perform oral sex and it was also done to her.  Towards the end of her rape, which was witnessed by multiple male students, she was penetrated with a broomstick and a baseball bat.  
• At the beginning of the rape, around 12 male students were in the basement.  During the rape, some students left because they felt what was going on was wrong.  Around 7 students stayed around to watch the whole ordeal. 
• A few days after this rape occurred, it was rumored that the young men were trying to entice the young girl to the basement  for a second time, so they could videotape it.  However, a second rape incident did not occur. 
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• Aftermath: Only 4 of the 7 boys who participated in the incident were prosecuted. 
• In 1993, The four defendants were found "not guilty of two charges involving an act of fellatio on one of the defendants, two charges of touching the young woman's breasts and two charges of forcing her to masturbate the defendants" (1).
• However, the jury did reach a guilty verdict for some of the charges. "Two of the men were found guilty of second-degree conspiracy and two counts of aggravated sexual assault with the bat and broom.  A third was found guilty of second-degree conspiracy, first-degree aggravated sexual assault by use of force or coercion and second-degree attempted aggravated sexual assault. The fourth defendant was found guilty of third-degree conspiracy" (1).
• When the defendants were initially arrested, they were "released on about $2,500 dollars bail" (1).  The defendants were out on bail in 1993 when they were found guilty.  The judge allowed them to remain on bail until their appeal was decided in 1997.
• In 1997, all the minor charges were reversed.  Meaning, "the convictions related to using force, or coercion, were struck down, saying the girl complied with the sexual acts" (2). Therefore, only three defendants would serve prison terms.
• They were mandated to complete their jail sentences in a "medium-security, campus-like, detention centers" (1). 
• Two of the defendants received a "maximum of 15 years in prison, and the third defendant received a maximum of 7 years in prison" (2). 
• All of the defendants were out on bail until 1997.  This means that after the rape, 8 years would pass before any of the defendants would serve any time in jail. 
• In 2004, all of the defendants had finished serving their sentences.  None of the defendants served the maximum sentence.

If you would like to learn more about this case, Bernard Lefkowitz actually wrote a book about this case and he explores some of the dimensions that contributed to this event.  Lefkowitz explores gender roles, rape myths, male privilege, suburbia, as well as other interesting elements that influenced the rape. He also argues that this can happen, and does happen, all over the country because we live in a male-dominated society.  This is a very interesting and thought-provoking book.  This case was also made into a movie, but, of course, the book is better than the movie.  Lefkowitz titled his book Our Guys because despite the heinous rape that the boys committed, their community rallied around them and saw them as the true victims in this case.

   

Created by: Maggie Mendez

Central Park Jogger Rape Case

On April 19, 1989, a woman jogging in Central Park in New York City was raped, violently beaten and left for dead.

• The "28-year old woman began jogging in Central Park around 9:00pm" at night.  Shortly thereafter, she was "raped and violently beaten".  She was found a few hours after her rapist left her for dead (3). 
• The victim spent weeks in the hospital and doctor's believed she would not survive because she was beaten so badly (3).  
• However, the victim did survive and miraculously only had some remaining side effects of the beating, such as some vision loss. 
• Shortly after her rape made the news, five juveniles were suspected of the crime.
• The five defendants, referred to as the Central Park Five, included 4 African-American males and one Hispanic male.  All suspects were 14-16 years of age.
• The suspects were all from the poor sections of Harlem and police believed them to be the rapists because they were in and around the park that night (3).
• All of the defendants, except one, "confessed to the crime while in police interrogation".  "All their confessions had different versions of events and all confessions implicated the other defendants in the crime" (3). 
• DNA evidence was obtained in the case, and it did not match any of the defendants.  
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• Aftermath:  All "five defendants were tried and found guilty in two separate trials" (3 of the defendants were convicted in one trials, while the other two were convicted in a separate trial) (3).
• In 1990, 4 defendants were found "guilty of attempted murder and rape.  These four defendants received a maximum sentence of 5-10 years" (4).  They were treated as juveniles by the justice system, not as adults.  Had they been tried as adults, their sentence would have been higher.
• The fifth defendant was found "guilty of sexual abuse and assault and received a maximum sentence of 5-15 years in prison" (4).  He was tried as an adult.    
• In 2002, a convicted murdered and rapist, "Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime and stated that he had acted alone" (5). 
• Reyes' DNA was matched with the one found on the victim and it was determined that "he was the one who raped and beat the central park jogger" (5). 
• By this time "all of the defendants, except one, had completed their prison terms" (4).
• A new investigation was ordered and a judge vacated their convictions.
• The Central Park Five sued the City of New York for their wrongful convictions.  
• In 2014, a judge "approved a $41 million dollar settlement" between the Central Park Five and the City of New York.  The defendants are to "receive $1 million dollars for each year they served in prison" (4). 
• 4 defendants served "7 years in prison and the fifth served 13 years in prison for the crime" (4). 

If you would like to learn more about this case, there is a documentary that is available that explains the case and its aftermath.  I will share a link to the PBS webpage below where you can learn more about it. 

PBS Link: http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/centralparkfive/

Created by: Maggie Mendez 

Gendered Analysis

• The first gendered aspect of the cases deal with the most obvious.  Both of the victims in the two cases were women.  According to Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, “90% of rape victims or sexual assault victims are women” (6).  It is important to note, however, that male victims are less likely to report their assaults. Still, women make up the majority of sexual violence victims. On the other hand, women make up a smaller portion of the perpetrators of sexual violence.  Approximately “2% of women are offenders of sexual violence” (7).  Additionally, “the majority of sexual violence against females involved someone the victim knew” (6). “In 2005-10, 78% of sexual violence involved an offender who was a family member, intimate partner, friend, or acquaintance” (6).
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• The second gendered aspect deals with male privilege and masculinity.  With regards to male privilege, men are socialized to think that women are for their enjoyment.  They expect to be treated well by women and society just because they are men.  They are also taught to believe that sexual aggression towards women is okay.  In the case of Glen Ridge, the football players had a history of sexually assaulting women and not once faced repercussions (8. pg. 171).  The same type of behavior can be attributed to the man who raped and severely beat the Central Park jogger.  He had a long criminal history of raping women, and was actually serving time for a rape and murder when he confessed to this crime (5).  Additionally, in the Glen Ridge case, the men were upper-middle class white males.  Audre Lorde states that anyone who fulfills the 'mythical norm' embodies success and power (13).  The men in Glen Ridge fulfilled the mythical norm because they were "white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian and financially secure" (13).  Therefore, they posses the power and dominance over women which they proved when they raped the young girl.  In regards to masculinity, men are also socialized to behave in more violent way than women.  In fact, it is expected that men be aggressive.  Being assertive and forceful, or being a ‘man’, is what being masculine is all about. Both male privilege and masculinity are relevant in understanding why there is such a big discrepancy in the ratio of female to male victims, as well as offenders, of sexual violence. 

• The third gendered aspect is that females are usually the focus of rape cases instead of the male perpetrator.  For instance, in the Glen Ridge case, people often asked why the girl went into the basement, where she was raped, in the first place.  In the Central Park jogger case, people asked why she was jogging at night.  This communicates that women need to behave in a way that prevents them from being raped instead of teaching men not to rape.  This “transfers blame from the perpetrator to the victim” (9).  In a male dominated society, men are almost blameless when it comes to rape and only in a small amount of cases are they held accountable for their actions.  “Approximately 1 in 10 (reported) rapes result in time served in prison” (10). The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network also estimated that about “97 percent of rapists (including unreported rapes) will not spend a day in jail” (11). Even though many people have argued that this statistics is entirely too liberal, it does give us a sense of the small amount of accountability men face for committing sexual violence against women. 
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• A final gender aspect that was apparent in both cases also deals with focusing on the victim.  A popular notion about rape deals with questioning whether the woman was actually raped if she shows no physical signs of an assault.  In the case of Glen Ridge, defense attorneys asked the victim if she had any “type of wounds or injuries” or if she was “bleeding after the rape, or [had] any marks” (8. pg. 357, 411).  This seeks to further the idea that “true” rapes are when they are physically “forceful”.  It creates limitations as to what can be defined as a real rape.  In fact, even a Representative in Congress was recently criticized for insinuating all rapes are not rapes.  Todd Atkins, the Republican Representative of Missouri stated that “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down” when asked about pregnancy related to rape (12).  This, of course, also minimizes the psychological trauma that women face as a result of the rape. On the contrary, rarely did people ask if the Central Park jogger was actually raped.  The victim had readily apparent and serious injuries that “corroborated” or “proved” that she was actually raped.  
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Below is a website if anyone needs help dealing with rape, or sexual violence, or just wants to learn more information about it.  I've also included a website with statistics on female victims if anyone is interested in learning just how often women are assaulted.   

RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/
Statistics on female victims of sexual violence: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf
National Sexual Abuse Hotline: 1-800-656-4673


Created by: Maggie Mendez

Race Analysis

Glen Ridge Rape Case vs. Central Park Jogger Rape Case

    Race plays a huge role in these two cases. People who were prosecuted, are different races. For Glen Ridge Rape case, 3 White teenagers were convicted for raping and assaulting 17 year old girl, who was mentally challenged. The girl had an "I.Q of 64, according to the prosecution, and reading comprehension of an 8-year-old" (14). But at the end of the trial, none of the defendants had to serve the maximum sentence of prison. For the rape case in Central Park, it was 4 African American and 1 Hispanic teenagers. They did not commit any kind of assault or rape to the jogger unlike the teenagers from Glen Ridge. However, at the end of the trial, they were found guilty even though the DNA evidence did not match the defendants. They all received the sentences in prison.

   

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Why are these two cases so important?
Indeed, the cases involve the harmless, fragile female as the victims, but we also see the fragility in people of color. In Central Park Jogger Rape case, the 5 teenagers were only prosecuted because of their presence in the park that night. During this time of the year, the term "wilding" was very popular (15). Wilding means "randomly attacking anyone they found" (15). So police believed that these 5 teenagers were wilding and did this horrible damage to Trisha Meili, the jogger even though there were no clear evidences that they did it. However, there were clear evidences in Glen Ridge Rape case. Besides the evidences, the victim was mentally challenged girl who was able to comprehend at the level of 8 year old. But the case was prolonged and finally, when the teenagers are in their mid-20s, they were sent to prison. Plus, they did not have to finish the terms. It is said that blacks are 72 percent more likely to be pulled over by police than white drivers. Although, this statistic does not match with the cases, it shows the connection (16). Not only this statistic, but there are more such as "in New York City, 80 percent of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85 percent of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8 percent of the white people stopped" (16). It is clear that people of color do not live under the same environment with the White people. 

There was this disturbing fact that I found in the Internet that said, "Students of color face harsher punishments in school than their white peers, leading to higher number of youth of color incarcerated. Black and Hispanic students represent more than 70 percent of those involved in school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement. Currently, African Americans make up two-fifths and Hispanics one fifth of confined youth today" (17). This can pretty much summarize the two cases. In Glen Ridge rape case, there were about 13 White teenagers who were in the basement to rape the girl, but only three of them were caught. But in Central Park Jogger case, African American and Hispanic teenagers who did not cause any assault were put into prison. Four of them had finished their sentences completely. So what can we learn from these two cases. First, people have to be aware that the race plays a huge role. For that reason, people need to fight and support for anti-racism. Whether you are people of color or White, they should both help each other to seek justice in the country. 

    

Created by: Jung H. Lee

Class Issues

Another great factor to trial is class system in the society. It has always been that way. In the two cases, it shows that flaws as well. The White teenagers in the Glen Ridge were upper-middle White males.  I want to first talk about why being rich can be very helpful in the trials. If you are rich, you are able to pay for the bail, leave jail, and start an investigations. With the money, people can hire "better attorneys, expert witnesses, private detectives, and more "respectable" alibis" (18). These were the options that Central Park Five could not afford back then. And no public defenders did not bother to focus to help these teenage boys. They also consider if helping the Central Park Five will benefit them. But because of the race and class of the five teenage boys, the defendants probably did not find a need to help them back then. Plus, public defenders are already full with the works they have. In Philadelphia, they had cases of 600 and 1,110 per year. Public defendants usually take care of "150 felonies, 400 misdemeanors, or 200 juvenile cases" (18). 

In the Central Park Jogger Rape case, the teenagers in the beginning confessed that it was their fault. But soon later, they retracted everything and told the court that  "they had been intimidated, lied to, and coerced into making the statements" (19). Even though the DNA evidences did not match any of the convicts, but because of their first confessions, they could not avoid the prison. Here was another flaw that was found in the case. When the actual serial rapist and murderer Matias Reyes, who assaulted Trisha Meili, was caught, there was no notification on the public. According to "New York's Criminal Procedure Law- Section 440.10 (1)(g)states that if "new evidence" is produced that probably would have affected the original verdicts, then a court may "vacate" the convictions. There is no requirement for the court to rule that the confessions were coerced" (19). It means now that the real rapist was found and the DNA evidences matched with Matias Reyes, the five teenagers should be allowed to leave. But because the court hid it to the public, no one knew about this. It is because of their class, that the court did not both to help them. The court did not see the need to help the teenagers, it was just extra work for them. 

Unlike the Central Park Five, the Glen Ridge teenagers were able to escape the prison. Because they were able to pay for the bail, hire attorneys, and be prepare for the trials. Having money and being in upper class, helps you to win the trial.  It is said that, "People who can afford to hire an [private] attorney are less likely to be imprisoned...88 percent of defendants with a public attorney received prison sentences, compared to 77 percent of defendants with private lawyers, between 1990 and 1998" (18). Just like this statistics, the White teenagers were able to face less sentences unlike the Central Park Five who received much longer sentences even though they were not the criminals. And it is more surprising, because the teenagers in Glen Ridge raped the girl with the baseball bat and the broom handle. Plus, they confessed that they did it, but with the help of their attorneys, they made it seem like the girl wanted it. These two cases shows the corrupted justice system. 

Created by: Jung H. Lee

Conclusion

We criticized the two cases, Glen Ridge Rape case and Central Park Jogger Rape case, looking at the issues on gender, race, and class. It is tragic for the victim of the both cases, but also the innocent and guiltless teenagers who were prosecuted. The victims suffered because of their gender and the five teenagers suffered because of their gender and class. But on the contrary, the four White teenagers were "white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure" which makes them the mythical norm. Because of that, they were able to bail out, fight against such a unfair trial, and face easier consequences even though what they did was morally wrong and violent to a mentally challenged girl. It is just not fair, and people need to start fight for creating a better, more just society for the future generation. There was a quote, "People become so habit-formed and sure of themselves that they stop asking the question: "Could I possibly be wrong about this?"" (19). Instead of keep having the same views on the gender, race, and class, through this two cases, people should recognized and restore what is right.

Sources

1. http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/glenridge-verdict.html
2. http://www.cnn.com/US/9706/30/glen.ridge.pm/
3. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/n_7836/index3.html
4. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/justice/new-york-central-park-five/
5. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/20/nyregion/5-exonerated-in-central-park-jogger-case-are-to-settle-suit-for-40-million.html?_r=0

6. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf

7. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/wo.pdf

8. Lefkowitz, Bernard. 1997. Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb. New York: Vintage Books.

9. http://well.wvu.edu/articles/rape_myths_and_facts

10.http://mith.umd.edu/WomensStudies/GenderIssues/Violence+Women/ResponsetoRape/chapter2-numbers

11. https://rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates

12. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/us/politics/rep-todd-akin-legitimate-rape-statement-and-reaction.html?_r=0
13. Lorde, Audre. "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference". Copeland Colloquium Amerst College April 1980. Reproduced: Sister Outsider. California: Crossing Press, 1984. Web.
14. http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/970803.03bankst.html
15. http://www.nydailynews.com/services/central-park-five/park-marauders-call-wilding-article-1.1304526
16. https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-racial-discrimination
17. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/
18. http://www.publiceye.org/defendingjustice/pdfs/factsheets/11-Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Poverty.pdf
19. http://www.villagevoice.com/2002-11-19/news/a-journey-through-the-tangled-case-of-the-central-park-jogger/


Pictures:
Glen Ridge: http://www.thewire.com/national/2013/04/torrington-generational-divide/63888/
Central Park:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/20/nyregion/5-exonerated-in-central-park-jogger- case-are-to-settle-suit-for-40-million.html
Gender: 1.http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140625010752/borderrhetorics/images/1/13/2013ncvrw_sexualviolence_graph1-600px.jpg
2.  https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-offenders
3.  http://ayrang.tumblr.com/
4.  http://www.rewards4mom.com/talk-talk-sons-rape/
5.  http://www.hercampus.com/school/point-park/facts-and-statistics-about-rape-and-sexual-violence

6.  http://www.notrecinema.com/communaute/v1_detail_film.php3?lefilm=467093
7. http://www.themortonreport.com/books/sarah-burns-the-central-park-five-offers-insight-to-notorious-jogger-case/
8. http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/page.cfm?id=122
9. http://cranesareflying1.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-central-park-five.html
10. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/n_7836/
11. http://www.northjersey.com/news/kelly-sayreville-football-hazing-case-a-sad-reminder-of-past-attacks-1.1112530
12. http://womenscenter.unc.edu/programs/gender-week/
13. http://ontoberlin.blogspot.com/2011/10/tale-of-two-rape-prevention-campaigns.html
14. http://onwardstate.com/2014/08/14/psualerts-instead-of-victim-blaming-try-this/