As a community, we must assist victims in beginning their road to recovery by making it safe for them to report, helping them to understand it s not their fault and encouraging them to report and prosecute their perpetrators whenever possible. To do this, we, the community, must be armed with information that can assist survivors in this process. We need to learn not to judge the actions of the victims, but condemn those of the offender. Rape is a violent, humiliating and degrading crime that affects not only the victims, but also their friends and loved ones. Everyone can be a victim.
Sexual assault happens in every zip code.
Every six seconds someone is sexually assaulted. One out of three women and one out of four men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Wear a green ribbon or tie a ribbon to your car in April in support of survivors and their loved ones. Judge Buford Parsons sentenced Joseph Frank Smith for raping the girl in 1993. Smith was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and attempted oral and anal sodomy.