by Calvin Hennick
The Daily Iowan
U-Wire
One year from now, Pierre Pierce will have a clean record - no mention of the third-degree sexual assault with which he was initially charged, not even a trace of the assault causing injury to which he eventually pled guilty. He retains this almost vanished year of eligibility by redshirting for the season, and he will be free to rejoin the basketball team next year, after completing his 200 hours of community service.
I'm not sure which is worse: Pierce's light punishment, or that I am forced to actually consider it a victory for victims of sexual assault.
The nature of sexual assault is so complex that it almost never results in a conviction. First, the victim has to admit to herself that she was indeed taken advantage of (not always as easy as it sounds.) Especially in cases in which the victim and perpetrator know each other, the victim often blames herself.
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Once a victim acknowledges a transgression, she has to decide to press charges. This may sound like an obvious next step for those of us who have never been violated in this way (especially men,) but it's not. Look at it this way: Think of a time when you've been emotionally taken advantage of; remember feeling like a fool? Now multiply that by a hundred and imagine broadcasting it to the entire world (don't forget that the defense attorneys will do all they can to discredit you by delving into your sexual past.) Not so easy now, huh?
For the few cases that actually make it to court, there exists a virtually insuperable obstacle: the burden of proof. Even in cases in which DNA confirms sexual contact, the consent for that contact is often contested in a he-said/she-said situation.
So this is what faces a victim of sexual assault - not too appealing. That's why this case is a victory for victims of sexual assault; even though Pierce was spared the potential 10 years of prison that initially faced him, the case did actually make it into the judiciary process. While Pierce only has to do community service and serve a year of probation, the real tragedy is that most perpetrators of sexual assault don't even have to do that.
Of course, as a journalist, I must remember to mention Pierce as an alleged perpetrator of sexual assault and nothing more. Many Hawkeye fans are quick to point this out, some going so far as to say that he must not be guilty of sexual assault, given that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. "Innocent until proven guilty," they cry.
Of course, that is the case in a court of law, but all of life is not a court of law. The public has no more responsibility to presume Pierce's innocence than to presume that I've never violated the speed limit just because I've never gotten a ticket.
Forgive me, but in cases of alleged sexual assault, I'm inclined to believe the victim (I'd make an awful juror.) And I'm especially inclined to believe the victim when her experience results in a trip to the hospital, and the alleged perpetrator issues a written apology for "engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct."
Of course, the basketball team cannot kick Pierce off the team for a charge on which he wasn't convicted. What they could do, however, is kick him off for a charge to which he pled guilty - assault. Kirk Ferentz didn't need a felony conviction to boot Benny Sapp from the football team, and Steve Alford shouldn't need one to yank Pierce.
Instead of kicking Pierce off the team, though, Alford has expressed his concern that "two young lives have been affected." If Alford really believes that Pierce has suffered on a level equivalent to that of his alleged victim, he needs to learn a thing or two about sexual assault.
