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Former MIT student gets five years probation, 1,000 hours community service for BU rape

Samson Donick, 22, today pleaded guilty to indecent assault and battery (reduced from aggravated rape), assault and battery (reduced from indecent assault and battery), and breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony (reduced from breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony), in exchange for a sentence in which he avoids any prison time for a 2015 sexual attack on a BU student in her dorm room, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

In exchange for the plea, which came after the victim told prosecutors she did not think she could deal with going through testimony, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Donick to five years’ probation, during which he must perform 1000 hours of community service, undergo sex offender treatment, have no contact with the victim, and wear a GPS monitor. In addition to admitting to the rape, Donick gave a personal apology to the victim during a court hearing today, the DA's office reports.

In a statement, the DA's office says:

As the proceedings yesterday and today made clear, prosecutors agreed to this disposition only after extensive discussions with the survivor, who felt strongly that testifying at trial would not be in her emotional best interests. Mindful that this would leave us unable to secure a conviction, she expressed a strong preference to resolve the case prior to trial with an unequivocal admission of responsibility and apology from the defendant. Rather than compel her to testify against her will, prosecutors sought her input as to reach a resolution that would provide some measure of accountability for the defendant and satisfy the survivor’s wishes for an admission of responsibility and remorse. Victims and survivors of sexual assault should know that our office will always consider and pursue their best interests, and that their empowerment is at the very heart of what we do.

The DA's office also supplied a copy of the woman's victim statement:

Thank you Judge Sanders for allowing me this opportunity to address the court.

I laid in the hospital bed with my terrified best friend and extremely strong lacrosse coach unsure of what was going to happen. The Sexual Assault Nurse examiner assigned to my case arrived after three hours of waiting “because it was a busy night.” A busy night in her life means other men and women were becoming victims. With each buzz of her pager, I personally now know the harsh reality of what it means. I understand the pain, anxiety, fear and uncertainty every buzz received before me and buzz after me feels. The pain of having blood drawn because I needed to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases and screaming “I'm in a serious relationship... this can't be.” The humility of being given plan B “just in case sperm was present” and being told to go to the student health center in three weeks to take a pregnancy test. The stomach wrenching feeling of filling out paper work for my “rape kit” and having swabs taken from areas I never wanted touched again. The soreness of every muscle aching because my uncontrollable shaking couldn't be stopped. The sudden waves of nausea from replaying in my head what had occurred that early morning. From having a random, kind nurse try to sooth me as I cried “I just want my Mom” who was hundreds of miles away and I was sitting in a sterile room with fluorescent lights being told to “hand over my clothes for evidence”. The sudden and intense breakdowns and anxiety attacks because someone had taken advantage of me in my supposed “safe place”-my bedroom. The muffled murmurs outside the door of nurses discussing how a rape victim was in the emergency department and how they could hear my sobs. But the worst of my new reality hit when I said to myself, I am a victim and I need to tell my parents. Tears streamed down my face as I grabbed my coaches hand and asked her if she would do the horrible, life altering call to my parents to tell them because I wasn't strong enough to. The sobs of my mom filled her phone and my dad yelling behind “what happened … is she “okay.” The overwhelming guilt of making my parents feel this way overcame me. But wait- why did I feel guilty? I had done absolutely nothing wrong. Not only did my life forever change the moment I was touched by you, but so did my parents. My sisters. My grandparents. My boyfriends and my closest friends. Not just my life, but every life around me. I was forced to tell my team why I wasn't at the clinic that morning and that the university wide text message alert was about me. I had to look my best friends in the eyes and tell them and all I wanted was to take away their pain. I began to question everyone's trust around me and quickly became isolated. I had to learn to fall back in love with my boyfriend because men became my enemy. I had to console my sobbing twin sister over the phone as she struggled to form words to say as she was all the way in Rome. I will forever be indebted to my unbelievably strong sister … who talked to me for hours on the phone and oldest sister … who strongly encouraged me to go to the hospital. And I will never be able to put into words the gratitude I feel to call the two people sitting behind me, my parents; their unwavering strength and perseverance when I became too weak is the reason we are here today.

I'll never forget the moment I was walking to the locker room to tell my teammates about what had happened when I had a grounds keeper stop me and ask me “how could someone take advantage of an innocent girl like that?” This question still haunts me. And the most haunting part of it is there will never be an answer to why some one feels the have the right to violate another person without consent. Without having permission to enter their apartment, let alone their bedroom. Without even knowing their name. Without them being conscious.

Never in my life did I think I would be standing here. October 18, 2015 will forever be a date that will burned into my memory; an everlasting scar. On that day, I became a victim. But today, I stand here as a survivor. Sadly, I have become another statistic, another number, Another headline. What all these headlines fail to highlight is the forever lasting impact a sexual assault has on someone. Media does a great job reporting the numbers of people being assaulted or raped. But it fails to get deep into the feelings and memories of those tragic days being faced by too many.

The one thing about the past is it can never be changed. It's set in stone and unwavering. But the beauty of life is with each day, we are able to make new memories and Make the necessary changes to live a better life. To better ourselves so our tainted history isn't repeated. So for you, I ask that you make your future untainted. I ask that you make a positive impact in every life you touch because the many negative impacts you made in mine and my families are enough for a lifetime. I ask that you take seconds, minutes and hours and truly realize how that one early morning you changed a 20 year old girl from a student to a victim to a survivor. I ask that you live each day with a little reminder of what you did and make up for it.

Thank you.

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Comments

..but what do people expect, the girl didn't testify.

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Sad. Victim needs support from the #me too organization. I wish she could find the strength to speak up about this jerk.

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Yes, all I could think of reading the victim's statement was that it seemed as though she hasn't received adequate counseling and support. Her many references to how guilty she felt for what had happened to her IN HER SLEEP made me terribly sad.

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Wow. Just fucking wow.

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She's a college student, not an 8 year old.

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What a horrific event. This asshole should be in prison and we as a society need to find ways to convict predators without requiring victims to testify in court. I would've thought that DNA evidence would've been enough, but maybe not?

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Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, without her testimony it is very likely that the alleged rapist (AKA defendant) would argue consensual sex. Without her testimony to rebut that argument, the jury would likely have no other information to use in deliberations and would likely not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Forcing victims to relive what is likely the most traumatic day or time period in their lives over and over again throughout the process of prosecution is horrific. Unfortunately, that is the way that our legal system has been designed. Everyone has the right to confront their accuser.

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Why couldn't she write her statement down with her lawyers help, and then have it read? Then she wouldn't have to face him in court, but her voice could still be heard.

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For good or ill, you get to face your accuser in court.

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The statement above is a Victim Impact Statement written in her own words. It is meant to inform the judge prior to sentencing. Sometimes the victim reads the statement in court, other times a family member or the prosecutor reads it. It does not, however, act as a substitute for the defendant's right to confront the person accusing them. This often takes the form of cross-examination. While there are limited situations where testimony can be read as evidence, it is very rare. In this case, it seems, she would have needed to testify in court to present a strong enough case for a conviction.

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by the sixth amendment to the Constitution, which say that the accused has the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against him".

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Find ways to accommodate them in ways that take their trauma into account. I don't think the 6th amendment (right to confront witnesses against you) would allow any kind of violent crime trial without a victim's testimony, but we can at least place limits on the attack-style strategies that those victims have to endure.

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So it pays to be white from MIT or Bampumim Teixeira?? Which is better??

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is he one or both?

i wish she had testified and he was going to state prison for at least a little while.

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I understand why the woman felt unable to relive her experience on the stand, knowing that the defense attorney would be on the attack against her. Unless you have been in this situation, you have no right to judge her for deciding she couldn't handle reliving the experience while being attacked for it.

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A previous extreme and aggravated rapist's father attacked his son's victim in court recently.

Wonder why women don't submit to intensive re victimization? There you go.

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It must have taken so much for her to write that (it took a lot just for me to read through it). I can't imagine how much more difficult it would've been to have to say all that in open court, and then be cross-examined. Oof.

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Anybody know what happened to that rapist's father who attacked his son's victim in court?

I wonder if that incident affected this victim.

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breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony (reduced from breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony)

Why does the penalty for B&E depend on the time of day? I don't understand that.

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Break in during the day: occupants less likely to be home, and more likely to be able to quickly respond to your breaking and entering with a weapon or an escape or even a phone call

Break in during night time: occupants more likely to be home, and more likely to be asleep, leaving them less likely to be in a position to defend themselves and/or their home.

Put another way, would you rather someone break into your mama's home at 2pm or 2am?

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TFA says that B&E at nighttime is a lesser crime than plain B&E.

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...the residents are more likely to be home. That is, therefore, an aggravating factor carrying greater penalties.

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Most people are at work or school during the day. There's a greater chance of encountering a resident (and placing them in fear or causing them harm at night) so the law treats B&E at night is more seriously than B&E during the day.

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I am so sorry you had and will have to deal with this forever. But thank you for your bravery, telling your story and doing what was BEST for YOU.

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Typical "justice" for a rich white defendant. Given that homicide victims never have to testify against their attackers, why is it so utterly necessary that sexual assault victims testify? Seems as though there were corroborating witness accounts and physical evidence (sperm, etc). The circumstances of this particular incident (a creepy stranger running around the dorm opening random doors looking for a victim) do not seem to support the defense that this was a consensual encounter- at all- so I am not sure why the victim's in-person testimony should even be required.
As it is, the plea deal is somewhat absurd. "Assault and battery"? With semen? What? Either it was an indecent assault or no assault at all- in what reality does this "deal" reflect what actually occurred?

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Close your eye's,,, and now imagine he was black.

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