HORRIFIC: Court Lets Rapist Go, Blames Woman For Being Physically Incapable Of Saying “No”

In January 2008, Richard Fourtin Jr. was convicted of second and fourth-degree sexual assault in the rape of a severely handicapped, mentally retarded woman in 2005.

But this year, the Connecticut Supreme Court threw out the conviction and let Fourtin go free… by arguing that because the 26-year-old victim is almost incapable of saying no to sex, it was as if she had said yes.

“L.K.” cannot speak beyond a low guttural screaming, and one of the only movements she can make is a small motion with her right index finger or random kicking motions with her legs.

The Connecticut case went in Fourtin’s favor because our laws still seem to imply that all women are in aconstant state of consentunless they explicitly state otherwise, putting the burden of proof for rape on a severely handicapped woman with the mind of a three-year-old rather than her attacker. This ruling doesn’t just put Fourtin back on the street – it also makes it impossible for him to ever be convicted of the crime.

Don’t let one more person go through what L.K. suffered. Please, join us in calling on Gov. Dan Malloy and Attorney General George Jepsen to call on the Supreme Court to set a precedent protecting handicapped men and women’s civil rights, ending the consent double standard for survivors of rape. If we can get enough signatures while the story is still hot, we can change lives — but we need to act now!

PETITION TO GOV. MALLOY AND ATTORNEY GEN. JEPSEN: This month, the Connecticut Supreme Court freed a man who raped a severely handicapped woman by arguing her inability to protest translated as consent. Don’t let this appalling ruling be part of your state’s legacy — urge the U.S. Supreme Court to take up L.K.’s case, now!

Please, click here to sign now!