A really bad story is coming out of Waco.
A plea deal was offered to Jacob Anderson, a former Baylor University fraternity president who was accused of rape. The deal, which was offered by prosecutors, allowed Anderson to plead no contest to a lesser charge, thus avoiding any jail time (he does have to pay a $400 fine).
I was not there to be a witness to this alleged event and understand there was some conflicting evidence and statements made making the district attorney’s office offer the deal. What caught my eye was reading that Hillary LaBorde, who was assigned to prosecute the case, emailed the victim saying…
she didn’t think they would win the case if it went to trial, explaining that Anderson was an “innocent-looking young defendant” and a first-time rapist. “Our jurors aren’t ready to blame rapists and not victims.”
Two things here, why would you even say something like that to a victim of sexual assault (Anderson pleaded no contest to third-degree felony charge of unlawful restraint and receive deferred probation).
Second, have we made so little progress in our society that jurors are not ready to blame rapists, especially innocent-looking young defendants? I guess the #MeToo movement still has a way to go in Waco.
“I’ve been at this a long time and I’ve never seen anything like this,” the victim’s attorney, Vic Feazell, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It stinks to high hell.”
As a final slap in the face, neither LaBorde nor McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna attended Monday’s hearing, according to the Texas Tribune.
It seems prosecutors care more about their record and don’t want to take on case that will make them look bad if they lose, but sadly in this case, they still look bad.