Recent judicial decision backwards, demeaning
As a New Yorker, I’m usually proud of my state. Normally known for setting trends in style, technology and lawmaking, the verdict of a recent case ended with a shockingly out-of-date conviction. Michael Pena, a New York police officer of three years, was accused of raping Lydia Cuomo and was found guilty of predatory sexual assault along with oral and anal sodomy.
However, no part of the verdict contained the word “rape” because, according to New York state laws, vaginal penetration must occur for the assault to be classified as rape.
Pena’s profession as a cop makes it safe to assume he has more criminal knowledge than the average person; he could have been aware of the specificity of the law and used it to his benefit to avoid a harsher punishment in the event of a trail, which is almost as shameful as the crime itself.
Since the verdict has been released, the formerly anonymous Cuomo has stepped forward in hopes of changing the laws for others. Even though there was a perfect set of evidence usually not seen outside of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” DNA evidence found on her clothing, two witnesses and her own testimony, the jury gave a lesser verdict, leaving her dissatisfied and ready to make changes for other women.
The FBI changed its definition of rape in 2012 from “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” to “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim” after realizing how dated the original definition was. It seems like New York missed that memo.
New York City is infamous for crime. With the prevalence of rape, it’s appalling that the definition could still be so narrow in New York state.
The jury’s decision came from a few factors. One of their winning pieces of logic: If Cuomo couldn’t remember the color of a car across the street, how could she remember if she had been penetrated or not? Rape, especially while being held at gunpoint, is a traumatizing event. The most important thing happening in her life at that moment wasn’t the color of a car nearby.
After losing her sense of security and being violated on a physical and emotional level, not much can be done in form of reparations. One of the only vestiges of retribution Cuomo could hope to receive would be the perpetrators guilty verdict and incarceration. She will already have to spend the rest of her life with the memory of the crime, and now she has the bitter memory of the court failing to recognize the crime for what it was: rape.
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