To the judge who let the rapist off easy,

What if it was YOUR daughter? YOUR mother? YOUR sister? YOUR aunt? YOUR niece? YOUR wife?

What if it was a woman close to you whom the rapist you JUST let off the hook easy had raped that day?

Imagine this: your daughter is walking back to her dorm from the library one night. It's sort of late at night, maybe ten or eleven o'clock, but she just has to pass by an alleyway or two before she's back safe and sound in her room. The walk isn't long, maybe six blocks or so. But the walk is just long enough for a man to successfully rape her. A man, who, unbeknownst to you or her, has been watching your daughter and taken an interest in her. Maybe he knows who she is, or maybe he doesn't. Picture your daughter walking past one of the alleys, which she kind of just ignores because she's never really been afraid of them. She's never had a reason to, until tonight (which she doesn't realize yet). The man who's been watching her jumps out from the alley, grabs her, and pulls her behind a dumpster so no passersby can see anything. A moment later, she registers what is happening, and fights her attacker. Even if the sexual assault were to end here, your daughter will now automatically fear every alley or dark hallway that she'll encounter for the rest of her life. But it doesn't end here, because your daughter's attempts to escape are futile because the man is prepared. The man shoves a gag in her mouth, taking away her ability to speak and, more importantly, her ability to call for help. He shoves her down to the ground and ties together her hands so that she cannot fight him. He ignores the desperation and tears in her eyes and the pleas she tries to get out around the gag in her mouth. Less than five minutes ago, your daughter was walking to her dorm, and now? Now, your daughter's becoming a statistic– a rape victim. Your daughter is becoming the one in five women who are raped in their lifetime. And that's if she reports it, because rape is one of the most under-reported crimes. The man continues to keep her silenced and still as he pulls down his pants and your daughter's shorts (but wait: are they too short? Was your daughter asking for it?). And then he does it. He forces himself inside of her. He forces himself inside of YOUR daughter, the life you helped create. Maybe he uses protection, maybe he doesn't. Maybe he has an STD or STI, maybe he doesn't. When he's done, he leaves. Maybe he says something to her before he goes, maybe he doesn't. I bet you never considered just how complicated and impactful a rape could be, have you?

Eventually, your daughter picks herself up off the ground, unties herself and gets the gag out of her mouth. She picks up her backpack that her rapist had tossed to the side when the rape began, what, maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago? You wonder, could it have all happened so quickly?

In the space of a quarter of an hour, YOUR daughter is now a rape victim. In fifteen minutes' time, your daughter is now scarred physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. She'll be afraid of leaving her room, of meeting new people, of any man that crosses her path. Your daughter will never be the same again. The innocent look in your daughter's eyes will be extinguished. Gone forever. Mark my words: your daughter's world will be changed forever because she was raped.

So tell me, would you want your daughter's rapist to be let off the hook with just a little jail time or parole? What if he was completely acquitted of all charges? Would you be okay with that? Would you still be understanding if the judge let him off easy because it would be harmful to his long-term well being? What if he was a collegiate athlete, and being found guilty would ruin his collegiate career? Would you be okay with it then?

No? Then stop allowing for this nightmare to happen to other women. Because that's what rape is: a nightmare, but one that lasts while you're awake, too. And letting a rapist off easy is a slap in the face to an already deeply wounded victim. Rape is rape is rape. Period. It doesn't matter if it's your daughter or not: she's someone's daughter, and she deserves to have her rapist pay for what he did to her.