 The following interview is with Amy. She's 23. Six months ago, she was the victim of a sexual assault. Amy, if you'd like to smoke or move around while we're talking, please feel free to do so. I want you to be comfortable. I'm okay, but thanks. Good. Then why don't you just start talking and I'll come in with questions from time to time. Where would you like me to start? Wherever you feel like. Well, I had to work overtime that night, but it wasn't too late when I finally got off. Had you ever thought about the possibility of being sexually assaulted? I guess. I suppose it's something of a natural fear for most women. I also think that sometimes, somewhere, we're all vulnerable to rape. You try to be careful, but, well, you just can't stop living, either. You never know when you're going to make a move that attracts his attention. It's painful having to go back over this part, so we'll take a break for a few minutes. No. I'd rather go on with it. It was even more terrifying because I had no warning of what was coming. Suddenly, his hand was over my mouth and nose. My first instinct was to try and bite, but his pressure was so heavy. I couldn't get my mouth open. And every time I tried to struggle, he cut my breath off. Did he threaten you with a weapon? Just himself. He was very strong. He hit me several times, really hard. And he told me if I kept my mouth shut and did as he said, I wouldn't get hurt. Well, he obviously did not care how much he hurt me as long as he got what he wanted. So you did as you were told. At that point, it was my only choice. I wasn't even thinking about rape anymore. That was a fact. It was happening. My mind had skipped onto the afterwards part. I was so scared he wouldn't keep his promise. I was just sure he would kill me. I tried to think of something I could say or do that would stop him, but all I kept hearing was this voice yelling, he's going to give you the whole ticket, Amy. You're going all the way. Well, I could see it so clear. Well, he did nothing more. No, he just pulled himself together and left. Naturally, he warned me that I better not have any bright ideas about calling the police right away. But that's all. He just left. Can you recall how you first felt after he left you? That was my first reaction. No kidding. I mean, realizing you're alive when you were so close to the other. Well, you just can't feel any other way. Of course, that only lasts for about 30 seconds. Then comes the bad part. You start to remember. The rapist's warning that kept you from calling the police, Amy. No. This part I can't blame on him. I guess what I did was to think up my own version of what would happen if I told him. Okay, Amy, can you tell us something about your previous sexual experiences? I mean, are you still having sex with a lot of different people? No. No. Okay. Now, Amy. You know, having to repeat over and over again what he did, how he did it, did I enjoy it? Like they were getting some kind of thrill out of hearing it. I was also afraid they wouldn't believe me. Try to blame me as if I had really asked for it. Amy, listen, you mean to tell us that you really didn't want it to happen? That street is one of the busiest streets in town. One scream out of you, Amy, would have brought about 100 people right down on top of it. Are you used to having sexual experiences with a lot of different people? But you didn't say anything, didn't you? Oh, come on, Amy, tell us the truth. Pretty romantic back there was. You didn't want him to do it? Oh, shrubs, plants, a nice little pond, and you two just got it on, didn't you, Amy? Come on, Amy, answer the quest, quest, quest, quest. I couldn't go through it. All I cared about was getting that man's memory off me. I thought if I could just get clean enough, I'd be able to erase the rest of it. Silence seemed the least painful thing to do. Okay, so it happened, but I'd come through and now I just learned to live with it. My feelings, though, weren't quite as simple to take care of. For a while, the days and nights seemed to drift together. Besides the emotional pain, there was also an emptiness. It was the same when he was assaulting me. The whole thing had been so impersonal. The real Amy wasn't there. She wasn't wanted or needed. Only her shell. My rape became my obsession. Nothing else mattered. I just had to let it wear itself out. Then I'd get started on being a person again. I did manage to call into work and make an excuse for having to stay out. I was sure they knew the real reason for what I was telling them. They didn't, of course, but a lot of funny things play around in your head when you have this kind of problem. You think that somehow everybody knows about you, so you shut them out. You avoid. You make yourself safe from their questions. But the time had to come when you could no longer avoid the rest of the work. Yes, I had to go back to work, or else there surely would have been questions. By then my outside bruises were healed, and I hoped the rest of it would also go away. But it's not that easy to forget. Neither is the man who's responsible. I kept thinking about him. He was out there. Somewhere. I had no idea what he looked like. He'd worn a mask over his face. So every man now became that man. Excuse me. I didn't think wrong of this. No. Nothing's wrong. What would you like? I only wanted to find out about your round trip excursion to Hawaii. If I couldn't get away from him. He was everywhere. I didn't know what I should say, but Martha, the woman who took my call, she didn't need any explanations. She said, I know just what you're feeling. I've been through it myself. For the first time since it happened, there was a sense of relief. I was touching with someone else who really did understand. You hear about these kind of places, and you tuck it up in your memory thinking, well, if it should ever happen to me, I know some place I can go. Not believing, of course, that you'll ever need them. And then one day, you're ringing their doorbell. You are also one. Nice to see you. So glad you came here anyway. Thank you. I know how you feel, Carolyn. I'm also a rape victim. You don't have to apologize for that. Did you have any trouble finding parking places? Oh, no. I took the bus. I don't have a car. Which is certainly the best solution for our parking problem. How do we come? I think you like everybody here. They're all friends. Hi, everybody. This is Amy. Hi, Amy. Good to see you. Come on over and sit down. Next to you, Christy. This is Amy and Regina and Jane. Susan, Janet. Christy was raped in her college dorm. He put her in the hospital for several weeks. She lost the hearing in her left ear. He beat her with an ashtray. Susan was assaulted by her brother's best friend. He tried to strangle her with a pillowcase. Luckily, her brother came home. Regina has two preschool children. She was raped in a public laundromat with both of them watching. He told her if she didn't let him do it, he would kill the kids. And he meant it. Louise was on her way to her daughter's house. She was sitting at a bus stop in broad daylight. He threatened her with a butcher knife. He said, you're going to do me a favor, Grandma. He forced her into the basement of an apartment house and raped her twice. Then, to show his contempt, he urinated on her before he left. He didn't leave her with much dignity, but Louise was no shrinking violet when she talked to the police. She told them everything he'd done to her. By the way, her rapist was under 16. Martha's happened when she was in high school. At that time, rape crisis centers were almost nonexistent. Now Martha spends much of her time working with other women who share the same problem. On the phone, Martha had asked me if I'd gone to the police. I told her I was too afraid. Instead of insisting, which she could sense would only make me more reluctant to do so, she encouraged me to meet some women who did choose to report their rapes. Each of us in the room had encountered that lone moment with an angry, violent man. Janet described everything she went through. In her particular situation, she was aided by the Army's CID special agents. Janet is a soldier, but her other procedures were much the same as any woman will experience if she seeks help. Here left, here left, right, left. Left, left, right, left. Left, left, right, left. Left, left, left, left. Left, left, left, left. Left, left, left, left. Now, forget an ambulance. We'll take you to the hospital ourselves, man. Can you talk to me? Just listen, be careful, okay? Don't worry about a thing, okay? We'll take care of you. Janet was on her way to the PX when she was approached by her rapist with the offer of a ride. After she got into the car, he refused to let her out and forced her to go with him to a deserted section of the post where he could perform his assault in private and then have the opportunity to get away. This is Carl Mason at Post Hospital. We've just had a possible rape victim brought in. Yes, sir. Dr. Marshall has already been alerted. He's on his way. The rest of the staff is standing by. Dr. Marshall, please stand. Okay. We need to ask you some questions about what went on. Can you tell us what happened? I was on my way to the PX and their first concern was making sure Janet had no injuries that required priority in her treatment. Fortunately, everything was superficial. Now, in dealing with Janet's rape problem, they proceeded gently. We're going to need to conduct any examination in order to figure out what's going on, okay? We also will have to ask you some other questions. Can you tell me when your last normal period was? About two weeks ago. Are you using anything for contraception? No. Right now, we're going to go ahead and get you set up for an examination and explain to you exactly what we're doing to you while we do the examination. Okay. Janet, we're going to need to collect a sample of your vaginal secretions. We're going to use this medicine dropper in order to collect some secretions and look at them with a microscope to see if there's any evidence of any sperm. Okay? We're also going to use the comb in order to comb your cubic hair in order to look for any extraneous hair. We also will take the Q-tip and put a Q-tip on the inside of your cervix and smear a sample of that material on this particular growth medium. We'll need for you to get set up for a regular public examination before we do that, okay? Okay. Janet, I know the paperwork, there's a lot of it involved here, but Brighton, I just need your signature on this consent form so we can have consent to do these procedures. Do we have to slay down yet? All right. We'll need now to lift your legs for this part of the examination. Janet mentioned an interesting fact about the male sperm, something I wasn't aware of. Sperm can be typed and classified by its characteristics. The police can use it to eliminate certain suspects as well as help point the finger at the guilty party. When you stop and think about it, Janet escapes from his victim. He always leaves traces of himself behind besides the bad memories. If his victim gets immediate medical attention before cleaning herself. Yes, taking a shower and destroying your clothes are the wrong things to do. When Janet talked with the CID special agents, she found them frank in what they had to ask and tactful in their approach. Because of their attitude towards her, she was able to give them a good profile on her assent. They had solid leads to work with. Everyone I needed came through for me. That's the way it should be. Rape is not merely one woman's problem or only women's. It affects all of society. Maybe someday we'll be able to prevent rape rather than treat its after effects. But at least we've made a start. It's no longer the dirty subject nobody talks about. Did they catch Janet's rapist? Yes, they found him. Because of Janet's cooperation and her willingness to testify, he was stopped before he could do it again. They gave him time to think about what he'd done. Most of their rapists have been apprehended and punished. At least they had the satisfaction of knowing that their rapist would not be victimizing other innocent persons. It was the right thing to do. It went with me to the hospital. Of course, all the evidence that could have helped was gone. But I did find out that I wasn't infected or pregnant. That was a relief. As for the police, they weren't at all like the bad guys in my fantasy. I couldn't give them much to go on. But at least now they know about him. Knowing he's still out there. That I keep looking at strange men. Wondering if they are the one. Someday I'll come back here. I want to come back. But I'm just a little nervous yet. A little edgy. Need some distance. For a while at least. The city I'm going to, they have a place where girls like me can get together and share their feelings. So already I know I've got some friends. I've told the police where I'll be in case they happen to get lucky. You never know. The main reason I wanted to be part of your interviews with rape victims was to stress to every woman who hears this tape please don't be afraid to get help if you're assaulted. It's an obligation that goes beyond yourself. You can prevent him from causing another woman's pain. Perhaps it was some other woman's silence that let him find me. And now I've given him a chance to do it again. He's walking free and easy. And he's looking. I think a lot about his next victim. I wish I knew some way to warn her. I wonder if she'll be as lucky as I was. Will he keep his promise to her? When it happens to her will she come through the experience? Will she be able to tell about it? And will she? How many women will he have to hurt before that one speaks out against him? Yes, we know. Yes, we know. Yes, we know. Whoever you are I'm sorry. Amy has left town since this interview was recorded. Unfortunately her rapist is still with us. Officer of the ambulance and intersection of Pinewood and Laurel Road rape victim female approximately 8 years old.