After sexually assaulting two women, David Becker, 18, will avoid prison and some believe it’s because of White male privilege. According to Mass Live, Becker was convicted of the assaults that occurred in 2015.
While at a party, Becker used his finger to penetrate two young women as they slept. A police officer who worked at Becker’s high school, East Longmeadow, heard a rumor about the teens being sexually assaulted while drunk. When police questioned the teens who were involved, they shared similar stories of how Becker sexually assaulted them with his finger.
Following his conviction, the District Attorney suggested that Becker spend at least two years in prison for the crime. However, the judge assigned to the case, Thomas Estes, decided to make things easy for Becker. Instead of forcing Becker to serve his prison sentence, he gave him two years of probation. He also will not have to register as a sex offender if he completes his probation, remains drugs and alcohol free, undergoes a sex offender evaluation, and write a letter of apology.
It was later determined that the goal of Becker’s sentence was to allow him to graduate high school and to have a “college experience.”
Becker’s case is similar to the rape case of Brock Turner. Turner, a swimmer at Stanford University, was sentenced to only six months in jail after being convicted of a rape that could have led to a 2-year sentence.
Both sentences are examples of how White male privilege can play a major role in the legal system. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Becker or Turner would have been allowed to receive reduced sentences if they weren’t White males. The victims were basically an afterthought in both cases.
Here is how others have reacted to the case:
That says very clearly to those two women, your futures are irrelevant & worthless, whilst his is important. #davidbecker
— Sam Missingham (@samatlounge) August 24, 2016
This is so depressing. David Becker let off the hook b/c his “future” was deemed more important than his victims’ well-being. #RapeCulture
— Izzy Galvez (@iglvzx) August 24, 2016
Apparently we all ‘make mistakes when we’re young’ – since when did rape become equivalent to an unfortunate tattoo? #davidbecker
— Priska Komaromi (@priskakomaromi) August 23, 2016
We have minimum sentencing laws for possession of marijuana, but apparently not for rape. What. #DavidBecker
— Kevin M (@TheHawkeyedOne) August 22, 2016
I am frustrated with the garbage system on rape and how trash like Rapist Brock Turner, Rapist David Becker, and MANY MORE get away.
— euge ◉A◉⚡️ (@eugelng) August 25, 2016
