A Massachusetts high school student accused of sexually assaulting two of his female classmates will receive no jail time and avoid having to register as a sex offender.
18-year-old David Becker was sentenced to two years of probation and will be evaluated for possible sex offender treatment per recommendations from a judge who said his case would be “continued without a finding” until August of 2016, according to the NY Daily News. Two female students from East Longmeadow High accused Becker of sexually assaulting them with his fingers after the two girls say they fell asleep next to each other in a bed during a house party back in April. The teens say they awoke to Becker taking advantage of them.
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A WWLP police report says Becker denied assaulting one of the victims and said he didn’t feel he did anything wrong to the other victim because he claims she never tried to stop him.
Becker’s attorney Thomas Rooke justified his client’s actions as nothing more than teenage mistakes that shouldn’t haunt him for the rest of his life. “We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18, 19 years old, and we shouldn’t be branded for life with a felony offense and branded a sex offender,” Rooke said.
In becoming a part of the rapidly increasing number of individuals who continue to make excuses for rape culture, both Becker and his attorney clearly fail to realize that those who feel violated in sexual assault cases unfortunately don’t have the luxury of being able to avoid being “branded for life” by such a traumatizing experience that will undoubtedly “haunt” them for the rest of their lives.