Commentary - Senior Airman Lydia Faux 5: What is ‘Sexual Assault’?

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tiffany M. Grigg
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  (Editor's note: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real person, living or dead is purely coincidental.)

When people think of rape and sexual assault, a common visualization is of a stranger, perhaps in a black hoodie or wearing a ski mask wielding a knife at their victim's throat. The reality is far grimmer: It's usually an acquaintance, co-worker or previous intimate partner.

According to numerous statistics, 75% of perpetrators are known to the victim. RAF Lakenheath is no different, as 78% of cases this year involved perpetrators that were known to the victim.

Senior Airman Lydia Faux, excited about sewing on her new rank, decided to have a party with her friends to celebrate her new achievement. Little did she know that two sexual assault cases would result.

The party took place at the residence of Senior Airmen Eric and Ashley Noitcif. For the first couple of hours, everyone was having a good time, despite the awkwardness between Airman 1st Class Brandon Esur and Senior Airman Katie Lebil. They had broken off a pretty intimate relationship a week prior.

All in all, things were going smoothly. Airmen that intended to drink alcohol gave their keys to Airman Daniel Detalumis, who was the designated driver for the night. If things got too carried away, everyone was welcome to stay the night.

No one seemed to notice when Brandon tried to kiss Katie. She pushed him away and clearly stated that she was no longer interested. Although frustrated and a little buzzed, Brandon seemed to get the picture.

No big deal, but things soon took a turn for the worse. Although they all took the right measures to ensure no one drove drunk, things went afoul in a different way.

Drink after drink, shot after shot, people began to get heavily intoxicated. As a result of this binge drinking, Airman 1st Class Trevor Mahs passed out on the couch in the living room. As the rules for the night went, if you passed out with your shoes on, you were 'fair game'. Trevor still had his shoes on.

It wasn't long before a couple of girls began drawing obscene pictures all over Trevor's face followed by taking off his shirt to draw more on his chest and stomach. Some time later, a few guys thought it would be funny to flip Trevor over and pull down his pants and boxers to take photos of him for upload to the internet.

While all of this was happening, Daniel, the only sober person at the party, drove Lydia and a few others home. The Noitcifs were upstairs fast asleep.

Upon Daniel's return to the house, he did not notice Trevor, as a blanket had been thrown over him, so he just sat down near him to watch television. About an hour later, the rest of the group, aside from Katie and Brandon, decided it was time to go. After taking the remaining people home, Daniel went home himself.

At this point Katie, feeling very drunk, asked Brandon to help her up the stairs so that she could sleep it off in the spare bedroom. As she was falling asleep, Brandon entered the room and began removing her clothing. He had no trouble asserting himself on her, as she had clearly drunk too much. Katie passed out just as he began to have sex with her.

The next morning Katie woke up next to Brandon, not remembering exactly what had happened but knowing that something did in fact take place. She was naked and sore. She felt violated. Katie later contacted the local Sexual Assault Response Coordinator to report a sexual assault.

Both cases described above are considered sexual assaults, even though many would not see them as such.

What happened to Trevor has become a common occurrence at parties because it is considered funny or 'just a joke'. However, the combination of removing Trevor's clothes to write on his body and taking photos of him exposed is considered to be sexual assault.

In the second case, although Katie didn't say 'no' to Brandon, she was drunk and had already turned down his advances earlier in the night. Regardless, Air Force protocol states that consent cannot be given if the victim is "incapacitated," which Katie clearly was. While Brandon may have thought that their previous relationship meant he had some sort of implied consent, that is not the case.

Taking off someone's clothing while they are passed out, 'good-gaming' a buddy at work or having sex with someone when they are drunk could all turn into cases of sexual assault.

Don't let a misunderstanding of the term 'sexual assault' lead you to make a mistake that could change your life or the lives of others for the worse. Know the difference between right and wrong. Know the limits.