Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

by Jon Krakauer

We’re disinclined to believe that someone who’s an attentive student or a congenial athlete could also be a serial rapist. But Frank and his ilk are sexual predators who do incalculable harm to their victims, and it’s crucial for police officers, prosecutors, and campus administrators to regard them as such. The problem is, most officials who are responsible for holding rapists accountable don’t consider guys like Frank to be dangerous criminals. And even when they do, too many of them are reluctant to file charges and prosecute perpetrators of acquaintance rape, because they’re convinced that the odds of convicting acquaintance rapists are slim—too slim to justify the immense investment of time, money, and emotional capital required to mount a full-scale rape prosecution. Prosecutors justify this reluctance to prosecute by pointing out that their sworn duty is to act in the best interest of the state, not to serve as personal attorneys for victims of rape or any other crime. David Lisak considers this rationale both self-defeating and shortsighted. He argues that failing to aggressively prosecute rapists like Frank doesn’t merely harm the many victims of acquaintance rape; it also does tangible harm to the general public. When men like Frank repeatedly rape and get away with it, Lisak said, “their behavior becomes entrenched. It’s obsessive. And once this pattern is established, it tends not to be something that just stops. Sexual predators are constantly practicing, cons...