When her rapist was apprehended, the victim’s family assumed her daughter’s ordeal was done. But she was devastated once again when a court issued a contentious judgement.
Cameron Vaughan, 16, of Quincy, Illinois, attended a graduation celebration in May 2021. Vaughan says the party was at her friend’s house, and when she’d had enough of the night’s festivities, she retired to a bedroom to sleep.
She explained that she woke up at a friend’s apartment with a cushion over her face so she couldn’t be heard with Drew Clinton within her. She implored him several times to stop, but he refused. When she eventually got up and pulled him off of her, he sprang up and resumed playing video games as though nothing had occurred.
Drew Clinton, 18, had no previous criminal history at the time of the event. He’d been imprisoned in the county jail since late July 2021. In a judge-only trial in October of that year, Judge Robert Adrian found Clinton guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault.
Clinton was sentenced to four years in prison, with the requirement that he serve 85 percent of that time. However, the court eventually changed his mind, stating that the adolescent had served sufficient time since he had no previous history.
Clinton was freed from jail in January 2022 by Judge Adrian. “There is no way that this adolescent should be sent to the Department of Corrections based on what transpired in this instance. That is not something I will do “At the time, he stated. “Mr. Clinton has spent 148 days in the county jail, nearly five months. That is more than enough punishment for what occurred in this case.”
The judge then went on to criticise the parents who let the party occur for “allowing” kids to “swim in their underpants in their swimming pool” and “allowing” liquor to be served. Despite DNA proof establishing the assault and Clinton’s own admission, this remains the case.
Vaughan left the courtroom as she was so upset by the judge’s decision. After being ridiculed by other students at Quincy High School over the event, the former A student-athlete has given up athletics and gone homeschooling. She also attempted suicide in the early aftermath of the incident.
Judge Adrian has come under pressure from victims’ supporters and local prosecutors since his judgement on January 3.
On January 13, Chief Judge Frank McCartney of the Eighth Judicial Circuit issued an administrative order reassigning the judge to small claims, legal proceedings and probate dockets, and other civil cases, as of now.
In a statement, the Quincy Area Network Against Domestic Abuse (QUANADA) claimed that he accused everybody but Clinton. The decision and Adrian’s statements convey a terrible message to other rape victims, implying that their actions, not the rapists’, will be evaluated.
Blame the victims, and let the rapists go free. This decision supports the reality that women’s expectations have always been unreasonably high, while men’s standards are unthinkably low.
What do you think about this situation?
