Well, this is depressing. UFC star Paige Vanzant wrote a new book called Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life. In it, she recounts how a group of guys gang raped her in high school.
“They move me around … They change my position. I fail each time I try to resist, my limbs like wet cement on my body, my brain a heavy fog. I am awake and conscious, but my body feels dead.”
“I know what is happening but can do nothing to stop it. I have no voice or choice but to submit and pray that it ends soon.”
Disturbing. Afterwards, people bullied her, saying she had consensual sex with the guys instead of being raped. They hung condoms from her tree “like Christmas ornaments.”
Also, at the time, Vanzant’s last name was Sletten. She had to change it though because afterwards, everyone called her “Paige Slutton.” The bullying got so bad she even had to move from Oregon to Nevada.
Vanzant says a “huge reason I’m getting the book out is because I want to be an advocate for anti-bullying, I want to be an advocate.”
What I wonder is where are these guys and what happened to them.
It’s not too late for Vanzant to bring this case forward. The rape happened in Oregon where the statute of limitations says:
A prosecution for any of the following felonies [which includes rape in the first degree under ORS 163.375 (rape in the first degree)] may be commenced within 12 years after the commission of the crime or, if the victim at the time of the crime was under 18 years of age, anytime before the victim attains 30 years of age:
Vanzant was in high school at the time, so she was probably under 18. She’s only 24 now so she can still bring this case to the authorities.
Will she? It’s up to her to do what she wants, but it’d be nice to see these guys watching UFC from jail.