By Marla Garden
Chance MacDonald is a 22-year-old white man who assaulted a 16-year-old girl in 2015.
Chance is a hockey player and attends Queen’s University Smith School of Business. His sentencing for the assault was postponed, by order of Judge Alan Letourneau. Letourneau ruled that the hearing could negatively impact Chance MacDonald’s chance at obtaining an internship. Judge Letourneau also attended Queen’s University, where he played hockey, back in his hay-day. Go figure.
Letourneau was trying to protect MacDonald’s future. Protect the future of a man who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old. Sixteen years old.
It didn’t work though, because now instead of just having a record with the Canadian Police Information Center, Chance MacDonald’s case has gone viral. No one will want him as an intern, well maybe rape apologists will.
Sick. To boil it down… man sexually assaults teenager and judge rules to postpone the court date to protect the financial well being of the abusive man. Not surprised but I’m disgusted.
What about protecting women and teenage girls who are victims of sexual assault? How about setting a precedent by allowing MacDonald’s wrongdoings to ruin his opportunity for a career?
I couldn’t find much more details on the matter because the victim is a minor and apparently wants this to all go away. Understandable.
A few days after this story went viral, I saw a post about a missing Temple University student. She was found in a storage bin.
Temple University is my Alma Mater, and I used to frequent the bar where Jenna Burleigh was last seen alive.
Burleigh left Pub Webb, a bar a few blocks from the edge of Temple’s campus in North Philly, with Josh Hupperterz. Hupperterz is a 29-year-old Temple University graduate; if you want to feel sick then Google his name to see his mugshot. Hupperterz murdered Jenna in his home a few hours after they left Pub Webb. After murdering her, he put her in a storage bin and drove her body to his mother’s home. Then Josh took Jenna’s dead body in a Lyft to his grandmother’s home in upstate PA.
Security cameras near Pub Webb helped authorities identify that Jenna left with Hupperterz. They questioned him and inquired about cuts and scratches on his body, which he blamed on rough sex. Eventually, Hupperterz’s grandfather, George Stabilito, found Jenna’s body and called the cops.
The grandfather said Jenna’s “skin was yellowish and she had long hair.”
The details are horrific and hard to read. It’s reality, though. The world is continuously reminding me that it is unsafe to be a woman. I am continuously reminded that even if she isn’t murdered, a man can abuse a woman and be given second chances.
“He made a mistake,” people say.
Doesn’t it make you ponder if Hupperterz was once given a second chance? Perhaps he abused or violated another woman before Jenna, and she was too afraid to notify authorities. Perhaps he abused or violated another woman before Jenna, but Temple University PD or cops didn’t take it seriously.
From experience, the cops aren’t much help to violent crimes or threats against women. When I was 23, a man attempted to punch me while I was working in North Philly. Long story short; my coworker called the cops, they took their time arriving, and we pointed to who it was.
The cop said, “Next time, don’t call us.” Verbatim. My manager told me we could try to find a picture of the guy and then throw darts at his face. MMMMMK. That doesn’t help.
Anyways, if you are a teenage girl that gets assaulted by a man, he might be given a chance to better his future over being punished for his actions. If you’re a young woman who leaves a bar with someone you might end up being brutally murdered. If a man tries to assault you in broad daylight while you’re working, cops might tell you not to call them again.
Being a woman isn’t safe.
It’s difficult to not walk around with fear sometimes; it’s important to be vigilant. Please don’t let your friends leave with strangers, don’t leave with strangers yourself, seek help for others if you see that they need it, stay strong, and by all means be supportive, patient, and understanding to women.
