Claire Russo always wanted to be a Marine, so she became one. But in 2004, she was sexually assaulted while serving her country by a fellow Marine named Danny Dowson. Russo attended a party and was hanging a drink by Dowson. Russo felt like she was drugged, and the next thing she knew, she was on the bathroom floor. The marines shut down her case, so Russo took her case to the local police.
As it turns out, Dowson has a history of repetitively raping women who are incapacitated, and there’s proof. After a search warrant was obtained for Downson’s house, police found “hidden cameras and hundreds of hours of video of Dowson having sex with seemingly incapacitated women.” Another woman, an aviator, has a similar experience like Russo, and both of them felt the pressure to not file the assault. Dowson was charged with the rape of Russo.
After reading this article, I’m not entirely sure if it’s news worthy. This happened many years ago, so it’s not current. It’s not a human interest piece, as it is rather depressing. It doesn’t effect anyone who has not been raped by Dowson. However, I did find it to be an interesting read. It is rare, however, for a soldier to report the acts of sexual assault and seek justice- both women when were raped by Russo also admitted to feeling the pressure to not file it as a report, or seek anything further. Perhaps the rarity and the act of injustice to the women is enough to make it news worthy and an interesting read.
Read the full article at NBCNews.
You hit it in the last graf, Jianna: “It is rare, however, for a soldier to report the acts of sexual assault and seek justice.” That’s the value of this story. People like Dowson need to be caught. To do that, the women need to be encouraged to file charges.