I recently watched this documentary on Netflix called Audrie & Daisy. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. The documentary was truly insightful about what girls and their families go through after being sexually assaulted by someone they consider a friend and having the sexual assault on tape.
Audrie Pott of Saratoga, California,15, was described as this vibrant young woman, who easily made friends and loved to make jokes before she took her own life. Audrie went to a party with some friends, became intoxicated, and some boys began to draw on her body – everywhere. They took pictures of her and sexually assaulted her.The pictures were posted on social media sites and Audrie was bullied in school. Being that she couldn’t remember what happened to her at the party, she began to investigate but no one really gave her any information as to what transpired that night. Her mother says in the documentary that she [Audrie] felt that her reputation was ruined and the pressure was too much for her. Audrie sadly committed suicide on September 12, 2012.
Daisy Coleman of Maryville, Missouri, 14, and her friend who was visiting, Paige Parkhurst, 13, were both sexually assaulted by some older guys. In the documentary, they explain how they were drinking in Daisy’s room and then Daisy received a text from Matthew Barnett, 17, asking if they wanted to hang out. (He and the other guys all knew her older brother from the wrestling team.) They snuck out and when they got back to the Matthew’s house they were immediately separated. Paige was sexually assaulted first and then Daisy. Paige was dropped off that same night and Daisy was found the next morning in front of her house, hair frozen to the lawn, shoes off, and barely alive.
In the case of Audrie Pott, three guys plead guilty to sexually assaulting Audrie and served time in a juvenile hall. In addition to that, Audrie’s parents filed a civil suit against the boys, eventually reaching a settlement, which included: “two of the boys were required to verbally apologize in open court, admit again to the sexual assault, admit to their role in the death of Audrie Pott, agree to being filmed in a documentary, pay a combined $950,000, support the petition for an honorary diploma for Audrie Pott, and give 10 presentations on sexual assault and sexting” (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/audrie_pott_suicide_teens_to_p.html). They settled with the third boy out of court because he was the only one who actually admitted what happened that night at the party.
Daisy Coleman wasn’t so lucky. Paige’s attacker admitted to sexually assaulting her, so she was, as her mother said in the documentary, able to get some closure. Despite there being a video, the felony charges against Matthew Barnett was dropped by the prosecution. Daisy was bullied in school, called a liar, and her family was threatened. Matthew is the grandson of the state’s former representative, Rex Barnett, so from the start the cards seemed to be stacked against Daisy. Afterwards, the entire nation got involved resulting in a special prosecutor being put in charge to reinvestigate in 2014. Barnett was sentenced in juvenile court for the assault and plead guilty to misdemeanor second-degree endangerment of the welfare of a child for leaving her outside of her house.
One thing I found really hard to swallow was the fact that they made the boys, who sexually assaulted Audrie Pott, into cartoon characters to hide their identity. I feel that when dealing with crimes like these, they need to show the faces of attackers. I understand that it may be done if there are threats on their lives and their scared, but if they were truly scared, they wouldn’t have participated in the act in the first place. The reason they gave for shielding their identities was due to the fact that at the time, they were juveniles, but to me, it just seems like another case of protecting those who don’t really deserve it.
The saddest thing in the case of Daisy Coleman, other than her unfortunate sexual assault, was the fact that nobody, and I mean nobody, other than her immediate family (her mother and brothers) had an ounce of sympathy for this young lady. The former mayor of Maryville, Jim Fall, was more upset that no one ever came to report on the thousand-acre lake they built 20 years ago but Daisy’s case made nationwide news.The sheriff who investigated the attack really surprised me because he has daughters, yet, he didn’t put in any effort to help Daisy. When they interviewed him, he tried to make it seem like she was ruining the boys’ lives for coming out with the story. He said there were people throwing around the word “rape,” but there wasn’t any evidence and that the boys’ were trying to move on with their lives but the “issue” continues coming up. My issue with this is that it is well known that a person who is incoherent cannot give consent and, therefore, the act is considered rape. But it is also well known that when it comes to athletes and prodigies of those who served in local government, cases like these are fairly difficult to win. Thankfully, things are looking up for Daisy and her family.
I cried a lot watching this documentary because I couldn’t help but feel for these young ladies and their families. It’s a shame that we live in a society where victims are shunned and attackers are put on a pedestal. I am glad that Daisy and Paige are still here today and that Daisy was able to find a couple of other sources of motivation and people to lean on, other than her mother because it is better to fight a war with an army than when you’re standing alone. All-in-all, I’m glad that I watched Audrie & Daisy.
So again, go check out this documentary on Netflix. You don’t want to miss it. You can also check out their website for more information on their cases, sexual assault, resources and even getting involved. The link is posted below.