Rapist Preys on Men in Houston Area

[roosevelt]

Thanks Roose. You know through our many chats that I've always considered you a friend.

Likewise

 

[Nelly Gay]

This is horrible! I feel so bad for these young men. I can only imagine that the shame and stigma of rape for a man is even more intense than it is for women.

I can't believe they cops can't find a common denominator between five victims. That is highly unusual for a serial rapist. If he doesn't have a clearly defined physical type, then there is usually something else. Like maybe they all use the same mechanic, went to the same high school, played on the same traveling soccer team.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rapist Preys on Men in Houston Area
By JOE STINEBAKER, Associated Press Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20061218T223208Z"));4 hours ago
HOUSTON - A rapist who preys on young men has struck five times in the Houston area since mid-September, and police said Monday there may be even more victims, but they are too ashamed to come forward.

The rapist typically stalks, robs and sexually assaults his victims at gunpoint, apparently choosing them at random and attacking them near or inside their homes, police said. The most recent attack was Nov. 30.

"I wish we had a link between the victims, because we might have a better chance of catching him," said Lt. Richard Whitaker of the police department in Baytown, where two of the attacks took place. "We don't have any affirmative links at all."

He said some victims may be reluctant to come forward because of their ages and "a pride thing" that makes men more reluctant to acknowledge being the victim of a sex crime.

Investigators believe that rape is the motive, even though some victims were robbed. DNA testing is under way in an effort to identify the attacker.

In some cases, the attacker approached his victim outside their home. Other times, he broke into the home.

"I think he just sees one that he prefers, and then he begins to follow them and gather information, finding out where they live and watching their house," Whitaker said.

Victims have described the attacker as a clean-shaven black man, 18 to 21 years old, 5-foot-6 to 6 feet tall, with a shaved head.

The victims have all been men in their late teens.


if (document.title) { document.title = 'Rapist Preys on Men in Houston Area' + ' - ' + document.title;} var rand = ""+Math.random()+(new Date()).getTime();var article_name=escape(getArticleTitle());var document_url=escape(document.URL); function getArticleTitle() { var metas; if (document.all) { metas = document.all.tags("meta"); } else if (document.documentElement) { metas = document.getElementsByTagName("meta"); } if (typeof(metas) != "undefined") { for (var i = 0 ; i < metas.length ; i++) { myMeta = metas.item(i); if (myMeta.name.toLowerCase() == "title") { return trim(myMeta.content); } } } return ""; }

For the past 16 years a male rapist has been raping and sexually assaulting elderly women and men in the London area ...
He breaks into their homes, watches them for hours, holds them hostage afterwards and robs them .
Police think he may be a "care worker".

 

[naughty]

Whew,

I finally made it through all of the posts. This has been quite a ride. I dont really know how to put into words how disappointed I am in much of what I have read. I would however like to give a big group hug. I too have been the victim of sexual assault. My hat and heart go out to ANYONE who has experienced this horror. At the time of an assault who is taking count? NO ONE. Each of our experiences is unique each of us processes it differently. But I will say none of us is the same person we were before it happened. Yes on the surface there is lip service support for women, but how many women never report being assaulted because of the added trauma of being assaulted, blamed or abandoned yet again by those who are allegedly in place to support her.Like wise for men who are by society's standards supposed to take care of themselves or young children who sometimes dont even know how to describe what has happened to them. NO ONE whether, drunk, flirtatious, pretty , ugly, gay, straight, male , female, crazy, sane asks to be violated in this most intimate of manners.
Novice,

I am sorry that you feel you are not getting the support you need but LOOK around! you are surrounded by co veterans of that awful war and they are trying to reach out to you. I can not get inside Vestigal's mind. I think he made it clear early on that he had some traumas which might make him hard to understand. Personally. I dont really have that much problem understanding his posts. I dont think he was intentionally attacking you. He on his own planet was reflecting on the subject in whatever way he can. Please accept my hug. I know you are hurt but know you are are much loved here and NO ONE is trivializing your pain.

As for those who have stated that women dont have it as bad, I can not bring myself to put into words what I feel more plainly without using expletives. Where is Mme Z when we need her? I am sure she would have plenty of choice ones for you.....

END OF RANT!

DC and Matthew... I love you.Thank you.for getting it!

 

[Pecker]

Who could be so cruel, so inhuman, as to trivialize such an act? The rapist himself? How far from performing a sexual assault are those who would go so far as not to care when a fellow being is hurt?

Bravo, novice. Your brothers and sisters honor your courage and wish we could take your pain away.

 

[Rubenesque]

I've only just come to this thread - and have been horrified, impressed, disgusted, saddened, infuriated and comforted.

I'm truely sorry for anyone who has gone through the hell of a sexual assault, and can't/wouldn't want to even imagine how awful it must be. There are several people in my life who have experienced this, and none of them have dealt with it in the same way.

I was disgusted at the way it was trivialized. And as for that boy I think, like most of you, I rarely even bother to read his posts... his pretentious remarks always appear to be a contrived attempt to seem 'different' and 'enigmatic', I have no time for that.

Finally, I'm comforted by the mature response from the majority of the posters on this thread. And I echo Pecker whole heartedly - I wish there was something I could do or say that would take the pain away.

 

[Chrysalis]

I had never looked at this thread until just now, and I also want to offer my sympathy and respect to every sexual assault victim who had the courage to open up here. It's never happened to me, so I can't even imagine what the experience is like or the aftereffects are.

But even an outsider like me can understand that rape should never be trivialized, and that comparisons between victims completely misses the point.

I'm sorry I didn't know about this situation before, or I would have commented earlier.

Chrys

 

[Lex]

Novice--thanks for sharing that. It has touched me (and countless others). I missed this thread as I really did not want to think about my own bad memories again by thinking about rape. I am sorry, Novice, for not being more attentive.

I was a vicitim of male sexual assualt and started a thread a long time ago where we discussed it. The Mods remember that at that time, we had a poster named DTW200 or something who trivialized rape and incest and sexual assault.

It made my blood boil. I wanted to ban him unilaterally myself.

Instead, I started a thread where all victims of sexual assault or abuse could stand and be counted--knowing that there is strength in our numbers. Here is that thread: Break the Silence

Vestigal -- you are officially on warning from ME. I am reporting your post so that the mods can be aware of you. I will not sit idly by while you trivialize the pain and suffering of others.

 

[Countryguy63]

Hi Naughty,

I sincerely hope that I can express my words in a way that is not demeaning to others, but yet expresses how I felt as a male adult victim.

Among the other guilt, and confused feelings, I had the overwhelming fear of "If I could not protect myself, how am I going to protect my family?" As men, we are brought up and taught that we are expected to be the "Man of the house", the protecter of our family". As an adult male, when you "feel" that you have "allowed" someone to violate you (I feel different now, from years of therapy), that is yanked away from you. I was only 20 at the time, and didn't have a family yet, but knew that I wanted to in the future. I was scared to even think about that part.

I don't in anyway, want to lessen the reality of the trauma that a woman goes through. In fact, as unreal as it may sound, I experienced it through my own Mother. A few years later, as she was alone finishing the final preprations for my sister's wedding reception, a man under the guise of wanting the preachers phone number, entered the church, and as my Mom was writing the number down, attacked and raped her. This strengthened my fear, as I blamed myself for not staying behind with her. I once again failed to be the protecter. My feelings for her abuse were sorrow, and guilt, and right or wrong, that she was a "victim", a woman who was at the mercy of a stronger disgusting man. I didn't expected her to protect herself, I expected that someone (me) should have been there to protect her.

I agree with you regarding one being as bad as the other. The sexual abuse of children, adult women, or adult men, are all disgusting, traumatic, and have lifelong effects on each victim. Some of these feelings and effects are the same, as any of us who have went through therapy have learned. However, I believe that there are feelings, and unfortunately stigmas that get attached to a person that are based on the age and gender of that particular victim. I hope and believe that, that is what some of the "genuine" responders were trying to express.

I have a very strong hatred for rapists of anyone!!

 

[Countryguy63]

Hi Lex,

I wish that I would have seen that thread back then. It took me over 20 years to get professional help. I had even told myself that I had worked it out inside myself. After it came back out during a marriage counseling appt., I was referred to therapist that specialized in helping rape survivors. I became active in a Mens survival group. I found that the more I forced myself to look back, the more details and feelings I was able to recognize, the more I could associate them with problems that I was still having and was able to work through them. Maybe some day I'll go back to that thread and relay my experience. Sometimes though, I start feeling like if I talk about it too much, folks will think that I am just doing it for sympathy.

side note..I just found that I had to go back and replace all of the places that I wrote the word "you" with "I". Still some denial I guess?

 

[ArtfulDominant]

Like others, I just noticed this thread that has been raging for several pages. I haven't read all the posts, but enough to get the gist of the debate. A partner of mine was a medical professional and volunteered at a rape crisis centre. As a means of "coming down" after counselling victims, she often would relate the stories to me. She was very expressive in conveying not only the facts but in being able to read between the lines in the actions or silence of the victims and like it or not, I was mentally placed there and I "experienced" a very small part of what it must be like.

What is the point in trying to place on a relative scale the severity of certain types of rape ... whether it's vaginal, anal, man on woman, man on man etc? I think of all rape as occurring within as dreadful context as the raping that has gone on for millenia during wars.
The nastiness of rape is fourfold. Firstly: As the rape is taking place, The victim does not know whether he/she is even going to be alive after the attack. Secondly: The victim is often left in such a shattered state emotionally that he/she is unable to relate all the details when requested, however sensitively or politely. Thirdly: In the aftermath, a sense of guilt often creeps in and/or the victim does not want to endure the public scrutiny, frustration in seeking justice etc. and Fourthly: The rape victim's sense of trust in other human beings and any feelings they may have had that their local environment was some type of safe haven for them, have been shattered forever. It's the utter VIOLATION that cuts so deeply.

Many of us, when we go back to our childhoods, can say that we've been beaten up, ganged up on, or just come out on the losing end of a physical fight. For the most part, we deal with those experiences and move on.
The added social stigmas of "sex-related" assaults make these experiences
inestimably more difficult for their victims to deal with.

 

[playainda336]

Just read the thread and break the silence.

I actually think that a male being raped is worse than a female being raped. As a man, you are raised that you are the dominant species of society. To be raped, molested, taken advantage of, etc. is the ultimate contradiction of all that you are taught and thus you are left with much confusion and misunderstanding. You can feel inadequate and less than a man. In some cases, I'm assuming you can even feel less than a woman, because like novice was saying, "Why would a man come after me?" I haven't been molested by a man, so I can only try to imagine how that can feel. Sometimes things can just be distasteful to you afterwards.

I (...wow. Who woulda thought?) I have to come clean and admit to myself as being a victim of child molestation. And not by a man, but by women. Multiple women. In different situations. For a good part of my childhood. I, for the most part, have attempted to rationalize by acting as if it were something that I didn't mind happening. But I was really too young to have wanted anything to happen. To be completely honest, I didn't really know what I was doing. On multiple occasions in my childhood, probably up to like age 8 or 9, I was told by different females to perform different sexual acts on them or to allow them to do certain things to me. Some were family members. Some people close to the family. Some people that my family just brought into the house for certain periods of time. Some people from the neighborhood.

And it didn't really stop until my parents got divorced. Not because my parents caused it. I don't think they really knew the extent of the stuff that happened. They still don't. They know about one time when my foster sister (older than me) messed with me. They found us on the floor and saw us roll under my bed still naked. And they pulled us apart. They didn't see the part where she pushed me down to the ground, ripped my pants off and mounted ontop of me. They thought it was something I initiated and they found it funny. I never talked about what really happened, I thought they thought it was fine and so I never mentioned it. And didn't want to. Then they told people at our church...which kind of left me devastated, because it wasn't the true story. People used to try to keep their daughters from me because they thought I'd do the same thing to their daughters. But it wasn't me. I didn't do anything.


And that was just one of the many times. And I used to look back and say to myself that I enjoyed it. But I didn't. I felt used. Like a tool. Like somebody's play toy. A dildo. As a child.

...I think I'll stop talking about this now, cause I'm sure no one really cares. I'm blabbering at this point.

Anyway, thanks Lex for that post "Break the Silence". I still don't know how I feel about telling my folks about all the stuff that happened to me though. Maybe it stems from those events, but I feel like they wouldn't really care that much. Probably think something is wrong with me.

 

[socoken]

I just finished reading this thread in its entirety, and it wasnt fun. My heart goes out to all who opened up. Your courage and bravery astound me, especially Novice.

 

[Lex]

I stand with Matthew is saying that we should not rank order the pain of rape and sexual assault.

Hi Lex,

I wish that I would have seen that thread back then. It took me over 20 years to get professional help. I had even told myself that I had worked it out inside myself. After it came back out during a marriage counseling appt., I was referred to therapist that specialized in helping rape survivors. I became active in a Mens survival group. I found that the more I forced myself to look back, the more details and feelings I was able to recognize, the more I could associate them with problems that I was still having and was able to work through them. Maybe some day I'll go back to that thread and relay my experience. Sometimes though, I start feeling like if I talk about it too much, folks will think that I am just doing it for sympathy.

side note..I just found that I had to go back and replace all of the places that I wrote the word "you" with "I". Still some denial I guess?

fanatasize4men--thanks for sharing. Even today it is hard for me to go back and reveiew that thread. Don't ever feel as if speaking up makes you out to be an attention mongrel--it does not.

The Perps WANT us to remain silent. We can't. We, as survivors of these deeds must stand together with our collective strength and courage as examples for those still reeling in pain.

Speaking up and discussing the past matter-of-factly lets the Perps know that we can not and will not be silenced. We stand together, arm-in-arm, back-to-back. There is strength in our numbers. We outnumber them.

 

[naughty]

Hi Fantasize4men,

Thank you for your kind words. I wish all who have gone through suffering of this kind or any kind the healing they deserve. I appreciate your attempt at seeing the experience from the eyes of all.

Hi Naughty,

I sincerely hope that I can express my words in a way that is not demeaning to others, but yet expresses how I felt as a male adult victim.

Among the other guilt, and confused feelings, I had the overwhelming fear of "If I could not protect myself, how am I going to protect my family?" As men, we are brought up and taught that we are expected to be the "Man of the house", the protecter of our family". As an adult male, when you "feel" that you have "allowed" someone to violate you (I feel different now, from years of therapy), that is yanked away from you. I was only 20 at the time, and didn't have a family yet, but knew that I wanted to in the future. I was scared to even think about that part.

I don't in anyway, want to lessen the reality of the trauma that a woman goes through. In fact, as unreal as it may sound, I experienced it through my own Mother. A few years later, as she was alone finishing the final preprations for my sister's wedding reception, a man under the guise of wanting the preachers phone number, entered the church, and as my Mom was writing the number down, attacked and raped her. This strengthened my fear, as I blamed myself for not staying behind with her. I once again failed to be the protecter. My feelings for her abuse were sorrow, and guilt, and right or wrong, that she was a "victim", a woman who was at the mercy of a stronger disgusting man. I didn't expected her to protect herself, I expected that someone (me) should have been there to protect her.

I agree with you regarding one being as bad as the other. The sexual abuse of children, adult women, or adult men, are all disgusting, traumatic, and have lifelong effects on each victim. Some of these feelings and effects are the same, as any of us who have went through therapy have learned. However, I believe that there are feelings, and unfortunately stigmas that get attached to a person that are based on the age and gender of that particular victim. I hope and believe that, that is what some of the "genuine" responders were trying to express.

I have a very strong hatred for rapists of anyone!!

 

[naughty]

Playainda,

I am so sorry for what you had to endure at the hand of some very evil and abusive women. This is yet another aspect of the sexual abuse cycle that gets swept under the rug. Because our society says it is ok for males to have early sexual experimentation there are many young males who live under this cloak of shame by being abused by older females. It makes me want to puke. I am so very very sorry for what you had to endure. Yes you have a right to be angry. I am just sorry you didnt even realize it....

Naughty

Just read the thread and break the silence.

I actually think that a male being raped is worse than a female being raped. As a man, you are raised that you are the dominant species of society. To be raped, molested, taken advantage of, etc. is the ultimate contradiction of all that you are taught and thus you are left with much confusion and misunderstanding. You can feel inadequate and less than a man. In some cases, I'm assuming you can even feel less than a woman, because like novice was saying, "Why would a man come after me?" I haven't been molested by a man, so I can only try to imagine how that can feel. Sometimes things can just be distasteful to you afterwards.

I (...wow. Who woulda thought?) I have to come clean and admit to myself as being a victim of child molestation. And not by a man, but by women. Multiple women. In different situations. For a good part of my childhood. I, for the most part, have attempted to rationalize by acting as if it were something that I didn't mind happening. But I was really too young to have wanted anything to happen. To be completely honest, I didn't really know what I was doing. On multiple occasions in my childhood, probably up to like age 8 or 9, I was told by different females to perform different sexual acts on them or to allow them to do certain things to me. Some were family members. Some people close to the family. Some people that my family just brought into the house for certain periods of time. Some people from the neighborhood.

And it didn't really stop until my parents got divorced. Not because my parents caused it. I don't think they really knew the extent of the stuff that happened. They still don't. They know about one time when my foster sister (older than me) messed with me. They found us on the floor and saw us roll under my bed still naked. And they pulled us apart. They didn't see the part where she pushed me down to the ground, ripped my pants off and mounted ontop of me. They thought it was something I initiated and they found it funny. I never talked about what really happened, I thought they thought it was fine and so I never mentioned it. And didn't want to. Then they told people at our church...which kind of left me devastated, because it wasn't the true story. People used to try to keep their daughters from me because they thought I'd do the same thing to their daughters. But it wasn't me. I didn't do anything.


And that was just one of the many times. And I used to look back and say to myself that I enjoyed it. But I didn't. I felt used. Like a tool. Like somebody's play toy. A dildo. As a child.

...I think I'll stop talking about this now, cause I'm sure no one really cares. I'm blabbering at this point.

Anyway, thanks Lex for that post "Break the Silence". I still don't know how I feel about telling my folks about all the stuff that happened to me though. Maybe it stems from those events, but I feel like they wouldn't really care that much. Probably think something is wrong with me.

 

[invisibleman]

I believe that Vestigial has fallen asleep on "V for Vendetta" and woke up in "Alice in Wonderland" way too many times. I wouldn't bother even trying to understand whoever the fuck he is. It is apparent that he has "issues" none of which have to do with any of you or the issues presented in this thread.

Just put him on ignore. (Uh-oh! Invisibleman's first piss off smiley.)

 

[titan1968]

My heart goes out to all the victims of rape. I can only imagine the pain and the hardship (actually, I was bullied in high school, so I have some idea-- and have a few psychological scars). I congratulate all of you for finding the courage to talk about it and to deal with it. Rape is sexual assault, a violation. No man, woman or child should ever be subjected to that.

Although I don't believe in trivialising rape or ranking the pain, I do believe that it is harder for the man than it is for the woman because of the social stigmas, which are clearly defined in palyainda336's post (see below), and the gender bias of the media. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. Until attitudes change and until rape is taken more seriously, I don't see how our societies will be able to treat the victims effectively and punish the offenders.

Just read the thread and break the silence.

I actually think that a male being raped is worse than a female being raped. As a man, you are raised that you are the dominant species of society. To be raped, molested, taken advantage of, etc. is the ultimate contradiction of all that you are taught and thus you are left with much confusion and misunderstanding...

[/quote]They know about one time when my foster sister (older than me) messed with me. They found us on the floor and saw us roll under my bed still naked. And they pulled us apart. They didn't see the part where she pushed me down to the ground, ripped my pants off and mounted ontop of me. They thought it was something I initiated and they found it funny. I never talked about what really happened, I thought they thought it was fine and so I never mentioned it. And didn't want to. Then they told people at our church...which kind of left me devastated, because it wasn't the true story. People used to try to keep their daughters from me because they thought I'd do the same thing to their daughters. But it wasn't me. I didn't do anything. [/quote]

 

[naughty]

Ok...

Perhaps what is harder is getting help and institutionalized support. I do not propose to ever say if one is harder than the other to cope with personally. I refuse to accept that idea....Until we have all been men and women and experienced assault from both sides lets hold judgement.

 

[chicagosam]

I have to say that this is one of most upsetting threads I have read at LPSG, and perhaps because it is too close to home. I've moved on, but I have such an overwhelming empathy for those that have shared their experiences here. I won't. This thread belongs to them.

It is of great concern to me that anyone would trivialize or use anyone's rape as fodder for humor and/or sarcasm. You cannot understand the pain, the fear, the humiliation, the sense of loss, or the entire experience unless you have been there, and I would not wish it on anyone. In my 8 months here, I have private messaged with many men who have had this experience and the pain is very real and very much at the surface long after the fact. They have had no one to talk to&#8212;and will not talk to anyone&#8212;and have carried this for years without getting any closure on it. There is a sense of emotional and sexual paralysis that continues for years. To have someone that they can talk to who understands is often the most releasing experience that can happen for them. But to have their deepest pain treated with indifference, unimportance, or public humor takes them right back to ground zero, and the whole nightmare is in full force again.

This was a hard thread to read. It was even more difficult to read now knowing that Novice has carried this for so long and yet has been such a good sport about some of the raunchy anal humor that is often, and seemingly endlessly, directed at him. There is a dignity about him tolerating the above when you look at what he has shared. His bravery to reveal this is overpowering to me. The cruelty of humor directed at him is appalling. I would hope that this board would embrace its members in pain rather than increase it. I hope Novice, and all those that have shared their life experiences in this thread, know that there are many here who do care about him&#8212;and them&#8212;and will do anything to help.

 

[danerain]

Just read the thread and break the silence.

I actually think that a male being raped is worse than a female being raped. As a man, you are raised that you are the dominant species of society. To be raped, molested, taken advantage of, etc. is the ultimate contradiction of all that you are taught and thus you are left with much confusion and misunderstanding. You can feel inadequate and less than a man. In some cases, I'm assuming you can even feel less than a woman, because like novice was saying, "Why would a man come after me?" I haven't been molested by a man, so I can only try to imagine how that can feel. Sometimes things can just be distasteful to you afterwards.

I (...wow. Who woulda thought?) I have to come clean and admit to myself as being a victim of child molestation. And not by a man, but by women. Multiple women. In different situations. For a good part of my childhood. I, for the most part, have attempted to rationalize by acting as if it were something that I didn't mind happening. But I was really too young to have wanted anything to happen. To be completely honest, I didn't really know what I was doing. On multiple occasions in my childhood, probably up to like age 8 or 9, I was told by different females to perform different sexual acts on them or to allow them to do certain things to me. Some were family members. Some people close to the family. Some people that my family just brought into the house for certain periods of time. Some people from the neighborhood.

And it didn't really stop until my parents got divorced. Not because my parents caused it. I don't think they really knew the extent of the stuff that happened. They still don't. They know about one time when my foster sister (older than me) messed with me. They found us on the floor and saw us roll under my bed still naked. And they pulled us apart. They didn't see the part where she pushed me down to the ground, ripped my pants off and mounted ontop of me. They thought it was something I initiated and they found it funny. I never talked about what really happened, I thought they thought it was fine and so I never mentioned it. And didn't want to. Then they told people at our church...which kind of left me devastated, because it wasn't the true story. People used to try to keep their daughters from me because they thought I'd do the same thing to their daughters. But it wasn't me. I didn't do anything.


And that was just one of the many times. And I used to look back and say to myself that I enjoyed it. But I didn't. I felt used. Like a tool. Like somebody's play toy. A dildo. As a child.

...I think I'll stop talking about this now, cause I'm sure no one really cares. I'm blabbering at this point.

Anyway, thanks Lex for that post "Break the Silence". I still don't know how I feel about telling my folks about all the stuff that happened to me though. Maybe it stems from those events, but I feel like they wouldn't really care that much. Probably think something is wrong with me.

Wow. That's pretty much what happened to me 9-14.