Clement Gibson
Editor-in-Chief
Albert N. Wilson was sentenced to 12 years in prison, given a lifetime of probation and a mandatory sex offender title after being convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl that he did not have sex with.
An all-white jury in Lawrence, Kan., made the decision on April 3, 2019,
but the events transpired in Sept. 2016.
Wilson, a former high school football player at Wichita Southeast High School and community college graduate, transferred to the University of Kansas to study sports journalism.
At the time of the event, he was 20 years old, but used a friend’s ID to get into Jayhawk Café, a popular college spot according to The Daily Collegian.
The 17-year-old was visiting a family member that attended Kansas and was able to get into the bar without being carded.
Both parties confirmed meeting on their way to the dance floor called, the “Boom Boom room.” Following that, both stories went in opposite directions.
Wilson said that they danced and kissed while he lifted up the girl’s skirt and touched her erotically. He and the girl left the bar together and walked back to his apartment.
He claimed that she did not seem intoxicated when they left. Once they arrived at the apartment, they kissed and engaged in other sexual acts, but never had sexual intercourse.
On the other hand, the girl says that she had been drinking before she arrived and Wilson lifted her skirt and assaulted her on the dance floor.
He then led her, stumbling out of the bar and to his apartment a couple blocks away. Once they arrived at his apartment, he raped her.
According to Lawrence Journal-World, Kansas Bureau of Investigation scientists testified that Wilson’s DNA was found on the girl’s chest where he kissed her.
However, no seminal fluid or DNA was found. The day after the incident occurred, the girl was swabbed by a nurse at a local hospital and photos of bruises were taken on her inner thigh.
When the case reached the court, Wilson stood by his innocence. He explained his reasoning from the perspective of an African-American to Judge Sally Pokorny— who is white, for initially stating that he did not remember what happened at his apartment that night.
He stated, “I don’t know how to explain this, but I come from a different background than you ma’am… I just felt like the police were against me at that point,” reported by Vibe.com.
Forrest Lowry, Wilson’s court-appointed attorney, expressed that the trial painted him differently than who he is, a former student and college graduate with no criminal history.
“It was a chance meeting. Obviously, my client misread what was going on… If there was ever a case that deserved a departure of any kind, I think this is it,” Lowry said in court.
The jury deliberated for six hours prior to convicting Wilson of rape. He was given the reported “lowest end of what is called for by Kansas sentencing guidelines for rape.”
Video surveillance showed the two interacting with one another throughout the night. According to the time on the video, they were at his apartment for five minutes before returning to the bar.
“You and your family may not agree with the verdict, but the verdict came back as guilty…this offense is a rape,” said Pokorny.
Day’Ja Johnson, a senior communicative disorders major from Meridian, Miss., believes his sentencing was wrong and not his fault.
“I think it is absolutely wrong that they charged him with rape when there wasn’t any action of sex taking place. That is not the definition of rape so how can you call it rape? It’s not his fault she lied and that the bouncer did not check her ID,” said Johnson.
Noah Blackwell, a sophomore music education major from Topeka, Kan., said the truth is in between both stories.
Blackwell said, “With stories like this that are complete opposites, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, but you do not have to leave evidence of semen to rape someone.”
Jaylan Earby, a junior social work major from Morton, Miss., blames the girl and the security for what transpired that night.
“Something was telling me that the female was white as well as the judge and jury. I blame security for not checking her ID. I blame her for allowing herself to get drunk enough to not know what’s going on,” said Earby.
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