"I was 17 years old, a senior in high school. I went out to dinner with a bunch of my friends. I met a guy named Jerome. He was 19 years old and he seemed nice. He called and we started a telephone relationship. A few weeks later, he came to my house and met my parents.

"One day, we went out for brunch. On the way to the restaurant, he said that he wanted to stop at his house to change his clothes so he could go straight to work after our date. When we got to his house, I went inside with him to wait while he changed his clothes. I had to use the bathroom. I noticed that the lock on the bathroom door was broken, but I closed the door behind me. A few seconds later, Jerome barged into the bathroom, picked me up by my shoulders and slammed me down on the sink. He shoved me against the wall with so much force that the bottles in the medicine cabinet fell and broke. I tried to push him away. I yelled at him to leave me alone. When he wouldn't let go of me, I slapped him. He got really angry. He slapped me across the face, held me against the wall, and raped me.

"When I got home, I could not tell my parents. I didn't want to hurt them. Jerome started to harass me. I was really scared. He was leaving messages on my telephone -- 'I'm looking at you.' He left notes on my car-- 'I'm watching you.' And when I drove my car, he sometimes followed me.

"My grades fell. I couldn't sleep. I withdrew from my family. I lost a lot of weight. One day, I told my oldest sister. She told my parents. My mom called the police, even though months had gone by since the rape.

"I thought that the police would say, 'Forget it, there is no evidence.' But they didn't. The detective who talked to me believed me. Jerome was arrested and my case went to court. Even though I was scared, I testified. So did my mom.

"After deliberating for hours, the jury came back 'hung' -- 7 to 5. But it didn't end there. It turned out that Jerome was on probation for another crime that he had committed. The district attorney filed a probation violation and the case was heard again in court. The same judge presided over the probation hearing and she issued the final verdict. The judge said, 'There is overwhelming evidence that you raped Mary and you are going to state prison.'"

---MARY