Judges Toss West Point Rape Conviction: No One Heard Her Struggle
A cadet who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for raping a sleeping classmate has reportedly returned to the school after three military judges overturned his conviction.
Jacob Whisenhunt was in the class of 2019 when he allegedly attacked a female cadet in her sleeping bag during Cadet Field Training at Camp Buckner on July 7, 2016. The Nebraska native was convicted in May 2017 by a jury of six West Point staff and faculty. A spokesman for the U.S. Military Academy confirmed Whisenhunt’s return on Wednesday to the Associated Press.
On Monday, a panel of three U.S. military judges ruled that the intercourse could not be considered rape beyond a reasonable doubt because there were so many squad mates in “close proximity” and the victim did not make any noise or audibly struggle hard enough, “which would have alerted multiple others” to the alleged rape. The judges’ ruling was first reported on Wednesday by the Military Times.