US man dodges rape conviction so he can enjoy 'a college experience'

  • 23/08/2016
David Becker, 18, of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts
David Becker, 18, of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts

A man in the US accused of raping two unconscious 18-year-old women will not face jail time or have to register as a sex offender.

David Becker, also 18, was sentenced to two years of probation by a judge in Palmer, Massachusetts, who said that his case would be continued without a finding until August 2018.

His two victims said they fell asleep in the same bed before each waking up to Becker sexually assaulting them.

Becker argued that he only engaged in sexual activity with one of the females, which he thought was okay because she did not stop him.

Court records show he texted one of the victims the next day to apologise.

"We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18, 19 years old, and we shouldn't be branded for life with a felony offense and branded a sex offender," Becker's lawyer, Thomas Rooke, told MassLive.com.

"Putting this kid in jail for two years would have destroyed this kid's life.

"The goal of this sentence was not to impede this individual from graduating high school and to go onto the next step of his life, which is a college experience."

Mr Rooke also noted that Becker was a "three-sport athlete" at East Longmeadow High School.

As a white male university student who practices sport, Becker's seemingly lenient treatment by the courts echoes the notorious recent case of Brock Turner - a 20-year-old swimmer at Stanford University who was given just six months in prison for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

A spokesperson for University of Dayton - Becker's university - has told media that he will no longer be a student there.

Newshub.