Susan Sweetser of Essex Junction, VT, a rape victim, went public about her own ordeal so that other violent-crime victims will not have to suffer as she has.
In December of 1980, Susan Sweetser, a pregnant college senior, was kidnapped and brutally raped by a man who had just completed a prison sentence for a similar crime. Though the man was caught three weeks later, he was released on $5,000 bail and kidnapped and raped another woman before he was caught again and held for $260,000 bail.
Sweetser not only testified, she “went public†and was interviewed and photographed in the local papers, believing it was the only way to make the public understand the problem. Sweetser has also become an attorney, and has lobbied for legal reforms year after year, using her own experience to illustrate her point that Vermont’s legal system needs to be more concerned about crime victims.
As an active community member and an associate in a respected law firm, Sweetser knew that her crusade could damage both her business and her personal life. Some people have indeed reacted negatively, but Susan Sweetser remains determined to work for change.
Update:
In 1992, Sweetser was elected to the Vermont State Senate and served two terms. She helped pass a constitutional bail amendment, a change she had been lobbying for for years. She helped pass comprehensive anti-stalking legislation, a crime victims\' bill of rights, a sex offender registry bill, and a bill that made resisting arrest a crime. During her second term, Sweetser was named Chair of the Judiciary Committee. Along with her success as a legislator and as an advocate, Sweetser was also named “National Working Mother of the Year†in 1998 by Working Mother Magazine. After going to Wharton for her MBA, Sweetser went to work for MassMutual. She is a member of both the Vermont and New York Bar associations and is an adjunct professor of business law at St. Michael’s College in Vermont.