The Story of the Night Hannah Was Not "Officially" Raped

On Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006, Hannah* woke up in her Howard University dorm room with a piece of her life missing. Hannah, a 19-year-old sophomore, had unexplained pain in her rectum and hip. Her panty liner, which she had worn the night before, was missing. Vomit dotted her gloves and coat. Her friend Kerston lay beside her in the skinny dorm room bed. Kerston told Hannah not to shower -- they had to go back to the hospital to secure a rape kit. That weekend, Hannah claims that she was provided the following excuses for why she could not receive a sexual assault medical forensic examination: She was drunk; she ate a sandwich; she was a liar; she didn't know her attacker's last name; the police had to authorize the exam; she was outside the hospital's jurisdiction; she wasn't reporting a real crime; she was blacked out; she changed her story; her case was already closed.

This is the story of the night Hannah was not officially raped. And so far, Hannah has not officially accused anyone of raping her. In the summer of 2007, she filed a lawsuit against the District of Columbia, Howard University Hospital, George Washington University Hospital, both universities, and several doctors she says denied or interfered with her medical care. She seeks damages for medical malpractice and negligence from the medical defendants and the D.C. police, which she says resulted in "the probable loss of the opportunity to see her assailant brought to justice." Across the board, the defendants denied Hannah's claims. The parties in the case, which has yet to go to trial, were not interviewed for this story; this account is reconstructed from sworn deposition testimony taken in Hannah's suit.

It was a Friday night in the middle of finals, the end of the first semester of sophomore year. Some Howard guys who lived in an off-campus house on Bryant Street were throwing an off-campus birthday party for Daniel, a friend of Hannah's. She convinced a couple of friends to come with her. They pre-gamed in Hannah's friend Sade's room, sipped on cups of Malibu mixed with fruit punch, and then walked the half-mile to the house.

There, Hannah, Sade, and Kerston engaged in normal college party activities -- they filled their cups with red spiked punch from the Gatorade containers in the kitchen, danced in the darkened living room, and chatted on the couch in the middle of the house. Amanda, another friend from school, arrived later and joined the group. They all obeyed the Howard boys' house rule: Nobody goes upstairs.

Enforcing the directive was Tito, a big, muscular guy who grew up in the shadow of the university. Hannah had seen Tito around campus before. They met through her older sister, a bank employee and Howard grad six years her senior. Tito testified that he met Hannah's sister when she sprained her ankle playing tennis and took an ambulance to the hospital. Tito, the EMT who responded to the scene, managed to secure her number on the ride, and they went out a few times. When Hannah started school at Howard, Tito introduced himself to her, gave her a ride home from the movies once, and hit on some of her friends. Tito had worked security at area nightclubs when he wasn't on duty, and he sometimes volunteered his services to Howard house parties. At the Bryant Street party, he stood inside the door, screened kids for drugs and knives, and stopped anyone who tried to mount the stairs.

As reinforcement for Tito, the housemates had erected a furniture barricade at the foot of stairs -- a few chairs stacked together to prevent partygoers from sneaking up to the second floor. Brandon, one of the Howard boys hosting the party, told partygoers that he had blocked off the stairs because the bathroom wasn't working. Actually, the toilet was fine -- Brandon was so fastidious about protecting his stuff that he blocked off the house's only toilet. Guests were forced to pee at another party across the street, or in the alley behind the house.