Lena Dunham: I Will Not Press Charges Against My Rapist

Lena Dunham: I Will Not Press Charges Against My Rapist

In her new memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham exposed graphic details of a “mustachioed Republican,” who she referred to only as “Barry,” claiming that he raped her while she attended Oberlin College in Ohio.

Dunham, while admitting to being under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, revealed the details of the night “Barry” allegedly attacked her.

Barry leads me to the parking lot. I tell him to look away. I pull down my tights to pee, and he jams a few of his fingers inside me, like he’s trying to plug me up.

I’m not sure whether I can’t stop it or I don’t want to.

But I also know that at no moment did I consent to being handled that way. I never gave him permission to be rough, to stick himself inside me without a barrier between us. I never gave him permission.

The actress writes in Buzzfeed that she does not plan to pursue charges against her alleged rapist:

I did not wish to be contacted by him or to open a criminal investigation.

I am in a loving and peaceful place in my life and I am not willing to sacrifice any more of it for this person I do not know, aside from one night I will never forget.

That is my choice.

The 29-year-old Girls star wrote in her book that “Barry” also assaulted two other women before taking advantage of her.

“My friend Melody tells me that once her friend Julia woke up the morning after sex with Barry, and the wall was spattered with blood. Spattered, she said, ‘like a crime scene.’ But he was nice and took her for the morning-after pill and named the baby they weren’t having,” wrote Dunham.

Dunham, who according to Time is a “fierce advocate of campus reform when it comes to matters of sexual assault,” has decided to talk openly about the assault for the sake of future victims.

Her stance as a staunch feminist does little to explain why Dunham hasn’t taken the necessary steps to get “Barry” off the street, especially when considering her opinion that he still poses a threat to other women.

“The chances ‘Barry’ has and will rape another woman are almost certain to repeat the crime,” she said.

The statute of limitations in the state of Ohio is 20 years for rape, and local authorities have indicated that they are willing to cooperate.

According to local law enforcement, unless Lena Dunham cooperates with an investigation, nothing can realistically be done to pursue or prosecute the man the actress claims raped her and might have hurt two other women.

The HBO star has recently come under fire after a Breitbart News investigation exonerated a prominent campus Republican at the time named Barry. The publisher of Not That Kind of Girl, Random House, agreed to alter the book in future printings and agreed to cover a portion of Barry’s legal fees.

On Thursday, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a comedy television show.

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