Man Has Ex-Girlfriend Raped Through Craigslist

Last month, a Wyoming man orchestrated a plot that would result in the sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend. Posing as his ex, Jebediah Stipe placed an ad on Craigslist that read "Need a real aggressive man with no concern for women." Two days later, the ad was discovered by his ex-girlfriend and removed by authorities. However, the 48 hour window that existed from the time the ad was put up to the time it was taken down proved to be enough time to set the wheels of disaster in motion. The following week Stipe’s ex-girlfriend was attacked and raped at knifepoint in her own home by Ty Oliver McDowell, a man who believed the entire encounter to be consensual.

According to police, McDowell claimed to have simply answered the ad of a woman looking for someone to fulfill her rape fantasy, one that, according to an email offered by Stipe, included "humiliation, physical abuse, and sexual abuse". Stipe posing as his ex-girlfriend eventually offered McDowell her home address, where McDowell forced his way into the 25 year old woman’s home, tied her up, and raped her stating "I’ll show you aggressive". McDowell was arrested after the act and charged with first degree sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Stipe was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit first degree sexual assault.

Crime as facilitated by Craigslist is not unprecedented, and throws into question the merits of a such a site. People will point out that the real perpetrators of the crime are the willful actors, namely McDowell and Stipe, and that they alone should be held accountable. However, this is too simplistic a view to maintain and forgets to take into account the culpability of a forum that facilitates crime and in this case rape. Craigslist should shoulder some of the responsibility, especially in light of the fact that it was to have already put into place a tight filter governing its sexual content as a result of previous sexual related crimes attributed to the website.

The Craigslist team must reconsider its open platform model. They can no longer justifiably stand aside with the simple good faith that people will not abuse their website. Craigslist’s success has been the result of its openness, simplicity, and steadfast refusal to change, ideals that may ruin the site in the long run. Sure, people want to be able to access a huge database of information and purchase a whole bunch of used furniture with ease. But I’m also certain people do not want to be victimized. If I can post an ad for the sale of a used Ikea Vika desk with the same ease as I can post an ad for someone to rape me, something is definitely amiss.