Chessy Prout by LONDON MILLER

MLA Citation

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-14 18:20:44 UTC

Prout, Chessy, and Jenn Abelson. I Have the Right to: A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2019.

#1 Earthquake in Japan

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-14 18:22:58 UTC

On March 11th, 2011, Chessy and her sisters were at school in Japan when an earthquake suddenly started. In Japan, earthquakes were pretty common, but this was the biggest one Chessy and her family had ever experienced. The earthquake was found to have a 9.0 magnitude, the biggest ever recorded there and caused terrible damage to the area that would take years to rebuild.

#2 Got into SPS

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:02:02 UTC

Chessy got accepted to the boarding school that her sister was attending. Her parents had also attended the school when they were her age. This school was in Florida, so Chessy had to be away from her little sister, Christinna, her mom, and her dad. However, she was able to have comfort from her sister being there at the same time as her.

Quote 1

"I eagerly picked up the pen and signed my full name, Francesca Prout, in black ink... I enrolled myself in the school. The next four years of my life started now" (50).

#3 Owen's Invite

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:02:21 UTC

Chessy accepted Owen Labrie's Senior Salute invitation. After denying his invite the first time, she later took back that decision and changed it to a yes. They both agreed at that moment that it would be a secret solely between the two of them and nobody else.

#4 Chessy is SA'd

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:02:42 UTC

Owen started to kiss Chessy aggressively, before even having a conversation with her at the top of the roof. He was very demanding with telling her what to do and proceeded to take off her clothes without her permission. Chessy attempted to tell him no and to stop what he was doing, but he just kept going farther. She was terrified as he began to rape her, calling her names like a "tease" as he was doing it.

Quote 2

"'I went with Owen last night,' I said, as tears escaped. 'He had sex with me, but I didn't want it'" (106).

#5 Detective Curtin

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:03:09 UTC

Chessy met with a detective that wanted to help Chessy navigate through this terrible situation. She asked Chessy about the night and later, about the culture of St. Paul's. She was an advocate for Chessy and wanted to help her begin to go in the right direction. What was happening at St. Paul's was wrong and needed to be stopped.

Quote 3

"I told her that senior guys are constantly targeting third formers, particularly those with older siblings... I shared that Owen was aggressive with other girls" (127).

#6 Cat Island

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:08:58 UTC

A few weeks after she was sexually assaulted by Owen, she decided to still follow through with the trip to Cat Island that she had committed to previously. Even though her family suggested not to go somewhere by herself so soon, this was something that was extremely important to Chessy. It was a short trip, but the kids she worked with helped her learn a lot about herself. Cat Island was a sense of joy for Chessy in this time of trauma.

Quote 4

"The kids reminded me of the joys of human connection... I realized that nothing sticks to your soul like love. Everything else could be washed away" (135).

#7 Family Vacation

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:09:24 UTC

During their family vacation in the summer Chessy couldn't bring herself to come off the computer. She was eagerly waiting for any news on the case on the internet. On their second day there, it was announced that Owen had been arrested. All of this led to tons of allegations towards Chessy, negative and positive.

#8 Back at St. Paul's

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:09:59 UTC

Eventually, Chessy was ready to go back to St. Paul's. When she arrived at the school, she was met with a cold shoulder from her friends. She was faced with the harsh truth, not everybody belongs in your life at certain points of them.

#9 Comes Back Home

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:11:05 UTC

Chessy decided she couldn't take it anymore at St. Paul's. The culture there was terribly toxic and made it very hard for Chessy to be present. She couldn't handle the constant laughter, stare, and gossip that occurred on the campus with her near.

#10 Got on Stand In Court

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:11:44 UTC

On Day 2 in the courtroom Chessy got back on the witness stand. She was flooded with nerves, but she managed to push through and fight for justice. She responded to Catherine's questions in full honesty, as well as Carney's, Owen's lawyer. Carney had no sympathy towards Chessy and was asking questions in a disrespectful manner. The whole time Chessy was just waiting for it to be over, while still answering confidently, putting on a face that she's not afraid of him.

Quote 5

"I refused to return Carney's fake smile and waited for the showdown to begin. He jabbed me with short questions at first, but they were embedded with wrong assumptions about me, about decisions I'd made, about words I'd used" (206-207).

#11 Jury Reached Verdict

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:12:01 UTC

The Jury had finally reached a verdict on Owen Labrie's case. They figured out that he was guilty. However, it was a split verdict, which was somewhat disappointing for Chessy and her family. The good thing was that all of the misdemeanor sexual assault charges could possible come with a one-year sentence. He also would be required to register as a sex offender because of the felony computer charge, which prevents him from ever having a job that works with children.

Quote 6

"...the jury then convicted Owen of three counts of misdemeanor sexual assault for penetrating a minor with his penis, finger, and mouth and another count of endangering the welfare of a child. They cleared him of the misdemeanor assault charge for biting my chest" (239).

#12 Cyber-bullied & Outside Source #1

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:14:15 UTC

As the days went on after the verdict was announced, she was informed by detective Curtin that hate sites were starting to appear across the internet. People were posting private pictures of her past, young self, that were accompanied with captions that were calling her inappropriate names. All she had wanted was to forget everything that had happened, but the people across the country were making that very difficult because of their rude remarks. They eventually got help from an outside source that took her name off of the search engine on google and prevented anymore websites to be created about her.

Outside Source #1: This is the link to Chessy Prout's official Instagram for her campaign, I Have The Right To. It gives information about the campaign and what they do.

#13 Owen's Sentencing

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:14:30 UTC

With the split verdict, Owen was sentenced to several years of probation after a year in jail. He also had to register as a sex offender, getting to stay free on bail because his lawyers were trying to appeal the verdict.

Quote 7

"When I started this journey, I never envisioned the case dragging on through my college career. At every junction, the rights of perpetrators trumped the rights of victims" (252).

#14 Mock trial

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:14:52 UTC

After the things with Owen's sentencing started to settle down, Chessy started to get focused back into school. She decided that she was going to be part of the prosecution side and only the prosecution. The judge was very impressed by Chessy's performance and it made Chessy feel very confident about herself and her ability to speak up in the courtroom. She knew that all the experience she had already had in the courtroom, allowed her to know exactly what and what not to do in the mock trial.

Quote 8

"He complimented my opening statement for being poised and pointed, especially without any notes. 'Have you done this before?'...'This is my first year, you honor,'" (261).

#15 Owen Goes To Jail

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:15:14 UTC

On March 18th while Chessy was at school, her mom called to let her know that Owen was finally going to jail. The reason for this was his bail had been revoked because Owen was consistently violating his curfew, which was part of the agreement of his bail.

Quote 9

"Her investigation revealed that Owen was regularly violating his curfew. at least eight times already!" (267).

#16 Girl's Bill of Rights & Outside Source #2

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:15:29 UTC

Chessy's little sister, Christinna, suggested that Chessy should create a Bill of Rights after their mom asked what kind of rights they think they should be fighting for. Chessy's mom really encouraged her to start a list of things she believes she has the right to. After procrastinating for a little while, Chessy finally decided to sit down and make the list of strong words.

Quote 10

"I slid the list in front of them and said, 'Momma, I did it.' Mom teared up on cue...This was the beginning of something big; I could feel it" (274).

Outside Source #2: Attached is the link to Chessy Prout's campaign, I Have The Right To. It includes a pledge people can sign, ways to find help, information on Chessy, and much more that has to do with sexual assault victims being able to use their voice.

#17 PAVE & Outside Source #3

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:15:38 UTC

Chessy got the opportunity to meet with another young survivor, Angela Rose, who used activism as an outlet for the anger she had towards the person that had sexually assaulted her. She was able to lean on Angela for advice because Angela had gone public about her assault as a teenager as well. Angela started an organization called PAVED that Chessy was able to use as support in using her voice to speak out on her assault.

Outside Source #3: This is the link to Angela Rose's campaign that inspired Chessy to get started with hers. Angela Rose's story can be found on this website, along with more ways victims can reach out for help.

#18 TODAY Show & Outside Source #4

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:15:50 UTC

On August 27, 2016, Chessy had finally decided to do the interview that would reveal her identity to the entire world. This was her opportunity to reclaim her voice and to be a role model for other young survivors that may be struggling just like she is and was. Her entire family, along with Angela, were there the entire interview cheering her on. They were so proud that she decided that she wanted to do this completely on her own. This was also a chance for her to promote her advocacy campaign she had started, I Have The Right To.

Outside Source #4: This is the link to Chessy's interview on the TODAY show. This is the first time she had ever revealed her full name or face to the world.

#19 Activist and Survivor & Outside Source #5

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:16:26 UTC

The days following Chessy's interview on the TODAY show were filled with positive reactions from the community. The support she was getting from not just her family, but people across social media and in her daily life was something that she never thought she would have. When this all first started she would've never believed that she would eventually be recognized as not only a survivor, but also an activist.

Outside Source #5: This is another interview that Chessy had after the TODAY show that talks about how and why she spoke out the way she did. They refer to her as a survivor and really emphasize on her bravery for being able to come out to the public like this.

#20 Got Into Barnard

millelon000_1_1 — 2024-03-15 17:16:36 UTC

A huge accomplishment to end off Chessy's book was receiving news on which college accepted her. Although she had been accepted into Barnard, she decided to take a gap year as graduation arrived. She decided to take this route in order to write her book. Even though college is important, she decided it was more important to share her story with the world for her first year out of high school instead.