WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week the story of Officer Marc Washington’s abuse of authority created outrage on the web. After forcing a 15-year-old girl to remove her clothing and taking pictures of her, he was reported by the girl and charged with child pornography. Now it appears that Washington’s victims will never have the closure they sought. Authorities found his body in the water at Hains Point in Southwest D.C Tuesday night, News4 reports.
His motive remains unclear. Whether he was overcome by guilt for his crimes or he feared facing the retaliation from the law enforcement he was once a part of, we may never know.
During his hearing, Washington’s digital camera was revealed to have hundreds of photographs dating back to 2011, many of which depicted women who were victims of domestic violence. After being released from prison this week, Washington was placed on house arrest and ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.
Washington was wearing the GPS device on his ankle when he was pulled from the water.
This development may have further ramifications for the victims who are still recovering from the trauma of being molested. The young girl who found the courage to report this repeat offender may feel guilt for the fact that Washington ended his life.
Victims are already likely to blame themselves for the fact they were abused. Knowing your perpetrator committed suicide after being exposed can lead to overwhelming feelings of grief.
Consider though the case of Stacey Rambold, a former high school teacher and admitted rapist. After his victim, 14-year-old student Cherice Moralez, committed suicide, he appeared remorseless after receiving a sentence of only 31 days for his crime, according to CNN.
His lenient sentence after raping an innocent girl whom the judge said, “seemed older than her chronological age,” perpetuated the cycle of victim shaming according to protestors at Rambold’s sentencing.
While the actions of Rambold undoubtedly led to Moralez taking her life, Washington’s victim did the right thing, and any subsequent actions taken by her attacker should not weigh heavily on her conscience. Hopefully if she had to do it over again, she would make the same decision.
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