Well done. Now that rat bastard's going to be the one who's locking his doors and looking over his shoulder.

By telling the police, you have begun to rob this man of his power over you. If this guy even makes one move towards you, you can phone the cops and they will be over post-haste. He will be the one doing the running, not you. If he's smart and he values what's left of his pathetic life, he'll stay away from you.

By threatening you with death, this clown hoped he would get away with hurting you, by silencing you. He's not going to get away with it now. He has ruined his life by HIS actions, not yours. HE was the one who chose to hurt you. HE was the one who took the knife and hid in the woods. At any moment, HE could have walked away. HE chose not to and because of that, HE has ruined two lives: YOURS and HIS. HIS actions may have also hurt his family.

You didn't have the option of running away. HE was the one with the knife. HE was the one in control. That's the most frightening part of all this: the loss of control. If you had tried fighting back, you would probably be dead now. By not resisting, you may have saved your life.

Remember this is about the actions HE took, not about yours. If they ask you "What were you doing out at 3 a.m.?" Ask them: What was that man doing at 3 am in the woods with a knife? The people who condemn women for being raped should realize it would STILL happen even if we all went about dressed in unsexy potato sacks. Predators would still find an excuse for their actions. It is the people that condemn the woman that do not understand.

Had you stayed silent, the only life ruined would have been your own. This man should realize: you hurt another human being, you pay the piper. This man was a sick, sick predator who enjoyed hurting you. You've done the world a favour by reporting him.

He was looking for victims that night and you're the one he happened to catch. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else. Let me tell you: HE chose to rape the wrong woman. HE chose to assault the woman who's going to help a judge and jury decide where he's going to spend the next few years of his life. Bad move. And he threatened to kill her.

Because of this, if I were the man, I would be down on my knees and begging you for mercy. I would be treating you to roses and champagne. Not that this is going to happen. Show him as much mercy as he showed you that night, when the time comes. Don't show this man fear. Show this man utter contempt. Laugh in his face and tell him "You're going to jail, mister! Have fun!"

If he does say "I'm sorry," Tell him that the time to apologize would have been in the woods after he raped you. Remorse looks good when it comes time to parole the criminal.

Let us know when they catch this peasant, eh?

(For the record, I have never been raped or known anyone who was. I've just done a lot of reading over the years. I know that can't replace experience, but...)

There is a thing more crippling than cerebral palsy: the prison of your own mind.