TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Megan Rondini's friends and family remember her as having an ironclad sense of right and wrong. Her childhood nickname was ”Rules Rondini" because she was such a principled board game player. As an honors student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Megan offered rides to drunk girls walking alone at night, even after one threw up in her backseat.
No one was there to help Megan when she found herself in that very situation one night in July 2015, except for a well-to-do businessman Megan knew only as ”Sweet T." The 34-year-old later told authorities he offered 20-year-old Megan a ride home because he and a friend saw her leaving downtown Tuscaloosa alone.
Under Alabama's archaic rape law, victims must prove they ”earnestly" resisted their attackers, and the investigator who interviewed Megan quickly decided she hadn't fought back against Bunn — she hadn't ”kicked him or hit him," he explained. His investigation would conclude that no rape occurred. But he didn't stop there. Instead, he started building a case against Megan, questioning her for multiple crimes she wasn't even aware she had committed.
In the fall, a therapist diagnosed Megan with post-traumatic stress disorder, noting that she had no previous reported history of mental health issues. ... Megan assumed the University of Alabama would support her and help her figure out how to move on, even if she couldn't take Bunn to court. Instead, the institution she loved made her feel even more alone. (UA declined to discuss the situation, citing the ”interest of protecting the deceased student's privacy.")
”When all is said and done, I wonder what I could've accomplished if one man didn't completely rip everything away from me," Megan texted a friend in February 2016. Two days later, she hanged herself.
Main points:
- Megan, an honors student at the University of Alabama, was sexually assaulted and raped on a July 2015 night.
- A 6-month investigation ensued, in which she was unsuccessful.
- The University was unwilling to help her because the man who raped her has reputation.
- Meanwhile, Megan was diagnosed with post-traumatic disorder. She moved back home in Texas, transferring from UA in the process.
- She killed herself shortly thereafter, in late February 2016.
As a UA alum myself, this feels very personal to me. I'm completely disappointed and disgusted by everything that transpired here.
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RIP, Megan. We failed you.
