MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man was arrested after police say he raped a woman.
On June 20, officers were called to the victim’s Whitehaven home after she was reportedly raped by Justin James. She claimed that he blocked the doorway, pushed her onto her bed, held her down and raped her.
The next day, officers were called back to the scene after James returned.
He was transported to the police station where he admitted to having sex with the victim. However, he said he didn’t rape her. He explained that he and the victim sometimes role play where “no means yes. It’s Urban love.” He went on to say that “a judge won’t believe this because they don’t understand Urban love.”
Victim advocates say consent is actually pretty clear to understand.
“Once you obtain consent, that’s not forever in the relationship. You have to obtain consent for every sexual activity, for every time you’re with somebody. Just because you’ve had sex before doesn’t mean you have the right to have sex again,” Shelby County Rape Crisis Center Director Sandy Bromley said.
She says nearly 20 percent of women will be sexually assaulted by a partner.
“There’s a lot of shame involved in talking about intimate partner sexual violence. So someone being sexually assaulted by their partner is not something the general public tends to think about.”
James was arrested and charged with rape.
