Did You Hear What Happend to Charlotte King?

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Addison Breaks the Law for Charlotte
By Moira McMahon, Researcher

In Episode 407, "Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?," Charlotte is brutally attacked and raped in her office at St. Ambrose.

Charlotte needs immediate medical attention for her fractured arm and bruised and battered face. Pete attends to her injuries right away, but he doesn't realize that Charlotte has been raped.

Charlotte secretly calls Addison because she needs the care of a gynecologist.

Addison gives Charlotte an exam and STD testing. Addison wants to do a rape kit, which is a series of samples that can be sent to a lab for DNA testing. Evidence from a rape kit, taken by a doctor, is a crucial part of the trial of an accused rapist. The sooner this is done, the better. This is why a woman should not shower before she goes to an ER after an attack. The more DNA collected, the better chance of a positive identification.

Charlotte is so freshly wounded from her experience, that she refuses to consent to the rape kit. She's afraid that everyone in her life will see her differently if they know the truth.

Rapists are not one-time offenders. If Charlotte does not report this crime, the same man may rape another woman.

Addison makes the decision not to report Charlotte's rape to the police. But by doing so has she too put other women at risk?

Did Addison do the right thing by keeping Charlotte's secret?

What would YOU do?