Kansas woman alleging dorm rape convenes own grand jury

A Kansas woman who alleges consensual sex with a friend in his college dorm room turned into a terrifying assault took matters into her own hands when prosecutors declined to bring rape charges. She called a citizen grand jury, relying on a 134-year-old state law.

Smith, who graduated earlier this month from Bethany College in Lindsborg, about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) north of Wichita, is part of a generation of women emboldened to go public with their stories due to the #MeToo movement. "This happens nationwide, worldwide that victims and survivors are minimized by the prosecutors who don’t believe them," she said, "And that is not OK because rape culture is so prevalent, and we need to get rid of it, and one of the ways to do that is to get our stories out there."