The days since John Enochs was given probation instead of jail time have not helped ease the pain of the parents of his alleged victims.
The same can be said of their daughters, according to a joint statement released by the parents.
“These last few days have been extremely painful and frustrating for our daughters,” the statement read. “As with all victims of sexual assault, it took tremendous strength and courage for them to come forward.”
Enochs was originally charged with two rapes occurring two years apart. The first occurred in October of 2013 with the second allegedly taking place in April of 2015. In both instances, Enochs was an IU student and a member of Delta Tau Delta.
But even though the parents and lawyers thought the alleged victims had a good case, Enochs received no jail time after agreeing to a plea deal earlier this week.
“They both fully cooperated with everything that was asked of them,” the statement read. “They were never told a plea agreement was even being discussed with Mr. Enochs’ attorneys. They were shocked to learn the charges in one case had been dismissed and an insignificant plea had been reached in the other case.”
The alleged victims also did not learn of the plea deal from the prosecuting attorney, but first learned Enochs would be avoiding jail second hand, according to the statement.
The Prosecutor also released a statement earlier this week saying there was a lack of evidence to prove Enochs guilty of either rape, prompting the plea deal.
The alleged victim’s parents disagree with this assertion, saying in their statement the prosecutor, Bob Miller, presented the evidence of the case in a favorable light to Enochs in Miller’s most recent statement.
The statement also said Miller failed to mention a number of pieces of evidence they believe would help a jury find Enochs guilty if the case went to trial
“Ultimately, we conclude that the prosecuting attorney released that statement in an attempt to save face when confronted with the type of intense scrutiny our daughters have faced since they decided to come forward,” the statement read.
Miller also said in his statement the DNA evidence that emerged in the investigation proved problematic in finding Enochs guilty. This is separate from court records saying there is DNA evidence proving Enoch’s and the alleged victim from April 2015 engaged in sexual activity.
Jeff Herman, the alleged victim’s attorney, thought the assertion the new DNA evidence proved problematic was invalid.
“The comments about other DNA are disappointing,” Herman said as part of the joint statement. “It amounts to nothing more than victim shaming. The only relevant question is whether the accused perpetrator’s DNA is present.”
The parents’ statement concluded by saying the fight by themselves and their daughters was not done. If anything, the statement read, their continuous quest for justice will hopefully encourage other sexual assault victims to come forward and seek justice for themselves.
“Our daughters are determined and resolute to seek justice, not only for themselves, but also in the hope that other victims of sexual assaults will not be discouraged from coming forward,” the joint statement read. “Our daughters appreciate the support being expressed to them by thousands of people they do not know and will likely never know.”
