I think that she is craving the limelight now.  She seems to be "acting" as well.  The photos of her sitting at the window, with hair all done up, and looking forlorn, just screams "made-for-tv" movie.  I pity her but this is just a woman who wants publicity.  She really seems like a phony.

Liz needs to get a life.  This same thing happens (UNFORTUNATELY)to a lot of women and ya know....you don't let it "ruin" your life.  Liz wouldn't be such a miserable person had she tried forgiveness.  Everyone knows that you give your attacker power over you if you don't forgive them.  The power is in the forgiveness.  Liz, he didn't take your life, you've ruined your own life.  Pity for you.

God this woman makes me sick. She seems to be using this event to fill a huge void in her life, she would be so lonely if she let go of this issue. Taking the high road is something it looks like the rapist is doing now, not her. True it is a horrible thing to have happen, but women that go on national TV and act like this actually empower other men to rape, they see how it can be a strong form of control. She should have realized it was just a physical act and that she has the power to move on, rather she used the rape event as an excuse for anything and everything. I actually have more sympathey for the rapist.

Liz strikes me as a bitter, vindictive woman.  Even her facial expressions indicate that she has spent 20+ years feeling sorry for herself.  She appears to need psychiatric care.

Neocon Bushie with a mix of Hillary Clinton whoa-is-me type hate. Even if all of UVA and every guy there fell into a fiery pit she wouldn't be happy. She is trying to somehow cover the holes in her life.

My name is Heather. I am watching your segment on Dateline. I also went to a private girls school for 6 years. i went far away from my family to be independant for college. I was raped and very nearly murdered when someone broke into my condo on sept 1 1992. Even though I went to the hospital and had all of the tests immediately, and am 99.9% sure whom it was (I will never forget his voice and what he said to me) he was never caught.  I was very young ( baely 20). But I didn't deserve the horrors that happened to me.  I was asleep when he broke in my place. He raped me and had my hands trapped. Where he could hold me and I could get no oxygyn. All I kept thinking while listeneing to his threats was that I'm not going to live. I couldn't get any breath at all. And I'm listeneing to him say horrible things all the while.  I didn't even thimk about being raped for a few because I was trying so hard just to get a breath. Just ONE breath. I woke up later naked and bruised and ran downstairs to my neighbor. The cops were called at 5am on Sept 1st 1992.  I have never been the same. He got away. There was no DNA taken then and I heard the voice.  I will never be he same. I remember driving down the highway a few years after and having to pull over because all I could think and realize was that it wasn't bad enough that he wanted to kill me, but that on top of it all , I had to be raped.  The universe didn't think that it was bad enough that I get smothered to death but to add insult to injury, I had to be raped in my last moments. It wasn't bad enough that I be brutally murdered but that I be brutally raped at th same time. As if he thought what can I do to make her last moments as I murdewr her even worse. I was in therapy for 6 yrs. I have since I feel lost my life to him. He didn't kill me physically but he killed any since of hope in life and myself I ever had. I don't believe in anything anymore. I have struggled with everything since and it has been 14 1/2 yrs. It seems like a lifetime ago at times. But the effects are never going away and I still don't know if my life will end in some way because I can't handle what he did to me and the fact that he is still walking around free. If I could instill in him the horrors he has instilled in me in the past subsequent years it still wouldn't be justice for what he left to me. I feel he killed me but it long and drawn out.  I have a fantasy of knowing what happened to him one day. I want him to have been caught and to have suffered. He took my youth, innocence and future success.  I just hope one of them goes through something of the same hell for the rest of their lives as myself. When I went into unconciousness he thought that he had killed me. He didn't kill me physically that night but he killed the me who would have been here without his meddling.

I don't believe that Liz has really forgiven this man like she states but I admire her tenacity to make him pay for what he did to her. A 17 year old is a child and he took that away from her. For the people who judge her for how she responded maybe you should have a little sympathy for the fact that she was violated twice by this man. He has no right to disrupt her life unless it is to face the consequences. Shame on you. If she were my daughter, mother, sister I would want her to do this.

I actually got sick listening to the "unforgiving" Liz!
She did not choose rape (or was it rape?) she did choose to DRINK and go on a TOUR with 2 young men! She also chose to drag her parents thru National T.V. Not a loving person! I am wondering how much MONEY she was given for her story and how much she still wants to get!
She has a daughter...I hope she teaches her NOT TO DRINK AND GO TO SOROITY HOUSES! We all make choices, she may have only been 17, but she made bad choices.
Edie Magnus appears to be a lovely person, I know God
has forgiven him, now it's Liz's turn! Go to Church on Sunday!

I actually got sick listening to the "unforgiving" Liz!
She did not choose rape (or was it rape?) she did choose to DRINK and go on a TOUR with 2 young men! She also chose to drag her parents thru National T.V. Not a loving person! I am wondering how much MONEY she was given for her story and how much she still wants to get!
She has a daughter...I hope she teaches her NOT TO DRINK AND GO TO SOROITY HOUSES! We all make choices, she may have only been 17, but she made bad choices.
Edie Magnus appears to be a lovely person, I know God
has forgiven him, now it's Liz's turn! Go to Church on Sunday!

Liz and all rape victims deserve justice and that is
why there is no statute of limitations on felonies such as rape.

Hell yes she shoud press charges.  "I'm sorry" after all those years doesn't go NEARLY far enough.  By allowing him to go free, we would have perpetuated the boys-will-be-boys mentality that has kept women from coming forward for years.

Liz was very brave in coming forward and making this guy take responsibility for his actions.  It sickens me that many of Liz's critics are women.  Wait until it's you -- or your daughter.

So far, these comments have been hateful.  Why shouldn't a person pay for their crime of rape?  What if they appoligized the very next day after the rape occured would that be sufficient?  How does time lessen what they have done, or lessen the results of their actions?

She did the right thing!  An apology and forgiveness is one thing, but a crime WAS committed and Mr. Bebee must pay for his crime.

Liz needs (needed) to move on.  There are alot of other things to focus on in life - you can't let a tragedy (or even a mountaintop experience) define you or your life. There are people who have been through much worse and manage to pull through it - especially 21 years later. Try religion!! I think she is seeking attention now.  Time to forgive, move on.  Focus on your husband and children now . . .

I think what she did is justifiable.  She has every right to prosicute.  I feel her pain.  It doesn't go away. He deserves everything he gets.  You go GIRL!

Having been raped at approximatley the same age as Liz, her story screamed out at me and I fully support her decision to prosecute.  Something was taken from her at the age of 17.  The same thing occured to me at that very age.  It was mentioned that her first marriage was volatile.  Her grades slumped in college.  Listening to this made me realize just how much my being raped at that age affected me.  Like Liz, I was very much afraid of my attacker and I was afraid to prosecute.  Blaming the victim will persist and women's psyche's will forever be scarred if persons who rape are not help accountable.  I admire her strength.

I am disgusted with the comments made by some of the other viewers.  If you were raped, you would realize that this crime NEVER goes away for the VICTIM!!! Why....when a woman finally stands up for herself, that now she is trying to be in the limelight.  If this happened to your daughter, niece, grandchild, wife etc... wouldn't you want them to get the closure they deserve.  Just because it didn't happen yesterday, why wouldn't he have to stand up for his crime?  You people make me sad!! I hope you are never a victim and have to live with the thought of a stanger putting his hands and lips and other parts of his body on your body.  She has probably dealt with this for the last 20 years.  Give her some credit to move on with her life.

Unfortunately Liz comes off as a bitter woman who was apparently so damaged by this experience that she has lost perspective, joy and the ability to forgive. I don't doubt that she has made this rape a focal point of her life. The question is why?

Anyone who thinks that they know what they would do in the Liz Sucurro case is absolutely wrong.  Most of the people writing in blasting her, probably were never the victim of a crime such as this.  Liz had to do what she had to do in order to make herself whole again.  She didn't ask for this (the letter, etc.) but she availed herself of an opportunity that she felt was right for her.  Why is it that the rapist here, becomes the victim?  Can someone explain that to me?  Liz was right in what she did because she felt it was the thing to do for herself and her well-being.  I'm sure she doesn't feel totally vindicated, but a little vindication is better then none for her own peace of mind.  No one knows what she's been through all these years.  She did what she had to do.  I hope that she finds peace someday.

Liz uses the defense for you actions the fact that she did not ask to be raped or receive the E-mails.
She's wrong in one respect,  she elected to be where she was and doing the things that put her in the situation for the other actions to follow.

i feel like this woman should have come out years ago.
i don't understand why she would hide it for so long.
she should have told her parents and made formal statements to lawyers and the law.

i feel sorry for her.
but it seems quite unreasonable she hadn't come out for so long.

i don't think she's lying or doing it for the publicity.
i just think she should have come out a while back.
not now.

the statute of limitation and email proof is the only thing that is helping her case.

i feel like this woman should have come out years ago.
i don't understand why she would hide it for so long.
she should have told her parents and made formal statements to lawyers and the law.

i feel sorry for her.
but it seems quite unreasonable she hadn't come out for so long.

i don't think she's lying or doing it for the publicity.
i just think she should have come out a while back.
not now.

the statute of limitation and email proof is the only thing that is helping her case.

I sincerely hope that all involved in the rape are brought to justice.  I admire her strength to go forward.  Everyone says she should move on.  She had moved on.   Why dont you all ask "WHY DIDNT HE MOVE ON'...he emails her after all those years...HELLO !  i wonder how all the above commenters would feel if the rape had been committed on them???  There are 'cold files' on every crime committed, what makes a rape so different...Is this not the ABSOLUTE crime?   GO GIRL...You deserve justice

In a way I do agree with her decision, however, her motivation is questionable.  I do not believe her when she says she forgives her rapist, nor do I believe she will accept closure when all the legal wrangling is over.  Hopefully, all involved will get the help they need.

Wow, it bothers me that the last five comments about this Dateline episode all ridicule and insult a woman who was raped.  Yes, rape does happen all to often, but this is America.  America supposed to be a place where justice can be granted.  I feel like I am back in middle school the way these people judged this woman based upon how she appeared on TV.  She was still raped.  She still deserves some sort of justice.  Can you people not see that?

I totally agree with Shawn from Chicago, although I feel sorry for her if it actually did happen the way she said it did, but, I feel she was a good girl gone bad that night, and needed an excuse for her actions so Mom and Dad would still believe in her. She seems like quite an actress to me.

I am shocked and appalled by the reactions I am reading in the Liz rape case. I too was raped in college but was so scared that I did nothing about it. I wonder what happened to this man. Did he go on to rape other women? Do he commit worse crimes? Is he still committing them? If I had come forward way back then could I have saved another girl from getting raped? I too was a virgin. I think all these unfeeling people would feel MUCH differently if THEY were the ones who had been raped. GO LIZ!!!!!!!!

heather, no one can undo the harm done, and if you get a chance to have this man charged do so
BUT you have been carrying this man around with you all this time..the only way to flush him away is too forgive..this may be the most difficult thing that you have ever done but it is the only way that you can reclaim your life

As a victim of rape, the comments above about Liz make me sick.  I was raped at 15 the result of which I became pregnant and gave up a child for adoption.  My life has NEVER been right.  No amount of therapy can ever erase what happened to me.  I wish I could charge my attackers - yes, plural.

I think that she is not going to get closure from all th attention this will bring her and her family. I di beleive that some times in life bad things happen to innocent , good people but in order to move forward you must make peace with your past apology or not. If we continue to look back will can not look in the futher . Our joy comes from within peace comes from the heavenly Father , maybe she should try looking to him for what she is seeking not the lights of a camera. God will have the final

It's called accountability!  Why do we still minimize crimes against women in this country? Are we just one step ahead of the societies where girl children are drowned at birth? What amazes me even more, is that so many women will actually side with the male rapist. So why do so many people want to victimize Liz a second time by shaming her for standing up for herself?  Liz's true self was MURDERED by an internal trespass against her soul.  Would an apology be enough for murder? For a beating?  Liz needs closure.  Liz had her self stolen. She had her power stolen. She was violated in the most hideous way. Be careful how you judge Liz...it could have happened to you!

Kate
Kerrville, TX

It makes me sick reading some of the responses of viewers.  I would love to know if any have themselves suffered from a violent attack, not rape but any type of attack.  Being a rape survivor, my story very much like hers, I know how much the attack haunts you, takes control of your life and effects every aspect of everything you do.  If I ever had the opportunity to bring my attackers to justice, I would do so with out a moment of hesitation.  It terrifies me to think of them walking around the streets, having wives and children of their own, and possibly harming others.

My name is Sheila and I'm a rape victim.  I found out 20 years later that the man who raped me was a serial rapist who raped several other girls.  He contracted aids just after raping me and infected his victims.  I'm mortified to read that people out there think that this woman is just asking for attention or that she has the choice of letting this ruin her life or moving on.  I was raped 22 years ago and I still live in fear every day.  I carry a knife with me always and plan to get a gun next month.  This never leaves you and like Liz said it becomes apart of who you are.  If you've never been a victim don't pass judgement on those who have.

Where is the one location in Virginia where a man will NOT be punished for committing rape? In Charlottesville - at the University of Virginia!  Twenty years after Liz's assault, the University of Virginia President, John Casteen, releases a statement to the Press to assure the public that he “will not tolerate acts of violence” on his campus. People are satisfied with his comments - but the intent was to snooker the media by releasing a false and misleading statement.  How? The average person considers rape to be an "act of violence". Therefore, when they read Casteen's press release they believe that rape is not tolerated at UVA. However, since the University Staff views rape as a "thoughtless college sexual encounter", and not as an "act of violence" casteen & Company have, once again, snookered the media to avoid negative publicity. The University cannot provide statistics to support Casteen's remark. At a campus meeting held on 25 March 2004, the University publicly acknowledged (and was quoted in the Cavalier Daily) that no one found guilty of sexual assault during the previous five years had been suspended or expelled from the University. In contrast, 38 students were expelled for "honor" offenses such as cheating or stealing in 2003. As of late-2006, this statement continues to be accurate.  It is an unacceptable fact to learn that as the crime statistics for the number of reported rape and sexual assault cases continues to increase, not one person has been expelled from the University for committing acts of sexual assault at any time during the past seven years - even when found guilty by a Sexual Assault Board. For more facts, visit www.uvavictimsofrape.com

Are you kidding me?  Who is anyone to judge this woman if they haven't been through what she has been through?  Whatever "mix" you may think she is, if she is trying to fill a void, if this woman makes you "sick" or if "she is trying to accomplish" something through her interviews, she was raped.  No one can understand what this may feel like, unless they've been through it.  And what does any of the aforementioned have to do with this woman being raped.  Obviously if this man has come forward and confessed this brutal crime, it must be a crime that was pretty horrible for him to live with everyday.  Imagine what she has to live through everyday????

I feel so sorry for this woman, this woman who is so unable to forgive and move on.  She is now an adult.  She is no longer a child.  With the pasage of years, comes maturity.  I pity the world she will create for her daughter to grow up in. I hope she can find the counseling she needs.  

I applaud Liz for doing what she did. The others that have posts on this site may not have ever had a similar experience. They may have no idea how it can effect your life for ever. Not by the victims choice but by the nature of the act. No women ever wants to be a victim of such an act, and they don't necessarily wear it on their sleve but it will come back to you from time to time solicited or not. Our psyche's are fragile things and can plague us witj unwanted memories at any time. Once raped you never forget it and you never resolve the matter completely no matter what most people say.The most offensive part of being a victim of rape is that the victim is often accused of "leading him on" this is never a reason for any man/women to commit such a horrible injustice to another human. Do we accuse a child who has been sexualy assaulted? We do not. So why do we not believe an adult or adolescent who makes the same alogation?

I think she should have left well enough alone.  The man today is not the youth he had been 20 some years before.  He had been suffering all along for the rape.  He could not turn back the hands of time and change it.   A lot of horrible things happen to people.  We have to take measures to get over it ourselves.  The bell cannot be unrung.  The man did not have to apologize to her.  He did.  Even though she has suffered all these years for what he did, he had suffered too.  She faced him.  He admitted it, and he apologized.  She wanted to destroy him.  Bottom line, I think she was wrong.

I think this man should get life in prision..This was a horrible crime and the college didn;t even care enough about her... Keep him in prison for long long time.I can;t believe anyone would think she is doing this to write a book.  If she does.... its her life and he caused all of this pain for her...I am in her corner... God Bless her and her family

I had a similar incident happen when I was 14. I just tried to put it behind me but 40 years later I saw a movie that for some reason reminded me of it and I cried uncontrollably for hours, as though it had just happened. It has now been 50+ years and I am still trying to find the man online because I want to confront him.  Unless you have faced a situation like this, you just don't know how deeply it affects you.  Forgive him?  You've got to be kidding! Men who do that don't deserve forgiveness. For the people who say it's just a physical act; get on with your life - I say, I did get on with my life but it still eats at me and always will.  I was a helpless 90-pound little girl and he was a 220# 19-year-old football player. Forgive - no way!

Unforntunately for Liz, women who are raped or sexually abused tend to carry a heavy package until the emotions are placed in their safe vault. I understand as a sexually abused woman that you want revenge but revenge is not the answer. Her abuser came forward. He ask forgiveness and is remorseful. He carries his own load with guiltand shame. I feel Liz will not gain any relief from prosecuting this guy. Her relief will come when she places this pain in its' appropriate place.

I admire Liz's courage and determination.  She was a child at 17. How dare these men continue to this day raping these children 'just for fun' at frats all over America.  Thank you Liz for coming forward, and please continue the fight for your own daughter.  If this had happened to my daughter at 17 yrs. old, I'd have gone to jail for his murder.

The people that have attacked liz could not have possibly have lived through a rape. I was raped in 1966 and still have the same feelings she has. I had a very similar childhood and was violently attacked at the age of 17.  After all these years hearing her story set off the same emotions and made me cry.  I too believe the rape ruined my life. I became an alcoholic. I know about the step 9 and the book we try to live by says that we are even willing to go to jail to make restition. He just is not willing to take the full responsibility for his actions. It does not matter how long ago it was. He stole her life.

I am sickened by the above responses. This woman was raped by a criminal who essentially got away scot free and now she's being victimized by this blog. Shame on you. I admire her strength, tenacity and willingness to be dragged through the mud yet again. The rapist killed who she was and he should be in jail for murder -- alcoholic or not.

I am a 45 year old female, from a small southern town, and went to college in the early 80's like Liz.  Did anyone bother to ask her "WHY IN HELL WOULD YOU GO UPSTAIRS INTO A BOYS ROOM IN THE FIRST PLACE??  I don't buy the "she went on a house tour answer."  This woman had too much to drink, found herself in an "unladylike" situation, and cried victum...plain and simple.  I agree with the bloggers above...she wants to be in pictures!  

I applaud Liz's decision to persue her attacker.  It appears to be a good decision for her attacker also.  Perhaps both of them will find their life better for the decision she made.  I also think she is doing a very good thing to help other young women who have been raped.  Hooray for Liz!!

I really hope Ms. Liz Seccuro gets justice and that the rapist gets his punishment. Like she said, not everyone gets a second chance, but she did, and she should seek that opportunity to break the silence that haunted her and many other women who encountered similar nightmares. *Not only should Ms. Seccuro get justice from her alleged rapist, but for the mysterious drugged drink she was given. --

I don't think this is the same as being raped by a stranger in your own home.  This woman made a choice to go to a frat party (while admitting to knowing what they are like)she admits to underage drinking and then, quite unlike any responsible, intelligent 17 year old I know, agrees to go on a "tour" of the fraternity bedrooms.  Admittedly, she was sorry the next day, but note that she was not sorry enough to go to the police herself.  The guy was most likely drunk as a skunk and acted like his hormones ruled his senses, but at least he had the guts to admit his faults 22 years later.  It's time she woke up to her mistakes and did the same.  Get over what happened, forget about surfing and see a therapist and for heaven's sake, teach your daughter not to drink and tour the fraternity bedrooms in the middle of the night with strange men.

As a woman, I sympathize with Liz.  Her rape, and the lack of justice that followed back in 1984 are a shame.  However, bad things happen to everyone.  If you allow an experience such as this to affect your everyday life for 23 years, that's YOUR PROBLEM.  She should see the apology as closure, and be grateful.  The way she sought to entrap her attacker through his apology, as well as her bitterness are disgusting.  Through this experience, she has learned nothing.    

Even though I did not experience rape, I am an adult survivor of incest.  Anyone who has NOT experienced being sexually assaulted can not begin to understand the changes it immediately causes for the victim, sometimes for a lifetime.  Forgiveness does not make the anxiety, fear and mistrust of others go away.  If the man who did this had murdered someone, everyone would agree that he needed to "do the time for his crime".  Why would it be different for his crime of rape?  Shame on those of you who haven't walked in Liz shoes, but stand in judgement of her wanting him prosecuted now. Go Liz!