The Register has an article about a break in a two-year-old Cedar Rapids rape case:



"A man accused of sexual assault allegedly told the assault victim that he broke into her house two years ago because it was the only one with the lights on. Police say Anthony Hollen, 34, broke into the woman's home, tied her up and sexually assaulted her Nov. 18, 2002. He is awaiting trial on first-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary charges that could put him in prison for life. . . .



The woman, who is now 37, was alone in the house taking a shower that morning when she heard two loud bangs, apparently the sound of someone breaking into her back door. A man, wearing a black ski mask with holes for the eyes and the mouth, entered her bathroom. He had a knife, the woman said, and he tied her hands together and took her to the basement."



I can't tell you how much these stories sometimes creep me out.



If only she'd kept her lights off. If only she'd had someone else home. If only she'd heard the door open.



These thoughts flash involuntarily across your mind as you assimilate the information under the vast category of "things I can do to keep from being raped someday":



Don't walk around at night.

Don't accept drinks/rides from strangers or casual acquaintances. Don't leave a ground-floor window unlocked.

Don't wear anything too provocative.

Don't look like a target.

Don't forget your basic self-defense tactics.



Then you realize there really isn't too much you can do. You can't live your entire life on guard. It could all turn very ugly very quickly, and it won't be your fault. But you'll still wonder what would have happened if you had gone to bed instead of taking that shower.