Silsbee, TX: The Town That Hates Rape Victims

The Sociological Images blog has an incredible article about the abuse being dished out to a teenage rape victim. You may know her as "the cheerleader who wouldn't" but that aspect - of a cheerleader who refused to cheer her rapist - is only part of the story.
Witnesses reported that they heard her screaming "Stop," found the door locked, and broke it down. When they entered the room, three of the four high school football players fled through a broken window. H. S. "was found half-clothed and crying under the pool table, saying she'd been raped." She said that Christian Rountree held her down, while Rakheem Bolton raped her.
H.S. had definitely had too much to drink at the party. She was literally staggering drunk. Far too drunk to give informed consent as to sex, according to Texas state law. But even so, even if you brush aside the issue of "informed consent" with regards to a drunk girl (i.e. the law), surely having to hold her down because she keeps screaming "stop" is a pretty clear-cut case of rape. And the football players obviously knew they were doing something wrong - why else would they flee the scene?
H.S. did the right thing. She went to the police and reported the crime. She stood up and took action, and the town of Silsbee (population 6,393) punished her for it.
The town of Silsbee has apparently judged H.S. to be a slut, and the football stars to be, well, football stars. You GUYS, football is IMPORTANT! And why would those nice boys rape that girl? They are football stars! They can have anyone they want!
Letters to H.S.' family, letters to the editor, and even articles in the newspaper itself supported the football players. The paper even ran an article grumbling about how much it cost the county to prosecute the charges. An unfounded rumor had it that H.S. was a slut, a rumor that only started after she was raped. Because any girl who was raped was asking for it. QED!
H.S. was kicked off the squad. The United State Court of Appeals sanctioned her, and ordered her family to pay the school district's $45,000 of legal fees.
I have to say, Silsbee isn't helping Texas' image right now. Want to help? Sign the petition at Change.org. And a journalist is encouraging people to help defray H.S.'s fees by sending one penny to the school district: