The Mock Rape Trial, hosted by the Victims Research Center at Wilkes University, is designed to bring light to the support available to college students.

“Rapist or Roommate – You Decide” is the title of this year’s Mock Rape Trial hosted by the Victims Resource Center at King’s College.

The Mock Rape Trial is just one of the many events that are held during April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The event will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, in the Sheehy/Farmer rooms of the King’s College Campus Center. The event is free and open to the general public.

This will be the Victim Resource Center’s 35th annual mock rape trial. It will portray a typical victimization on a college campus.

“The VRC hopes that the Mock Rape Trial will demonstrate the support available to rape victims, make the public aware of the limited nature of evidence and testimony, illustrate the difficulty in establishing witness credibility and dramatize the responsibility of the jury to return a unanimous verdict based solely on the evidence offered,” Patrick Rushton, the VRC Outreach/Education Manager, said.

The students at Wilkes University have the opportunity to increase their knowledge about this growing issue.

“Attending this event and supporting the VRC, who works so hard to support victims of sexual assault, is a very informative opportunity,” Wilkes University sophomore Emily Ketterman said.

Professionals who donate their time to put on this dramatic presentation are from the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defenders, and the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.

The victim, defendant  and police witness are volunteers from the community. The jury is picked from the audience.

The Victims Resource Center provides confidential support to victims of crime in Luzerne, Wyoming and Carbon counties.