Woman raped at anti-bullying event speaks out to help others
DELAWARE – In the 21⁄ years since
2 she was raped at a party barn fundraiser to benefit anti-bullying efforts, Leah Arthur has endured – and achieved – a lot.
She graduated college, got married, had a baby girl, was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma American 2020 and is pursuing a law degree and acting career.
Her perseverance through the indignity and trauma of re-telling her story to
police, attorneys and a judge has now become, she said, a defining triumph.
Arthur, 22, hopes that Wednesday’s sentencing of her rapist is a turning point.
“So much good has taken place in my life. Unfortunately, even though I feel like I’ve grown and flourished in so many aspects, I’ve had an extremely difficult time with emotionally moving beyond this trauma,” Arthur told Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James P. Schuck.
The Dispatch does not typically identify victims of rape or sexual assault, but Arthur told the newspaper she wanted her name and photos made public so she may serve as a role model and advocate for other victims of rape to speak out.
A May 2018 beauty pageant and fundraiser at a Powell home was billed as an event to highlight the problem of teen bullying. But court testimony indicated that it devolved into an alcohol and drug-fueled party that ended with with Erik Schmelmer, 36, of Powell, leading her to a loft in a party barn.
Schmelmer, who owns a landscaping business, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, five years of community control and a lifetime of registering every 90 days as a sex offender. He was charged with rape and kidnapping and could have faced up to 22 years in prison if the sentencing ran consecutively.
Arthur, then 20, said the May 25, 2018 event was billed as a beauty pageant-fundraiser with comedians, music, aspiring teen contestants, public officials and an anti-bullying cause. She has said that Schmelmer and his circle of friends were using illegal drugs, including cocaine, and acting “creepy” before he led her to the unoccupied loft.
Schmelmer called the sex consensual. Arthur said it was not.
In tearful testimony, Arthur told Schuck how victim shaming, lack of trust and the effects of trauma have made her everyday interactions difficult and tinged with suspicion and mistrust.
“My trust in all people has dwindled and I no longer feel safe with even the most trustworthy of friends,” Arthur said. “I am afraid of all of the things you might imagine a rape victim being fearful of: running in the park alone, alley ways, parking garages. But more important, this rape caused a fear of people I never would have questioned.”
Attorney Gregg Slemmer said his client chose to waive a jury trial earlier this month and let Schuck rule from the bench. He asked that Schmelmer, who had previous arrests but no felony convictions, get the minimum three-year sentence.
Joel Walker, an assistant Delaware County prosecutor, asked for eight years, the maximum charge for the rape, noting that Schlemmer expressed regret, but not remorse and empathy, for his actions.
After the hearing he said that acquaintance rape is sadly the norm in rape cases.
“It is all too often the person you know who commits this kind of crime,” Walker said. Arthur was a friend of Schmelmer’s ex-wife and was a mentor to the Schmelmers’ daughter.
The courtroom was packed with friends and relatives from both sides, including Arthur’s parents and two sisters, many wiping away tears as she spoke.
Arthur, now living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and offered full scholarships to several law schools, said the brief moments alone with her assailant will haunt her.
“I know that I will carry these side effects with me for the rest of my life.”
She said she tried to pray for Schmelmer. “I pray that he never has to hold his daughter’s hand on the way from the hospital after she was raped, like my dad held mine.”
When it was his turn to address the judge, Schmelmer, speaking by video from the county jail in an orange jumpsuit, tried to take responsibility and show remorse to Arthur.
“I cried today for you, for what I caused, for your closure,” he said, haltingly between sobs.
“There is no honor here, no ego here, no pride here. There’s a broken man who has lost everything, and I know that doesn’t amount to what you are going through.
“Her loss of trust is 100% my fault,” Schmelmer said, weeping.
“I forgot my first role of being a father. And that’s to protect like a father.”
Schuck said the case was the most difficult he has faced in Delaware and hopes for “redemption, that something good comes out of this, from both sides.”
After the sentencing, Arthur told The Dispatch in a phone interview from her mother’s home in Madison County that she is relieved the ordeal is over.
“All in all, I think he got a fair sentence,” she said.
“I hope that he gets what he needs out of his prison sentence and that this never happens to another woman at the hands of Erik Schmelmer,” Arthur said.
“I think I got a lot of closure when the judge went through his very detailed verdict ... that he knew what happened and believed what happened.” dnarciso@gannett.com @Deannarciso