Highland Park Student Arrested on Rape Charge
A Highland Park High School student was arrested Monday on a charge of sexual assault of a child.
Ryan Romo, 18, was taken into custody by University Park police after a girl told authorities he raped her Saturday night. The senior, who is an outfielder for the Highland Park Scots baseball team, was transferred Tuesday to the Dallas County jail, where he posted $100,000 bond.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the victim said she knew Romo only through school and ran into the baseball player at Saturday’s Ghostland Observatory show at the Palladium Ballroom. After the concert, she rode with him in a taxi to his Chevrolet Tahoe. He then drove them to the 3200 block of Stanford Avenue, where the assault occurred.
There, the affidavit states, the victim and Romo were kissing in the back seat when he moved forward with acts that made the victim uncomfortable. Despite the victim’s multiple pleas to stop, Romo raped the girl, the affidavit states.
He then drove her home, where her mother noticed something was wrong. After being asked what happened, the victim recalled Romo’s advances and said, “I said no, but he didn’t care.”
She was taken to Baylor Medical Center of Plano, where a rape kit was taken. According to the report, a nurse noted several abrasions on the victim’s body as well as other signs of abuse.
University Park investigators were able to record two conversations between the victim and Romo. In the first, he tells her, “I had fun. We should definitely hang out again.” He then makes remarks about purchasing the morning-after pill if the victim was really worried about being pregnant.
In the second recording, the victim tells Romo, “I just wish it didn’t happen like that,” and recalls how she had told him to stop and said no.
Romo replies, “OK, you’re making me feel bad. Wow.”
Romo is the son of Adam Romo, the chief executive officer of Eatzi’s Market & Bakery. Attempts to reach the family were not returned.
79 comments to "Highland Park Student Arrested on Rape Charge"
As for the boy, let us all remind our community’s young men that NO ALWAYS MEANS “NO”.
With the internet this boy’s name even if he is innocent will always be associated with the accusation of this crime.
Granted any 18 year old boy or older in today’s world better make sure he knows the age of his partner, because no matter what he is 18 (I’m assuming the defendant is younger) and that could be a crime depending on her age.
This is just a tragic event for both parties and I’m sure fueled by alcohol.
Any girl I know wouldn’t make this up- why drag herself and her family through an absolutely embarrassing / emotional/ intensely revealing public spectacle unless it is true???
Let me be clear: I am NOT saying the female is lying. I do not know. But the question has been posed above, “Why would a female claim rape, and submit to such scrutiny, if it did not really occur?” I can illustrate at least one possible reason why with a story from my own family. A cousin of mine, much younger than me, had a few drinks at a party while she was in high school and had sex with a classmate. When she got home that night, instead of making it straight to her bedroom as she usually did, she was confronted by her dad and stepmom waiting up for her. Her clothes, hair, and makeup were in disarray, etc., but she had not previously admitted to her parents that she was sexually active. So, to explain her appearance and condition, she admitted to having had sex, but told her glaring dad that it had been against her will.
Long story short, police were called, statements were taken, names were dragged through the mud, etc. for about three to four weeks. But it soon became clear, based especially on testimony from several of her own girlfriends who had been at the party, that not only had she been a consensual participant in the sexual activity, but that she and the male had had sex many times before, and they were sort of a known “couple,” kept secret from her parents. My cousin then admitted the story had been false, and said that if she had made it to her bedroom that night without being confronted by her dad, she’d never have made up the story. (Almost as if it were her dad’s fault for waiting up.) But she did make it up, and it snowballed, and she didn’t know how to stop it. Unfortunately, she did a lot of damage to a lot of people. Not to mention damage of the “crying wolf” variety, that true victims bear.
Now, does this little anecdote mean the female in the original post is lying? NO IT DOES NOT. I’m just saying it’s possible.
I grew up in the HPISD, and when I was a 16, 17, and 18 year old male, guess what? I was having consensual sex with 16, 17, and 18 year-old females. Am I proud of that? I am not. Do I think it was a particularly wise or responsible thing to do, in retrospect? I do not. My point is, it happens, whether we want to think it does or not. I was also an honor student, and a kid who never did any sort of drugs (not some sort of sex-crazed, fringe oddball). It’s terrifying to think that if a girl I’d been involved with had decided to claim sex between us had been anything other than consensual, for WHATEVER reason, my life could have been ruined.
One more thing to think about: My first sexual experience, at age 16, was against my will. I repeatedly said no. I admit, I was attracted to the girl physically, but I was in love with someone else. But the girl would not stop. Part of my body reacted in a way I couldn’t “countermand,” and she took advantage of the situation while I laid back, unhappy about it. I am unhappy about it to this day. Was I raped? Is it even possible for a male to be raped? I know it sounds ridiculous. I guess it depends on whom you ask. No one ever asked me how I felt about it, that’s for sure. I was a male, so everyone assumed I loved it. And I honestly don’t think the girl understood how much I didn’t want to proceed. All I know is that mentally and spiritually I didn’t want it to happen, and thinking about it makes my stomach hurt all these years later. What was going through my head at the time was that if I physically asserted myself (grabbed her and and physically pushed her off of me, etc.), and left a single mark or bruise on her in the process, I’d be setting myself up as being viewed as an aggressor/assailant. Because let’s face it, who’d believe a 16-year-old male claiming he was RESISTING sex with a pretty girl?
My point? YOU NEVER KNOW, people. Appearances can be deceiving. Don’t rush to judgment.
I do have a problem with publishing the names of ALLEGED rapists. Just really hard to put that jeanie back in the bottle.
I can already see the EDS defense, the girl had it coming. HP has become nothing more than a suicide infested, money and status seeking community. I am so glad I do not live their anymore
Its good to know that if you are out past midnight and a high school girl you are fair game for a sexual assualt or if you kiss a boy you have it coming. I will make sure to remind my teenage daughter to avoid the park cities after dark. Plus, I really hope that Scots Mom is just a moniker. To think that you are actually a mother makes me want to throw up.
It’s easy to see why Highland Park is so Republican.
“She was out late”, “she drank”, “she got in the back seat with him”, “she has a short skirt on”, “she wanted it”, etc. Talk about a war on women!
No matter what the case, their attention is on the victim instead of the perpetrator. And it’s all wrapped up in a “Christian” philosophy about the purity (or lack thereof) of the woman/girl involved. That is directly related to the comments on here about why the young lady was out, why she got into a cab, why she got into the truck, why she got into the back seat.
It appears to that many people have the opinion that any one of those steps is a green light for sex.
FYI, I’m about to go into a couple of back-to-back meetings, so don’t expect any new comments for a few hours, regardless of content.
I guess I’m confused as to specifically when in a sequence of events has a girl given the official “okay” to have sex. Is it at the concert when maybe her friends have left and she agrees to a ride with a guy that she knows? By doing that is she saying “I’m yours for the rest of the night, do as you will”?
Or is it when they arrive at his car or house and she doesn’t immediately run to her own car, but instead goes inside? At that point is she officially saying “Yup, let’s do it!”?
Or is it when she gets in the backseat or maybe agrees to go to a bedroom? So just setting foot in another area of a car or house, is that the clear-cut signal that she is 100% ready for sexual intercourse?
It’s just stunning to me that so many people seem to – without a thought – make snap statements that just because a woman is in certain proximity to a man in a specific location then it apparently becomes 100% clear to everyone that she has agreed to have sex with him.
I think we as a community need to take a step back and think about what kind of message we are putting out there for young men and women. Just because a woman is wearing a low cut dress, or has had a drink, or has accepted a ride home does not automatically make it okay for a guy to have sex with her. Or for US to think she is some kind of floozy or is “asking for it”.
She- the victim – SAID NO.
She – the victim – had signs of forceful and traumatic intercourse, proven by medical experts. Girls who want to have unprotected sex and are into it don’t show signs of physical trauma afterwards.
She – the victim – SAID NO TO SEX. Worth repeating again since it’s not getting through to your pea brain. Even though she said no after accepting the ride home and after getting into the back seat ( which is NOT the universal sign of wanting sex, despite what some crazies in this thread have suggested), SHE SAID NO!!! It doesn’t matter if it’s before or during sex, when one partner does not feel comfortable and wants to stop, a respectful and considerate human does not push on and proceed after hearing NO.
The fact that you- as a mother – say because “she didn’t fight him off” that her no didn’t matter is insulting to every rape victim.
The fact that you – as a mother – belittle her choice not to “get out of the car, simple as that” is insulting to the situation. Have you ever been in a traumatic situation? Fight or flight doesn’t always occur. Many times, the victim is paralyzed and simply cannot leave. Their bodies just shut down instead of fleeing. It doesn’t marginalize her saying NO.
I’m glad the you’ve talked with your daughters about “how to act and dress” and hope that prevents them from every being one of the 1 in 4 women who become victims of sexual assault. But you should know between your girls, there is a 50/50 shot of one of them being a victim. I sincerely pray that never happens or you will realize top late how insulting, ignorant, and demeaning your posts have been regarding this young rape victim. Girls do NOT ever “ask” or deserve to be raped – regardless of how they dress or act.
I find it stunning the justifications that people are coming up with on this.
This doesn’t mean the girl isn’t telling the truth, btw. Just wanted to add my only experience with this (thankfully) at that age.
Sadly, I’ve heard many moms and dads in HP say the same thing that ScotsMom said. So it’s no wonder that their kids mimic that behaviour. The “Free Ryan Romo” facebook page says it all. Maybe if the parents stop acting like they are in high school, and start protecting our kids, we can teach them something.
Somebody asked a question about the laws in TX. I went and looked. If a minor over 15 has consensual sex with an adult within 4 years their age, the older may still be charged with a criminal offense like statutory rape, but they might be able to escape having to register as a sex offender. This is a pretty significant change in the law. The registration is also potentially retro-active. So if somebody was already on the sex offender registry for such a charge, they can petition to be removed.
I don’t know the characters of either parties involved, so I have no opinion on guilt or innocence. However, two young lives will be forever changed by their decisions. Hopefully their peers will use this as a learning moment. They will all go to college soon where the people they might get in cars with or go home with aren’t the kids that they’ve watched growing up & whose parents are minutes away. Those decisions could be exponentially more dangerous.
All these guys “taken advantage” of by the same lying “victims.” It’s like a trend or something.
Why can’t people just keep their mouths shut when they get raped?
Sometimes, and I don’t know how often (I hope very rarely), they get it wrong. The most spectacular example I can think of was in the Duke lacrosse case. The sexual assault nurse specialist at Duke University Medical Center examined the purported victim and found injuries consistent with sexual assault. It turned out she wasn’t raped at all, although it that case there still is some question whether the nurse deliberately falsified her findings to favor the alleged victim.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke-denies-wrongdoing-lax-cases
For some reason, I don’t actually believe that you are in fact a Dad of Daughters. If you are, god bless your daughters. Same ignorant logic as “why don’t the abused wives just leave their abusive husbands”.
I’m an adult now and most still blame me saying I should have run away or fought back or what was I doing out past midnight.
I was young and naive.
It was like being in a bad dream where I was saying no and then just froze in terror.
I had no idea that it was so easy to be raped. So fast. The clothes I had on were no barrier and were just easily pushed aside.
Sex was something that was so foreign to me.
Looking back, I was easy prey. Naive and young.
You idiots saying horrible things about this alleged victim are very efficiently building “a culture of rape and slut shaming in Highland Park” prosecution case.
Uh, hello, you stupid, Parkies. The Free Ryan Facebook Page is currently being screen captured by the DA’s office and some of Ryan’s “friend’s” nastiest comments about the alleged victim are going to read at Ryan’s trial. You can bet on it. Way to do the DA’s job for them. Way to smash Ryan’s defense. Way to exercise your free speech you morons.
What is Slut Shaming? Here’s a ticket to the clue train, Parkies. All aboard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXH2K7OC37s
@A. Thank you for your comments. I think you represent reality, and I appreciate what you wrote.
I live in HP and my 3 daughters were born and raised here and went through the HPISD.
I do not appreciate the blame people are placing on the victim or the perpetrator, since none of us were in the car with the couple….as has been said many times.
I do wish that the victim knew that if she didn’t want to have sex with the guy, that she shouldn’t have put herself in that position (of getting in the back of the suv to lie down).
This does not put the blame on her, but it would help her to convict a rapist.
I hate that this whole scenario happened at all! But there is nothing new about any of this.
Consensual sex among minors and rape have been around since the beginning of time.
Parents who try to make things right for their children (whether by accusing a young man of rape when it did, or did not happen, or by claiming that their son had consensual sex with a girl) have been around as long as I can remember and have read about.
I do not appreciate the remarks of those who bash HPHS parents.
Overly involved parents and those who bail their children out of everything exists everywhere. The HPHS and other high schools everywhere, public and private, where the parents are successful and educated, are going to be involved, caring, and want the very best for their child. Having financial resources makes it easier, but it isnt necessary.
In other words there will always be mothers and fathers who take things to extremes regarding their children’s lives.
I’m sorry some feel the need to say that they’ve left the Park Cities and are glad they are gone. Something obviously upset them, but I doubt that they won’t find a similar situation in the schools their children go to.
For those who live outside the Park Cities; give it a rest! We read about ESD all last year. It’s everywhere! And it is at your school too!
My question is:
if the young victim is under age in the state of Texas, and Ryan is charged with rape, will he also be tagged as a sex offender?
People only show you the side of them that they want you to see.
There were only two people in the car that night.
They both have two different stories.
A judge and jury will have to figure out whose telling the truth.
“I do wish that the victim knew that if she didn’t want to have sex with the guy, that she shouldn’t have put herself in that position (of getting in the back of the suv to lie down).
I’m having trouble with what appears to be an opinion held by a heck of a lot of people (apparently both students AND parents) that somehow girls are “asking for it” by doing x,y, or z.
Many blame the victim for putting herself in a situation where she could be sexually assaulted. Just as important is that an adult, Romo, put himself in a situation where he was alone with a minor under he age of consent. Regardless of consent, this was a very poor decision that led to this awful outcome.
I am sure that Ryan wan’t even thinking of their age difference at the time and the ramifications of the age difference. I am not justifying his actions at all and fully believe he crossed the line in my opinion.
It may be a good time to visit with your teens and explain to them how a different set of laws is in place for them when they turn 18! They are then considered adults! Scary….
http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2011/Sep/342093.html
If I’m reading this wrong, feel free to correct me. I found this information multiple places on the web, but I also found a couple of news stories that seemed to be a little mixed up on the details.
Per SB198, Romo will not have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life if, and only if, age is the sole reason for the criminal case, even though he is within 4 years of the victim.
Maybe everybody could step back and not be judge and jury at this stage.
These laws are even more important in schools like HP where so many “athletes” have been held back as kids and are 19+ year old seniors. The old “we’re just kids” doesn’t apply anymore.
In terms of the comment about the UP police not putting someone into the county jail unless they are guilty, boy is that so not true. All it takes in Texas is two people swearing something happened and you can have anyone arrested. Certain persons have been very effective crying and lying on cue in order to have someone arrested. But, the truth ALWAYS comes out. Those who lie have lied before and will lie again and the evidence always proves out.
It’s incredibly sad that RRs name is thrown through the mud under the assumption of guilt, and that he cannot attend school, that his entire future will always be tainted by this.
I’m not saying this applies in this case although I will say I do not believe RR is a liar, and he certainly did not confess to any rape in the taped conversations by GI JOE detectives who “are sure they got him!” in the cases where a juvenile lies and is found later on to have lied that juvenile is generally not charged with a crime. And, in reality when adults do it they also are not charged, because the UP police then want to forget the entire case and the person accused is the one whose reputation is ruined, who has spent a fortune in legal fees while the lying accuser has nothing happen to him or her.
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