The light-rail rape was an unsettling story, even before the latest developments.

Back in October, while a woman she was waiting for the train at the Nursery Road station, she told police that a stranger dragged her at gunpoint into the woods and raped her. Unfortunately for everyone (except for the rapist), only the second half of her story was true.

As we found out on Friday when the case came to a courtroom, the woman actually met the man a short time prior to the reported rape at the light rail stop. They went to buy beer together and were caught holding hands by the store’s surveillance tape. The extra chapter to this story allowed Eugene Waller to avoid first-degree rape charges and a possible life sentence. Now he faces a maximum of 20 years for a second-degree rape conviction. Waller will be sentenced tomorrow.

Legalese is not my first language, but it seems like the difference between first-degree and second-degree rape is an element of fear. The fact remains that this woman was raped repeatedly by Waller. She was only able to escape by diving naked into the Patapsco River and flagging down a passing motorist for help. No one should have to experience that — be it by a scary stranger or a trusted friend. The act is equally reprehensible either way.

The worst part of this story? You haven’t heard it yet. After Waller was released in 2003 for a rape conviction, he never registered as a sex offender, even though it was part of his sentence. He was convicted in August 2006 of indecent exposure and failing to register, at which time he was placed on unsupervised probation. Arrested again in December 2006 for indecent exposure, he remained free while awaiting trial because the district court’s computer crashed and they couldn’t look up his criminal history. This charge was eventually dropped because the victim wasn’t sure whether the crime occurred in the city or county. Six days after the dismissal was — you guessed it — the light-rail incident.

How was this man able to wander in and out of courtrooms for four years without ever being registered as a sex offender? And why do we even bother with this registry if it doesn’t work? (At least someone is looking for Pooh Bear.) I’m sure there are success stories attributed to it as well, but somebody needs to be taking steps against these unfortunate failings. The question is: who?

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