Earlier this week, reports emerged that a family had been driven out of their home in Maryville, MO after the family’s daughter accused a star football player of rape. The story sounded all too familiar. A small town, a very young girl, too much alcohol, a rape captured on smartphones, and people in the community choosing to stand behind the accused rapist instead of the victim. An article published last Saturday in the Kansas City Star detailed how 14 year-old Daisy Coleman and her unnamed 13 year old friend were plied with alcohol and then raped, Daisy allegedly by local football star Matthew Barnett, and the anonymous friend by an unnamed assailant. After the rape, Daisy was left on her front porch barely conscious and dressed in only a t-shirt and sweatpants in freezing cold weather. Thankfully, her mother found her before it was too late.

What’s happened since then has been as bewildering as it has sadly familiar. While felony and misdemeanor charges were made against Matthew and his friends and Jordan Zech, who caught the rapes on camera, went on record to admit he had erased the videos, two months later the charges were dropped. Matthew’s grandfather, state representative Rex Barnett, insists that his political influence has nothing to do with this. It seems all those involved in the case know the truth about what happened but are unwilling to pursue it. Prosecuting attorney Robert Rice said what the boys did was reprehensible but not criminal. Maryville’s Sheriff Darren White has stated that the police did their job and the Colemans are “just going to have to get over it.”

Since then, things have gotten even worse for the Coleman family. Daisy has attempted suicide twice. The family had to move out of town after Mrs. Coleman, a veterinarian, was fired from her job for no apparent reason. Most disturbingly, the family’s house which was still up for sale has mysteriously burned to the ground, and investigators are saying they can’t figure out what started the fire.

As in Steubenville, internet hacker group Anonymous has gotten involved with this case. Again they are demanding that the police re-open their investigation and examine why, despite taped confessions and medical evidence, the boys involved in the case weren’t charged. They’ve already begun a Twitter storm with the hashtags #OpMaryville and #Justice4Daisy. And yet in almost every article I’ve read about Anonymous’ involvement, people seem worried that the group is too extreme. It’s feared that this is vigilante justice and has been suggested that the groups is fighting fire with fire. I disagree. I believe Anonymous is acting on behalf of a very large part of society that is fed up. Each time I hear of another story like this I am sickened and disgusted. And I can guarantee that if I had the kind of computer knowledge that the hackers at Anonymous possess, I would be fucking shit up all around (perhaps un-enrolling Matthew Barnett from the university he currently attends as a football player, just a suggestion, guys). Anonymous isn’t being extreme. They aren’t being vigilantes. They are fighting for those of us who are sick of seeing young women betrayed by the police, justice system and their entire communities. They are fighting for the people who want to see rapists prosecuted, convicted and held responsible for their actions. Until something changes, groups like Anonymous will be taking on the burden of justice that is supposed to fall on the legal system, and I’m fine with that.