Wondrous things cross my mind from time to time, actually often, you should visit.
If you happen to come across a member of your preferred gender who is actually tied up, but seems of sound mind (and is for the point of this is legally of sound mind):
1 - do you have any obligation to release them?
2 - If they request being released does you have any obligation to release them?
3 - If 1 and 2 are no, and you engage in sexual intercourse, which they do not object to is that OK (legally) ?
4 - what is your obligation legally in finding someone such restrained?
ObJoke - Cowboy comes across a burning Conestoga wagon, and a woman is staked out naked nearby. “Oh, sir!” she cried, “Help me! Bandits killed my husband, took my children and our valuables, burned everything else, raped me and left me staked out here to die!”
The cowboy got off his horse and walked over to her. “Well, ma’am,” he said, unbuckling his pants, “Shore looks like this ain’t your lucky day.”
I think a case could be made that you have a legal/civil obligation to free them or at least call police or emergency assistance, and that to do otherwise would open you to civil action and possibly criminal endangerment prosecution. But I am neither a lawyer nor a cowboy. 3 is some kind of pervert’s dream, IMHO.
I think there was a thread on fourchan that started with “you find a naked woman, raped and tied up in the middle of the woods. What do you do?” The first response was "turn around, I’m walking in circles.’
I’m assuming the OP has initially asked the woman what she wants, or she has already asked for help. If she says that she’s perfectly fine being naked and tied up in the middle of nowhere, and “appears of sound mind” as the OP indicated, then you should feel no moral obligation to free her.
Many nations have “Duty To Render Aid” laws which obligate a passerby to help in any way that does not put themselves in danger. AFAIK, no such law exists in the United States, at least at the federal level – states and municipalities may have such laws on the books. This was a gigantic issue in the death of Lady Diana, where the paparazzi were technically guilty of violating that law (but I don’t think they were ever charged.) This was also an issue in the case of Jeremy Strohmeyer, whose best friend David Cash witnessed him raping and murdering a little girl in a Las Vegas casino bathroom. Cash walked away and told no one, and even told the media after Strohmeyer’s arrest something along the lines of, “It didn’t affect me personally, so why should I get involved?”
Bottom line is, regarding (1) and (2) there may be no legal obligation to help her, but there certainly is a moral obligation. Unless, of course, your moral compass points in the other direction, in which case by all means walk away and never think twice about it.
Regarding (3), if a naked & bound woman is begging for help and you react by deciding to have your way with her, that’s clearly rape. Even if she doesn’t resist, her earlier distress clearly implies that she wants help and she does NOT want a stranger to force sex upon her. “But she didn’t tell me to stop!” is not a legitimate defense in a rape trial, at least not in this day & age.
(4) See my comment above regarding “Duty To Render Aid” laws.
If she asks to be released, then you must before you have sex with her. I’m assuming she makes no resistance to your efforts, so go for it. If she speaks truly with the cops, I think you’re safe. Sorry to sound sexist, but if men thought being tied up and naked would work, there would be a lot a tied up naked men around.
#1 and #2 are a no-brainer in my world. You release them.
And since [del]the obvious[/del] my answers to 1 and 2 are ‘yes’, #3 wouldn’t even come up. (No pun intended.) #4? IANAL, so I really don’t know/can’t answer, that one.
This is a weird situation and a weird question. And, considering the poster is one of a small cadre of 'Doper names that has a fairly clear role on this board for me… doubly weird (no offense, but the scenario is rather far outside my expectations of you).
Taking all of this literally, I would echo other posters in saying that I don’t know what the strict legal obligations (if any) would be, and the situation is unusual enough that I wouldn’t be very concerned with considering “obligation” from any particular moral or ethical framework.
I would have a lot of questions, to be sure, and I would be strongly inclined to not only free the person, but also to provide assistance in getting them into a safe and healthy situation. However, my actions in such a situation would be tempered by whatever information was provided in response to my questions.
The phrase “and you engage in sexual intercourse” is just wrong, because that would never happen, if I were in any way able to prevent it. For all that such a woman appears to be “of sound mind”, I am not about to involve my penis in any situation so bizarre and random as this.
But I wonder if there is meant to be a metaphorical understanding of this scenario. That would change things, more than a little.
It’s hard to think a way to justify even remotely considering doing anything remotely sexual with a strange woman you find tied up. Even if the words out of her mouth are something along the lines of “please rape me”, well, not only is this not a place you want to be putting your penis, but duress is involved.
Frankly, this is the kind of situation where if you carry a gun, you better be checking to make sure it’s ready to use. In the movies, the moment you bend down to free her is when the crazed axe murderer is going to jump out of the shadows to kill you. Someone tied her up, and he may still be around.
Now, if you professionally save her, giving her a ride to safety, and so forth, and she happens to be a beautiful woman, well. It would be nice if she were to eventually repay you for saving her, but that’s just not how it usually works. Odds are she’ll reject you and go out with the next creepy guy who is likely to leave her tied up naked in the future. That’s just how it tends to go…
Same thing if you saved a girl from an abusive boyfriend. Unless you are also abusive, she’ll probably leave you…
A variation on the theme: You find a gorgeous, 16-year-old redhead washed up naked on the beach. She can’t talk and seems to have lost her memory, but she’s eternally grateful for your assistance and evidently adores you. What do you do?*
*That’s right; I just described Disney’s The Little Mermaid. :eek: