When Joshua M. Elster '00 pleaded guilty to rape and assault last Wednesday in Middlesex Superior Court after months of asserting his innocence, details of the rape that were once only known by the victim and her aggressor became public.

The victim, who once struggled privately about whether to enter the criminal court, found her decisions brought before the court of public opinion.

Many Harvard students questioned the sentence assigned to the defendant by the judge--three years probation, during which Elster must stay away from Harvard and the victim--and some questioned the victim's part in deciding not to take the case to court.

While some Harvard students may wonder if the victim should be allowed to encourage an agreement with the defendant out of court, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts strongly defends its policy of putting control in the victim's hands.

And campus leaders and heads of rape awareness groups applauded the court's decisions, asserting that the victim, not the community, had been wronged.

On the night of Jan. 29, after the victim was struck across the face and raped, her suitemates found her crying in the bathroom and took her to University Health Services (UHS). She reported the crime to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) and then decided to press charges.

A grand jury indicted Elster on Feb. 19 on three counts of rape, two counts of assault and battery and one count of indecent assault and battery.

Details of the case remained private as both sides prepared for trial on Sept. 9. But before the case ever reached trial, both sides had negotiated an agreement.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas F. O'Reilly told The Crimson that the victim and her family began about three weeks ago to consider alternatives to testifying and to making the details of the case public.

"She wanted the defendant to admit he did it and leave her alone and stay away from Harvard," O'Reilly said in court Wednesday. "This young lady wants to get on with her life and finish her education. This is why the complainant has accepted this recommendation."

According to most campus leaders, the case reached the fairest conclusion possible for the victim, regardless of the sentence.

"I think what's important here is what the survivor of the rape wanted and that she had the courage to go this far," said Radcliffe Union of Students Co-President Stacy M. Abder '99. "She's an example to women on campus."

Micah S. Myers '00, co-director of the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard, said the assistant district attorney has a duty to bring a rapist to justice but is in reality "dependent on the victim's desire to go forward."

Court officials confirmed that the victim made the decision not to pursue the caseto trial. In the eyes of the law, the victim hasthe right to demand privacy and to stopprosecution at any point, said Lucy Murray-Brown,victim witness advisor to the Middlesex CountyDistrict Attorney's Office.

"In this case, as in every case, [the victim's]feelings will be respected. She will always havecontrol over what happens," Murray-Brown said. "Wecan't go forward without a victim."

Murray-Brown said the decision by theprosecution and the victim to negotiate anagreement does not point to lack of evidence inthe prosecution's case.