Angela Rose[1][2] (born September 1, 1978) is an American activist known for helping other survivors heal from trauma. Her story of being kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Robert Koppa at age 17 in 1996 in Wauconda, Illinois has been widely publicized. She is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment.
Rose was kidnapped by Robert Koppa at knifepoint on July 13, 1996, from the Woodfield MallinSchaumburg, Illinois, where she worked when she was seventeen years old.[1] Rose was approached from behind and her assailant held a "sharp object" to her throat.[3] She was driven to a forest preserve in Wauconda, Illinois, where she was sexually assaulted.[3] After forcing her to change into a dress and sexually abusing her, he then allowed her to change back into her clothes.[3] Koppa then drove her to a rear stairwell of One Schaumburg Place and left her.[3] Rose then contacted mall security.[3] Rose and her parents contacted the police after she was released.[4] She later picked Koppa out of a police lineup, identifying him as her assailant.[3] On July 18, 1996, the police charged Koppa with "aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and armed violence."[5] Koppa was also suspected as being the perpetrator of several other similar crimes.[6] Koppa was on parole for murder when he kidnapped Rose.[7] Koppa was convicted on "four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of armed violence" in June 2000.[8] While the trial had been ongoing, Rose, along with other victims, had been circulating a petition to "urge legislators to get tough on sex offenders."[8] In 1998, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act.[9]
Rose has appeared on an episode of 48 Hours: Live To Tell called "I Remember Everything"[10] (aired October 21, 2014, on CBS), The Montel Williams Show, I Survived..., The John Walsh Show, and newscasts across the country promoting her organization PAVE. Rose has presented workshops[4][11] and given speeches at various conferences, military trainings,[12] and on college campuses[13] throughout the United States. In 2005, she was giving more than 100 speeches a year to high schools and college campuses.[14]
Rose founded PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment in 2001 when she was still a senior at the University of Wisconsin.[4][15] PAVE uses education and action to shatter the silence of sexual violence. PAVE's work has been illustrated on CNN and The Today Show. PAVE has created educational programming and tools as well as grassroots action campaigns. In 2002, PAVE produced a documentary called Transition to Survivor Parts 1 &2 in which sexual assault survivors tell their stories.[16] In the film, one woman talks about "blocking" her memories, becoming anorexic and self-harming. Another cries and talks of suicide. Eventually all the survivors went through counseling, friends, and family support.[17] PAVE's Survivor Justice Campaign aims to bring awareness to perceived acts of misconduct towards victims of sexual assault throughout the criminal justice process. The organization, PAVE, inspired the creation of a chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a men's sexual assault awareness group, Men Opposed to Sexual Assault (MOSA).[4]
In 2005, Rose released a CD-ROM called "Sexual Violence: It Can Happen to You," in order to help educate people about sexual violence.[14]
Through PAVE, Rose launched the Binding Project: Breaking Old Binds, Creating New Ties. The Binding Project is an international art empowerment campaign where participants write a word of empowerment on plastic zip ties, one to wear and one to send back to PAVE to be included in an installation art piece. This project was launched on the tenth anniversary of the day Rose was abducted. Zip ties were used to bind her hands behind her back when she was kidnapped.[18][19]
^ abElizabeth Neff (July 12, 2000). "Sex Offender's Sentence Fulfills One Victim's Vow". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Shortly after being abducted at knifepoint and forced into a car in the parking lot of Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, Angela Bartucci made a silent promise that has changed her life and countless other lives throughout the state. "I made a vow to myself that if I lived through this nightmare, whoever victimized me would never hurt anyone else," Bartucci told a hushed courtroom Tuesday in Rolling Meadows shortly before the man who sexually attacked her was given life in prison without parole.
^Elizabeth Neff (July 12, 2000). "Sex Offender's Sentence Fulfills One Victim's Vow". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Koppa was sentenced in 1983 to 30 years in prison for the murder, rape and kidnapping as part of a plea bargain. He served 13 years, and it was while he was on parole that he attacked Bartucci.
^Ford, Mary Ann (April 13, 2008). "Silent No More". The Pantagraph. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. and "Silent". The Pantagraph. April 13, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Scott Gaspari (October 18, 2001). "Sexual awareness examined". The Badger Herald. Retrieved January 18, 2015. UW senior Angela Bartucci, PAVE founder, said sexual-assault awareness is important on college campuses. "A survivor who does not tell anyone is much worse off in the long run," Bartucci said.
