Question: “I was recently sexually assaulted by a man whom I’ve known for about a year. What are Buddhist beliefs on justice? Should I have him arrested and sent to jail. Even though he did something horribly wrong to me I dropped the charges because I don’t think it’s right to have someone possibly imprisoned and have everything taken away from them (he does have a family). Am I wrong for this? And also, how can I relieve myself of the mental and emotional pain that this putting on me?”
This is very situational. I will tell you a story my Teacher told me. My teacher is a Medical Doctor, he has had his practice for over 40 years. A few years ago he found out that one of his doctors has been stealing from the practice for several years, an amount reaching over $100,000. When he found out and confronted the doctor and asked why they did it, they replied “So I can pay off my house.” Of course the doctor was fired and reported to the medical board because that violates their code of conduct. But they were not arrested or charged.
My teacher did not report them to authorities because there was really no point. The act was done and the money was gone, no physical harm was done. No one’s karma affected but their own. So in this sense, Buddhists don’t think justice is necessary.
However, in your case, physical harm was done. Maybe not only to you, but also to others that you might not know about. Which is causing harm and trauma to so many people. If this was done to your sister or daughter and knowing others might be in danger, should no action be taken to stop it? It is our human duty to stop such violence. The person might have a family, but what if they are also being violated, harmed and abused as well? Do they deserve that?
I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. What you think is the right thing to do can only come from you. It is not selfish to put someone away that deserves it in order to save others.
In one of Buddha’s past lives when he was still a Bodhisattva, he was on a ship with 500 other merchants. Because he was a bodhisattva, he had the power of clairvoyance and knew that someone on the ship was planning on killing everyone and robbing them. Because of his great compassion, he knew he had to kill that person, even though the consequence was hell. But he did it anyway and killed the man in order to save everyone else. His consequence was hell, but because of his great merit and virtue, he immediately escaped hell and was reborn as a heavenly being.
Smile and be well!