ICE ASSAULT

Scientist Convicted of Rape on Antarctic Expedition

The victim was attacked while resting in a tent.

A scientist has been convicted of raping a colleague during a 2019 Antarctic expedition. The Daily Mail reports that prosecutors said the Chilean man—whose identity, like the victim’s, is sealed—assaulted the Frenchwoman while they were “resting in a tent” amid “extreme” conditions during a doctoral field project. The alleged assault took place on Byers Peninsula, a mainly ice-free peninsula at the west end of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Sentencing is set for Oct. 3 in Punta Arenas, with rape punishable under Chilean law by three to 15 years in prison. The case comes amid mounting evidence of a toxic culture on the ice. A 2022 U.S. National Science Foundation survey found 72 percent of women said harassment was a problem at McMurdo, and 59 percent reported experiencing harassment or assault.