Althea Tibbs grappled with the effects and aftermath of rape in the explosive Season 3 premiere after she was brutally assaulted and violated by the new music teacher at Sparta High. She had an uneasy relationship with him from the outset and it culminated in the attack. Althea and Virgil are frustrated trying to bring the rapist to justice because the new district attorney Gerard Darnelle (Wilbur Fitzgerald) doesn't have enough evidence to prosecute the teacher. Althea was blindfolded during the attack, so she didn't see him but she recognized his voice, and the teacher's wife always provides him with an alibi. However, after being thoroughly excoriated by Gillespie for her complicity, she finally comes forward and implicates him. The teacher invaded Virgil and Althea's home during this and attempted to assault her again, but Althea bravely fought him off and he was subsequently arrested.