The Efforts Behind A Rape Arrest

My town is outraged and broken after a girl was held by two boys and raped by a third in a stairwell in a high school. Parents want to know why they weren't informed of the assault, and what took so long for the alleged perpetrators to be arrested. The local paper has written multiple articles covering it. Facebook is lighting up with questions and accusations and letters to principals and the superintendent. Many plan to go to a school board meeting tomorrow night to voice their outrage and distrust in the school system. There are many, many things we do not know.

For seven years I was the sole counselor for a program that provided free counseling to child and adolescent victims of crime. Seventy five percent of the kids and teens that came through that program had an alleged sexual assault. My role was to be their counselor and advocate. I sat with many a victim questioning why this would happen to them. I've assured hundreds of girls their assault was not their fault. I went to multidisciplinary team meetings where we staffed every case of abuse or crime against children, and sat with law enforcement, DFCS, school social workers, and the children's advocacy center as we brainstormed what more we could do. I want you to know I do not take this lightly.

There are many things we do not know about this case. I do not know the victim or the alleged perpetrator or any of the school administration that were involved (nor would I speak about this if I did). I do not know how much evidence was on the surveillance tape. I do not know if the alleged perpetrators were disciplined. I do not know if the victim was required to return to school with the alleged perpetrators before the arrests. I do not know if the culture of this school is one where kids feel safe. I do not know how many perpetrators go to that school without parents or the school knowing. I do not know if the police asked the school not to disclose to parents about the rape until after the investigation. But there are some things that I do know.

I do know that for there to be an arrest in this case many things were done right. 

For there to have been an arrest, the girl had to come forward to school personnel about the rape. That takes courage, and in many cases that means the victim thinks that someone at the school would believe her and take her claim seriously.  Many victims never report because they know they won't be believed.

For there to have been an arrest, the school had to follow child abuse protocol and report the rape to law enforcement. There have been reports that this particular school had not reported crimes to the police in the past, but this time they did. She likely sat in her school counselor's office telling her story while her counselor listened empathetically and walked her through the events that would next unfold. Then the counselor likely called and made a report to law enforcement. Believe it or not, sometimes this doesn't happen. The story could have ended there.

For there to have been an arrest, she had to have a forensic interview. That means once the school reported the rape to law enforcement, law enforcement deemed she needed a forensic interview, and someone from The Cottage children's advocacy center was contacted. They likely stopped what they were doing, came back to work, or stayed after hours, to interview her. A forensic interviewer who is trained to get and document evidence in a non-threatening and supportive environment sat with her and listened to her heartbreaking story, asking uncomfortable questions to get more information, and patiently waited while she formulated her answers. Law enforcement and a DFCS caseworker watched through a two way mirror, while another advocate from the Cottage interviewed her parent. After the interview, both Cottage employees would write a detailed report to go with her taped interview to be given to law enforcement. This interview and report can take several days.

For there to have been an arrest, she likely also had a SANE exam, a physical exam provided by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE nurse) to retrieve physical evidence from her body. Whether or not she had a SANE exam would depend on how soon after the rape she reported it, and what the likelihood would be of physical evidence remaining in and on her body. The nurse would take photographs of her body, noting any bruising or injuries, before doing an internal exam to look for semen and internal physical trauma. Often these nurses stay long into the night to complete an exam that is time sensitive. Then they compose a report filled with pictures, diagrams, and a summary of their findings.

For there to have been an arrest, law enforcement had to have an open investigation. Clarke County police likely did a thorough investigation that included looking at the school security footage, combing the crime scene, watching the forensic interview, interviewing school personnel (and likely asking them not to speak about an active investigation to preserve the accurate memories of witnesses and not pollute them with hearsay), interviewing each alleged perpetrator individually, and reviewing reports from the Cottage staff and SANE nurse. Then once they'd collected all their evidence that pointed to the alleged perpetrators, they have to present it to the District Attorney's office to make sure it can be prosecuted. Unbelievably rape is a hard crime to prove, as even physical evidence can be waved off as consensual. If there is not enough evidence, they will be turned away to produce more, or police and the DA may decide there is enough evidence to arrest for a lessor charge but not rape. All this while working on multiple other open cases that all have an equal amount of urgency for the safety of the general public. As you know, many rape cases take months or years to get an arrest, and tragically many rapists are never arrested.

After all this, The Cottage is likely providing ongoing counseling for the victim and support to her family. Someone from the DA's office is likely letting them know of any court dates that the alleged perpetrators have, and what their rights as crime victims are. Another may be helping her write a victim impact statement to read in court if she would like, or prepping her for potential testimony.

The fact that this all happened within a month is a positive sign to me. It's one of the successes. This system is a complicated machine with many cogs, all of which must do their part to result in what everyone wants: safety for the victim, and justice for the perpetrator.

I think it's wonderful that people are outraged about this case. I wish people were outraged about EVERY sexual assault that ever happens, and I wish that outrage was directed toward perpetrators and a culture that reinforces that consent is a grey area. 

I agree that there are many questions that would be helpful to know the answers to. I also have questions about this case, and I would naturally be concerned if my kids were attending that school. I don't mean to minimize that aspect of this. But before we assume that this was an elaborate multi-agency cover up or another in a long series of failures to protect our kids, I'd also like to explore the idea that many of the people involved did exactly what they were supposed to. These are thankless jobs with low pay, few perks, and fewer thanks, and with all the intense community scrutiny for anyone involved in this case, I'm guessing this is a time when some thanks could really come in handy.