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SATI e-News: January 27, 2003
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In This
Issue: |
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Promising Practices: Message From
the Desk of SATI Training Director
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Atlanta
Police Chief Launches Inquiry into Hidden Reports, Handling of Rapes
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Atlanta Police Chief Richard
Pennington launched an investigation nearly two years after an
internal audit turned up 34 unreported rape cases, according to
the Atlanta Constitution. The investigation will evaluate
procedures, as well as the 34 unreported cases, only one of
which is believed to have resulted in an arrest. Police believe
that three cases are duplicates, but are expected to confirm
that as part of the investigation.
Deputy Chief C.B. Jackson, now retired, initiated the February
2001 audit after the Police Department received an anonymous
letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Constitution.
According to the Constitution, the letter claimed that
"200 or more" sex crimes had not been reported, and it
specifically implicated Jackson and Lt. Terrence Steele, who
then headed up sex crimes.
The audit took place while Steele still headed the department.
In November 2002 Steele was transferred to the Police
Department's corruption unit. Steele has since been shifted to
other duties in the office unrelated to corruption, after the
Atlanta Constitution questioned his connection to the hidden
rape reports through the whistleblower letter, of which
Pennington says he was unaware.
At the time of the 2001 audit, Jackson said all 34 cases were
investigated, according to the Associated Press. He said
he reassigned the cases to detectives for follow-up
investigation. Jackson said if detectives believed the victim
was lying, they put the report in the special file instead of
assigning a case number.
Pennington has named his Criminal Investigations Division head
to conduct the probe. It normally would be done by the PD's
Office of Professional Standards, but the head of that unit was
Steele's supervisor while he was assigned to sex crimes at the
time of the under- reporting. The investigation into the
unreported rapes is ongoing and as of yet there has been no
disciplinary action taken against the accused officers,
according to the Atlanta Constitution.
Sources:
"Rapes Go Unreported in Atlanta Police Department," Women and
Policing News Wire, December 19, 2002.
"Police Chief Starts Inquiry Into Rape Cases," Associated
Press Wire, December 3, 2002.
"Chief Starts Inquiry on Procedures in Sex Cases," Atlanta
Constitution, December 3, 2002.
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San
Diego City Attorney named to National Advisory Committee;
City Opens Innovative Domestic Violence Center |
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Attorney General John Ashcroft
welcomed San Diego City Attorney Casey Gwinn as one of 30
appointees to the National Advisory Committee on Violence
Against Women. The Attorney General re-chartered the Committee,
now in its eighth year, and charged it with the responsibility
of guiding the Departments of Justice and Health and Human
Services in developing promising practices and innovative
programs to prevent violence against women.
Ashcroft recognized Gwinn for his role in founding the
innovative Family Justice Center, which opened last October. The
Center is the shared vision of Gwinn and San Diego Police Chief
David Bejarano. It is a "one stop shop" for domestic violence
victims, grouping all specialized services into a centralized
location, and is thought to be the first such model in the
country.
The Center houses the entire Police Department's Domestic
Violence Unit (38) and its Prosecutorial Domestic Violence Unit
(31). In addition, an on-site Forensic Medical Unit operated by
Grossmont Hospital Sharp HealthCare will document and treat
victim injuries.
The Family Justice Center was featured last week on the
nationally syndicated Oprah Winfrey Show in a two-day series,
How To Stop Violence in the American Family. Gwinn was one
of the experts who appeared on the show. The Center's media
partners--Cox Communications, San Diego Business Journal,
KGTV/San Diego's 10 and Newsradio 600 KOGO--helped develop its
publicity campaign.
San Diego's Domestic Violence Unit has long been recognized as a
national model, and is partly attributed to the 70% drop in
domestic violence homicides in the city over the past ten years.
Gwinn headed the DV unit for ten years before being elected City
Attorney in 1996. The Unit is now run by Gael Strack. Both Gwinn
and Strack have been featured speakers at the last two
International Conferences on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault
and Stalking, and will appear at this year's conference as well,
April 23 - 25 in San Diego.
Sources:
Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroft at the Annual
Symposium on Domestic Violence, October 29, 2002.
Family Justice Center Web Site
Casey Gwinn bio
Gael Strack bio
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Judge
Vacates Conviction in Central Park Jogger Rape Case |
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It's now official. A Manhattan judge
vacated convictions of the five young men convicted in the 1989
attack of an investment banker in Central Park. The judge was
ruling on a recent motion filed by Manhattan district attorney
Robert M. Morgenthau and defense lawyers for the five men, which
was reported in the December issue of SATI e-News.
According to the New York Times, the decision vacates all
convictions against the young men in connection with the jogger
attack and a spree of robberies and assaults in the park that
night. All five men were teenagers at the time of the attack,
and now range in age from 28 to 30 years, after having completed
prison terms of 7 to 13 years for assault and related offenses.
There will not be a new trial.
The events which led to the surprising reversal unfolded over
the last twelve months, precipitated by the confession of
another man, Matias Reyes, a convicted murderer-rapist. DNA and
other evidence later confirmed Reyes' link to the crime.
The district attorney sought reversal of the convictions over
the apparent objections of the police department. According to
the New York Times, New York Police Commissioner Raymond
W. Kelly issued a statement after the ruling, which challenged
the credibility of Reyes's claim that he had acted alone. Kelly
also complained that the district attorney's office had denied
his detectives access to important evidence needed for the
department's own investigation.
More background on how the case evolved over the past year can
be found in last month's issue of SATI e-News:
http://www.mysati.com/enews/Dec2002/jogger.htm
Source:
"Judge Vacates Convictions in 1989 Central Park Jogger Case,"
New York Times, December 19, 2002.
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Max
Factor's Great-Grandson Jumps Bail During Trial;
Accused of Drugging Rape Victims with GHB |
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Facing life in prison if convicted,
39 year-old millionaire and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster jumped
bail during his criminal trial, and has been declared a
fugitive, being pursued nationally and internationally by the
FBI. Luster, who was under house arrest at his beach front home
when he disappeared on January 3, is facing 87 criminal counts,
including rape, sodomy and poisoning, according to the New
York Times Times.
The case surfaced in 2000 when a college student reported that
she had been raped at Luster's home. A search of his residence
by authorities uncovered a video depicting Luster's sexual
encounters with three women, ages 16 to 21, who appeared to be
asleep or unconscious. Luster claimed that the videos were
staged, and that they were feigning sleep. The women disputed
Luster's claim, testifying that they were unaware they were
being taped, according to the New York Times. Luster also
said that the women willingly ingested GHB (gamma
hydroxybutyrate). GHB has the effect of incapacitating victims,
sometimes leaving them with no memory of recent events.
Earlier in the trial Luster's lawyers negotiated down the bail
from $10 million to $1 million. Luster was on a 12-hour excused
absence from his residence at the time of his disappearance, so
authorities did not begin to search until he failed to report
back. Missing from his home were his dog, green sport utility
vehicle, and Indian artifacts collection. The dog was later
discovered at the home of his mother, who posted $700,000 of the
bail money, according to the New York Times.
The New York Times also reports that Luster had
negotiated the 12-hour absence to meet with his lawyers in Los
Angeles. Luster attorney Roger Jon Diamond disputed that Luster
is a fugitive, and he speculated in court that Luster could have
been abducted or involved in an accident, according to the
BBC News.
Authorities told the BBC News that Luster left behind
only cold-weather clothes, suggesting he may have fled to a warm
climate. Gary Auer, chief investigator for the Ventura County
district attorney's office, told the New York Times, "He's gone,
he has a lot of money and extensive contacts around the world."
"It might take time, but we'll find him, we usually do," Auer
concluded. Luster would be traveling without his passport, which
he was forced to surrender, leading authorities to believe he
may try to leave the country under a false identity.
The Ventura county judge decided to proceed with the trial in
Luster's absence, and the videotapes found in his home were
aired for the jurors. The Sacramento Bee reports that in
one video, Luster addressed the camera, while a 17-year-old girl
was snoring on a nearby bed: "Some people dream about Christmas,
Thanksgiving," he said. "I dream about this. A strawberry blond,
beautiful girl passed out on my bed and basically there for me
to do with whatever I chose."
The defense attempted to buttress its consent defense by
claiming that Luster is an aspiring pornography producer, and
that the women were acting as part of a script," according to
the New York Times. One of the videos that the defense
attorney played for the jury shows Tonja Doe having consensual
sex with Luster. According to the Ventura Star, Tonja
even acknowledges the camera at one point, asking if it is on.
Yet earlier in the trial she had stated that she never gave
Luster permission to tape their sex. The Ventura Star
reports that Tonja Doe's earlier testimony on the stand led
Luster to believe he was doomed. Superior Court Judge Ken Riley
had initially suppressed this particular videotape, but later
reversed his decision, unbeknownst to Luster, who had already
fled.
Diamond's closing arguments lasted nearly all day on Thursday,
January 16, before the jury was adjourned for deliberations. The
Ventura Star characterized it as "more like a comedy
routine, with jurors laughing at the attorney's charm." Diamond
tried to garner the jury's sympathy by pointing out that "we
lost our funding" since the defendant fled, again getting
laughs, according to the Star.
The Star further reports that Senior Deputy district
Attorney Maeve Fox called luster "a disgusting pig" who doesn't
care about anyone but himself, including the jury. By fleeing,
"Mr. Luster . . . has basically given you the finger," Fox
stated.
The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for a full day
on Friday before recessing for the long holiday weekend,
according to the Los Angeles Times. They will resume
deliberations on Tuesday, January 21.
Sources:
"Luster jurors in weekend recess," Los Angeles Times,
January 18, 2003.
"Luster's lawyer spends day summing up; Women's tales attacked,
deliberations next," The Ventura Star, January 17, 2003.
"Cosmetics heir's lawyer says women knew they were taking drug,"
Sacramento Bee, January 16, 2003.
"Cosmetics heir is missing as his rape trial proceeds," New
York Times, January 8, 2003.
"Global hunt for Max Factor 'fugitive,'" BBC News,
January 8, 2003.
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Ohio
County Wins First Surreptitious GHB Drugging Rape Conviction |
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Stark County prosecutors last week
successfully convicted 27-year old William J. Lilley, an
Alliance resident, of rape and sexual battery. Common Pleas
Judge Charles E. Brown Jr. handed down the maximum sentence of
ten years in prison. He also found Lilley to be a sexual
predator, requiring him to register his address with local
authorities for the rest of his life, according to the Canton
Repository.
The 27 year-old victim began vomiting and passed out while
partying with a few friends at a local residence. She was
unconscious for five hours, awaking once to a hazy recollection
of one of the men raping her, according to the Canton Rep.
After regaining consciousness, the victim called the police and
immediately went to the hospital, where tests showed she had a
near-lethal amount of GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate). However, the
lab tests were not admitted as evidence, due to questions about
the chain of custody. The prosecutor won the case in spite of
this significant set-back. The defense is appealing the verdict.
The case is believed to be the first time in Stark County that
GHB has been documented in a rape victim who unknowingly
consumed the drug, according to the Canton Rep. Assistant
Stark County prosecutor Jennifer Dave told the Canton Rep
that the woman took the right steps by contacting authorities
and going to the hospital immediately.
The victim told the Canton Rep that her life has changed,
she suffers panic attacks, nightmares, and lost 60 pounds. She
encouraged other women to come forward and report: "Do it. Be
strong, because they're going to do it to someone else, and
they'll think they can get away with it."
In a recent email from the victim that was forwarded to SATI,
the victim said, "I knew something was not right because I only
had a few drinks . . . At that time I felt like someone hit me
in the head with a sledge hammer . . . " The victim further
stated that she was told at the hospital that the amount of GHB
in her system would probably have killed her if she had had been
lighter in body weight at the time.
Source:
"Alliance Man Gets 10 Years in Rape Case," Canton Repository,
January 18, 2003.
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Mass.
Crisis Center Safeguards Victim's Privacy at High Cost |
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The Women's Resource Center (WRC) in
Lawrence, Massachusetts has refused to comply with the order of
an Essex Superior Court judge who ordered them to release the
records of a rape victim to a defendant in a criminal case.
Starting January 31, the WRC faces a fine of $500 a day for
every day they fail to comply with the order, unless a judge at
the state Appeals Court or Supreme Judicial Court puts a hold on
the fine pending full appeal before January 31.
Wendy Murphy, the pro bono attorney representing the WRC, told
SATI e-News that, "there is a disturbing trend nationwide
of defense attorneys seeking and obtaining access to privileged
counseling files simply for the asking." Murphy noted that
recent studies and federal research studies have found that rape
reporting and prosecution rates will diminish if victims cannot
be promised meaningful confidentiality when they seek crisis
counseling in the aftermath of violence.
In her appeal, Murphy asked that the court suspend the
imposition of the fine until the full appellate court has had a
chance to rule. She also proposed that if the penalty is not
suspended, the court consider an alternative penalty, whereby
500 people will each serve one day in jail, until the appeal is
decided. This jail option would be imposed in lieu of the
$500/day fine. She submitted to the Court a list of 500
volunteers from around the country, as well as Canada and Puerto
Rico, who have agreed to serve a one-day sentence, according to
the Boston Herald.
Murphy calls the jail option the "Boston 500" plan and it has
already generated a buzz of media attention, including coverage
last Tuesday on CNN. Meanwhile, the board of the WRC is
considering their options in the event they lose their appeal
and are forced to pay the financial penalty, which they can ill
afford. WRC is a dual agency, providing both sexual assault and
domestic violence/shelter services for victims.
The practice of defense attorneys seeking rape victims' mental
health records is hardly limited to Massachusetts. According to
Murphy, defense attorneys all across the country regularly
demand access to victims' counseling and mental health records
so they can search through private files in the hope of finding
something that can be used to raise doubts about the victims'
credibility at trial. Defense attorneys also know that victims
sometimes walk away from criminal cases when forced to choose
between prosecution and privacy.
In the Massachusetts case, the Boston Herald reported
that defense attorneys learned that the 16 year-old girl had
visited the crisis center from her grandmother, who was
questioned by a private investigator hired by the defense.
According to Murphy, the grandmother did not realize that the
information she was disclosing was confidential, nor did she
know she had a right not to talk to the investigator.
Murphy told SATI e-News that many states have counseling
privileges that "look good on the books because the legislature
has passed a "privilege" statute or the courts have created a
"balancing" test that seems to demand respect for privacy
rights." "But in practice," Murphy adds, "it is commonplace to
see judges simply ignore confidentiality concerns and order
disclosure of personal information based on nothing more than
the defendant's request for access."
Murphy told e-News that, "this is increasingly the case
in Massachusetts and in other states because victims are
relatively voiceless in the criminal justice system. Victims are
not parties to criminal proceedings, they are not represented by
counsel and are not equipped to challenge unlawful court orders
and subpoenas for private files."
"Simply put, women rarely even know that they have privacy
rights, let alone, have the knowledge, ability or resources to
demand respect for their rights," Murphy concluded.
Two recent privacy battles in Utah led to favorable rulings for
the victim. The first case was State v. Damond Blake, in which
36 year-old Blake was charged with the 1998 second-degree felony
sexual abuse of a child for molesting his then-girlfriend's
12-year old daughter, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
In the Fall of 2002, the trial judge denied the request of
Blake's attorney for a hearing to inquire about the girl's
sexual history, and specifically whether she had made previous
allegations of abuse or had used drugs or alcohol. The defense
uncovered that the girl had a juvenile record for theft, and had
also obtained reports from the Division of Child and Family
Services, as well as school reports. The trial court judge
determined that the girl's mental health and other records were
privileged material not subject to discovery, as reported in the
Salt Lake Tribune.
The Utah Supreme Court came down on the side of victims' rights,
ruling in November 2002 that the defense could not sift through
mental health records seeking evidence of prior accusations of
sexual abuse or other evidence that could impugn the victim,
without a strong showing that some relevant evidence actually
exists, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Utah Attorney General's Office called it an important
victory for rape victims. "This [ruling] . . . . sends a strong
message that defense attorneys do not have the right to put
victims on trial," said Marian Decker, the assistant attorney
general who argued the state's case.
Two weeks later, the Utah Supreme Court issued a similar ruling,
this time in the case of an adult rape victim. The Court ruled
unanimously that records of conversations between adult rape
victims and crisis center counselors must be kept private and
cannot be opened by courts, according to the Salt Lake
Tribune. The Supreme Court based this ruling on an
interpretation of the state's Confidential Communications for
Sexual Assault Act.
Jamee Roberts, Executive Director of Salt Lake City's Rape
Recovery Center, welcomed the ruling. Roberts told the Salt
Lake Tribune, "Defense attorneys come up with this tactic
when they don't have anything else. There really isn't any
probative value to what is said between a client and a counselor
anyway. We are not there to believe or disbelieve--what we talk
about is emotional feeling, which isn't going to be provable in
a courtroom anyway."
Two years earlier, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center of North
Carolina was in the midst of a similar dispute when the District
Attorney reached a plea with the defendant. In an attempt to
prevent a similar conflict in the future, the crisis center
drafted and advanced legislation which provides qualified
protection for the records of rape victims. The legislation
(Session Law 2001-277) passed and became effective December
2001, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual
Assault..
"500 Would Go To Jail To Protect Alleged Rape Victim's Privacy,"
Boston Herald, January 15, 2003.
"Victims Lose Privacy when Court Releases DSS Records,"
Boston Herald, January 13, 2003.
"Rape Victim Records Ruled Off-Limits," Salt Lake Tribune,
December 11, 2002.
"A.G.
Wins Important Victory For Rape Victims," Office of the Utah
Attorney General, November 26, 2002
"Your
Privacy &Confidentiality," North Carolina Coalition Against
Sexual Assault
"Rape
Victim Mental Records Off-Limits," Salt Lake Tribune,
November 27, 2002
"Why are Defendants in Some States Getting Pretrial Access to
Victims' Therapy Records?" by Wendy Murphy, Sexual Assault
Report, July/August 2001, page 83.
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DNA News From Around the Country |
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States Test Limits for DNA Testing |
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European law enforcement officials
have already enjoyed nearly limitless access in requesting
suspects to submit to DNA testing. Suspects there have been
defined as broadly as men residing in a geographic location near
the crime scene, in one case testing as many as 16,400 men before
catching the perpetrator. U.S. law enforcement has been more
cautious. But some states are testing the limits. |
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Louisiana
Louisiana police recently cast a dragnet in the southern part of
the state, testing 800 men in search of a serial killer whose DNA
has been linked to the murders of three women. Shannon F. Kohler,
one of 15 men who balked when approached for a mouth swab, told
the Washington Post that police took a heavy hand, saying
that if he refused, they would get a court order, which could get
picked up in the media.
Kohler believed that other evidence, such as the size of the
prints left by the killer and his own phone bills that show he was
at home when the murders took place, should have cleared him from
the suspect list. Kohler was in fact approached by the media when
his name showed up in public court documents. A later DNA test
cleared Mr. Kohler, who is planning a civil suit. The killer did
not turn up among those tested and is still at large.
Meanwhile, Louisiana has yet to allocate any money at all to fund
post-conviction DNA testing for indigent prisoners, according to
The Advocate. The fund was established in 2001 by a state
law, which expires in 2005. State Senator Art Lentini, a
Republican and one of the bill's sponsor, told The Advocate
he estimates it would cost the state approximately $250,000 ($900
to $1,500 each) to provide testing to those who meet the narrow
legal requirements.
Sources:
"Police Dragnets for DNA Tests Draw Criticism," Washington Post,
January 4, 2003.
"Despite Law, DNA Test Fund Empty," The Advocate, December
13, 2002.
"BR Killer Strikes in Lafayette," The Advocate, December
24, 2002. |
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Virginia Collects DNA Profiles After Felony Arrests
At the beginning of this year, Virginia started collecting DNA
samples from anyone charged with a violent felony.
An instructional video developed by Virginia's division of
forensic science has been distributed to sheriff's departments
across the state, along with an instructional video, so the mouth
swabs can be collected upon booking.
The DNA profiles are then added to the state's database, and
compared against other DNA samples to identify previous criminal
history. Other states wait until conviction to input the profiles,
with the exception of Texas, which does so upon indictment on sex
offenses, according to the Washington Post.
The practice in Virginia is the result of a law passed last year
by the state legislature. The Virginia law provides that arrestee
DNA data is later expunged and the sample destroyed if the person
is acquitted or if the charge is dismissed by a judge, according
to the Post. The law places the responsibility on the court
clerk in each jurisdiction to inform the state's forensic division
of the outcome of cases, for final disposition. Only DNA from
convicted criminals makes it to the National DNA Database, known
as CODIS.
The Virginia law is almost certain to face legal challenges.
Critics have already voiced concerns that DNA profiles could
remain in the system despite the lack of a conviction--for
instance, cases where the prosecutor decides not to pursue a
charge.
A New York City city-wide database of crime scene and suspect DNA
maintained by the medical examiner's (ME) office came under
challenge last November. A defendant in a Brooklyn rape case who
was compelled to give a DNA blood sample won a court order barring
the ME from placing it in the citywide DNA database, according to
the Post. The State Supreme Court went so far as to
speculate whether the mere existence of the database constitutes a
felony, also according to the Post. The basis for the
Supreme Court ruling was a 1994 New York state law preventing DNA
test results from being disclosed without the subject's consent.
The medical examiner's office is appealing the ruling.
Sources:
"VA. to Begin Taking DNA After Arrests For Felonies; Prosecutors,
Rights Activists Split on Database Expansion, " Washington
Post, January 1, 2003. |
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Forensic
DNA News From Around the Country |
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Two States Review Former Montana
Lab Director's Cases
Authorities in Montana and Washington are reviewing the work of
forensic scientist Arnold Melnikoff in dozens of cases, after FBI
tests proved the scientist had misidentified the hair samples,
which helped convict a man of raping an 8 year old girl 15 years
ago, according to the New York Times. Jimmy Ray Bromgard
was 18 years old when he was convicted in 1987, and was released
from prison in October of last year at age 33.
The six year-old victim ID was weak. According to county Attorney
Dennis Paxinos, in an interview with the Times, "When we
went through the trial in 1987, there was no evidence in the case
that would have convicted Jimmy. Then they came forward with the
hair."
According to the Times, Melnikoff then testified that the
chances that either set of hairs found at the scene were not those
of Mr. Bromgard were 1 in 100. Since head and pubic hairs look
different, "it's a multiplying effect, it would be 1 chance in
10,000." Melnikoff offered similar testimony in the case of
another Montana inmate, Chester Bauer, which is also being
challenged by Innocence Project attorneys. In a letter to
Montana's attorney general, Bromgard's attorneys said they
believed "Melnikoff simply made up those statistics."
The FBI's trace evidence, as reported in the Times,
concluded that both the head and pubic hair samples were
"microscopically dissimilar" to samples provided by Mr. Bromgard
at the time, and added that the head hair sample was similar to
that of the victim.
Melnikoff was the director of Montana's state crime laboratory for
almost two decades, and has been employed by the Washington State
Police for the past 13 years. According to the Times,
Melnikoff testified in the Bromgard trial that he had done more
than 700 analyses of head hair in criminal cases.
Barry Logan, director of Washington's Forensic Laboratory Services
Bureau, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer that
Melnikoff began a hair proficiency course in 1991 in Washington
state, but did not successfully complete it.
Melnikoff's attorney, Rocky Trepiedi, told the Seattle P-I
that Melnikoff has never taken a hair proficiency test in
Washington state, nor has he done any hair testing in the state.
Sources:
"State Forensic Scientist Says Criticism is Unfair," Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, January 4, 2003.
"Two States to Review Lab Work of Expert Who Erred on ID," New
York Times, December 19, 2002.
"Lab Worker's Cases Reviewed After Montana Testimony Questioned,"
The Associated Press State & Local Wire, December 17, 2002.
"Reopened rape case dogs crime lab worker," Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, October 11, 2002.
"DNA Will Let a Montana Man Put Prison Behind Him, But Questions
Linger," New York Times, October 1, 2002. |
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The following news summaries in this
section are reprinted with permission from the DNA Legislation
& News, published by Smith Alling Lane, a government affairs
firm that provides nationwide governmental affairs services to
Applied Biosystems:
http://www.dnaresource.com. (Note: Headlines added.) |
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Judge Admits DNA Evidence Linking
Accused Serial Rapist, Erroneously Obtained; Suspect is First Case
to Test John Doe Warrants
In California, a judge has
ruled that prosecutors may use DNA from a suspected serial rapist
at trial even though the evidence was wrongly obtained and entered
into a state-run criminal database. The decision, upholding key
evidence linking the defendant to a series of 1994 rapes, is
believed to be the nation's first case in which a trial judge
allowed a case to proceed based on erroneously obtained DNA
evidence. Prosecutors conceded that the defendant's profile was
wrongly entered into the databank for his previous convictions of
being in possession of stolen property and assault, which was not
a qualifying offense in California. But authorities say it was a
good faith mistake. Last year, the California Supreme Court
declined to dismiss the charges against the [same] defendant,
[Paul Robinson], who was the nation's first suspect arrested under
[a John Doe warrant.]
Original source: "Judge
Admits DNA Evidence Linking accused Serial Rapist," The
Associated Press State & Local Wire, December 11, 2002. |
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Inmate, Raped by Corrections
Officer, Collects DNA Evidence
In Texas, the ACLU filed a lawsuit over a prisoner rape charging
that a corrections officer who repeatedly raped a 22-year-old man
was not punished until after the prisoner provided DNA evidence of
the assaults. After the first attack in October, 2001, the inmate
secretly collected the guard's semen on a handkerchief and mailed
it to the United States Attorney's Office in Houston. A Texas
prison prosecutor confirmed that testing conducted on the sample
linked the accused officer to the assaults.
Original source: "ACLU
Suit: Inmate Collected DNA From CO Who Raped Him," Corrections
Professional, December 16, 2002. |
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Oklahoma's
Statute of Limitations Law Withstands First Test
An Oklahoma law enacted in 2002 removed the statute of limitations
for sex crimes under certain conditions, such as introduction of
new DNA evidence. That new law recently withstood the first of
what will likely be multiple tests in court.
Original source:
"Statutes of Limitations Get Look," Tulsa World, December
22, 2002. |
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Washington State Opens New,
High-Tech Crime Lab
In Washington state, leaders say a new $13 million crime
laboratory will lead to much quicker processing of forensic
evidence in rape and homicide investigations. Located in south
Seattle, the new lab has six examination rooms, 3,000 square feet
of evidence storage, room for 56 scientists and a $22 million
annual budget. It will be used to handle DNA typing, chemical
analysis, ballistic testing of firearms, trace evidence
examinations and other tests.
Original Source: "New,
high tech state crime lab opened," The Associated Press State &
Local Wire, December 12, 2002.
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Promising
Practices: Message From the Desk of the SATI Training Director:
By Joanne Archambault, Founder and Training Director,
Sexual Assault Training & Investigations |
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I recently had the opportunity to
provide two full days of sexual assault investigation training
at Auburn University in Alabama. The university sponsored the
training, and the group was convened at the invitation of Paula
Carnahan MA, MBA, Services and Training Coordinator for the
university-based
Safe
Harbor Women's Center
What particularly struck me about my experience at Auburn was
that the audience was comprised of not only University
personnel, but also key members of the local community,
including municipal and county law enforcement, medical
personnel and the rape crisis community. Based on the
multi-disciplinary representation of the audience, it was
obvious to me as the presenter that this community is already
putting in a concerted effort to work together. In my
experience, Auburn is more the exception than the rule.
Although I have seen a lot of college campuses struggling to
create policies and procedures to deal with sexual assault and
harassment on campus, many have created systems closed to those
outside the campus community. Many students I've talked to feel
this mechanism only facilitates the tendency to hide sexual
assault on college campuses.
Auburn University has clearly taken a leadership role and has
been instrumental in creating a county-wide Sexual Assault
Response Team, (SART) including obtaining the equipment needed
to conduct the forensic examination. The training felt more
productive from my perspective, because the collaborative was
already in place, rather than being forced upon the group.
Paula's work and the administrators of the University are
commended for creating a true collaborative involving all
members of the local community.
In the course of my travels, I have been searching for a leader
among the institutional sexual assault groups, and clearly
Auburn is one of them. I encourage others to draw on Auburn's
model, and to contact Paula to find out how this might work in
your own community. Certainly there is no single formula or
magic bullet to create a successful collaboration. Personality
differences and preceding organizational history are only two
obstacles one might face. But when you consider the improved
services victims receive as a result of a strong collaborative
model, it is imperative that we find ways to overcome those
obstacles. Paula is reachable at
carnapa@groupwise1.duc.auburn.edu or by phone at
334/844-5123. |
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For a list of upcoming
conferences and training events, please view the
Training Schedule. |
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