The story behind Sexual Assault
Lawrence Journal-World managing editor Dennis Anderson talks with reporters Shaun Hittle and Christine Metz about their work on the recent sexual assault series.
Sexual assaults and children
- It’s a reporting issue: Risk factors for abuse not easy to pinpoint
- Sexual abuse reports at Central not cause for alarm, district says
- Child sex predators not usually strangers: Family members, friends responsible for most assaults
- Cycle of abuse can be seen in families
- Signs of sexual assault
- How to help a child
- Who must report suspected abuse
Sexual Assaults in Lawrence: Not an uncommon crime
In the past five years, more than 450 adult sexual assaults have been reported in Lawrence. There's a rape in Lawrence every four days. Each case represents an instance where someone’s life has been irrevocably changed. LJWorld.com, the Lawrence Journal-World and 6News are taking a deeper look at what those numbers really mean.
When Amy McGowan talks about her years prosecuting child sex crimes, she recalls when she had to scramble to find a booster seat from a restaurant so a 3-year-old could testify on the witness stand.
“And, that was when I went, ‘Oh this is wrong,’” said McGowan, Douglas County chief assistant district attorney.
From the time a child has to tell his or her story in front of a team of investigators to when a final sentence is handed down by a judge, there are many faults in a system that is not designed for its youngest victims.
More could be done in Douglas County so that the process intended to bring justice on behalf of children doesn’t end up traumatizing them a second time, local community members said.
A Lawrence Journal-World/6News investigation found that in the past five years more than 200 cases of child sexual assault had been reported to the Lawrence Police Department.
“It’s not a child-friendly system. It isn’t at all. I feel for any family and any child that has to go through it,” McGowan said. “Do I encourage everybody to not take the law into their own hands and let us do what we need to do, absolutely. But, it’s just not built for it.”
A lack of services
Lawrence doesn’t have a medical provider who can do a forensic sexual assault exam on children age 14 and younger. The closest medical facilities are Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Mo., or Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center in Topeka.
That drive can be an added burden for a family that is already going through a stressful experience, said Pam Lawrence, GaDuGi SafeCenter coordinator of adult and child services.
Lawrence Memorial Hospital doesn’t see enough cases to do the exam, said hospital spokeswoman Belinda Rehmer. She noted that in 2008, the facility didn’t see anyone requesting such a service. Agencies where sexual assaults are reported, such as GaDuGi and police, refer clients elsewhere.
“It’s all about how many you see, and the more you see the better you are at what you are doing,” Rehmer said. “And, we really don’t want to make any mistakes in what we are doing.”
While signs of sexual assault are found in only around 5 percent of child cases, Lechelle Williams, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Mercy, said any child who has been victimized needs to have a medical exam. Even if the report is delayed, Williams said, medical professionals can test for infections and injuries.
Children’s Mercy has a specific clinic for abused and neglected children. The clinic has nurses who have completed a two-day training session as part of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner program. It also has doctors, nurse practitioners, social workers and child life specialists who are trained in areas focused on pediatrics and child abuse.
Regardless of how many children need the service, the Lawrence community should look at providing it, said Sarah Jane Russell, director of GaDuGi SafeCenter, a nonprofit agency that provides a 24-hour sexual assault hot line and helps shepherd survivors through the healing process.
“The issue is how serious are we about providing a continuum of care for victims of sexual assault, from children to adults,” she said.
Building a safe place
Before children are interviewed about a sexual assault, they must first wind their way through the intimidating world of a police station, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said.
“If we can put kids in a comfortable environment, we reduce their stress, which is important. We don’t want to put them through another traumatic event,” Branson said.
The police department does have a child interview room painted a welcoming shade of light blue and furnished with leather couches, a child-sized table, drawing pads and dolls. The department also has two designated juvenile officers who have received training on how to interview children.
“You have to have training so you don’t coerce anything out of them,” Lawrence Police Sgt. Bill Cory said. “They are very susceptible, especially to adult figures. And, there are certain ways to interview them to get the whole story as to what actually happened.”
The community has reduced the number of times a child has to talk about the abuse. If possible, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and the Lawrence Police Department work together to do a joint interview.
That interview is videotaped and can be reviewed by the D.A.’s office before determining whether charges should be filed. Medical examiners also interview the child about the assault.
“It can be very difficult and it’s not one social worker or detective alone,” said Phaedra Wade, who is the Douglas County Child and Family Services social work supervisor. “It’s a team effort. No one individual makes a decision as to what will happen.”
GaDuGi, the D.A.’s office and SRS have advocated for a child safety center that would provide a one-stop shop for abused or neglected children and their families. They envision a child-friendly environment where law enforcement officers, medical examiners and social agencies could be on-call 24 hours a day to respond to reports of abuse.
Such centers are scattered across the state in office buildings, donated homes and even a renovated RV.
“The services are being provided for kids in Douglas County; the question is how would those services look if they were under one roof,” Russell said. “And, if they were under one roof, would we get more reports?”
In 2007, GaDuGi SafeCenter and SRS received a one-time $28,000 planning grant. The money was used to train officers and staff, buy office equipment and create partnerships to form a child abuse response team. From that money, Russell said, memorandums of understanding were signed by law enforcement and social service agencies on how services would be provided at a safety center.
As of now, the project is stalled by a lack of funding for a building, support staff and operating expenses. The hope was to receive state money to open the center. But with the budget shortfalls, the state isn’t willing to pay for any new ones.
“We’re in the queue,” Russell said.
All or nothing
The legal process also has its shortcomings for child sexual assault victims. McGowan said that more stringent sentencing guidelines under Jessica’s Law have resulted in more children testifying in court.
Jessica’s Law, which is based on legislation passed in Florida, went into effect in 2006 in Kansas.
The law hands down a life sentence with parole eligibility after 25 years for anyone 18 years or older committing a sexual offense in which the victim is a child younger than 14. If released from jail, the offender has to register as a sex offender and be monitored for life. The sentence is the same penalty as for first-degree murder.
The offenses that come under Jessica’s Law range from child rape to attempting to fondle a 13-year-old girl. The judge can depart from Jessica’s Law if there are substantial or compelling reasons.
For the D.A.’s office, pressing charges for a child sex crime has become an all-or-nothing proposition, Branson said.
Few offenders are willing to plead guilty to charges that can bring 25 years in prison, and prosecutors don’t have any leeway in striking any other plea bargains. So, prosecutors must have evidence and witnesses they can take in front of jury, or they can’t press charges.
“We have to look at these cases and decide can we go all the way with this case and if for some reason we can’t go all the way with this case — sometimes you have a victim who is incapable of withstanding the trial process ... we may not be able to file,” Branson said. “Whereas before, we might have been able to run something through that could have put (the offender) on the books, that could have somehow had them identified.”
For those who do go to trial, the child has the burden of testifying in front of his or her offender.
“The thing that is detrimental about Jessica’s Law, no one is going to waive the preliminary hearing, no one is going to plead guilty, so that kid has to go through court two times,” McGowan said.
GaDuGi and the D.A.’s office work with children before they testify in court. But as in the case of the 3-year-old in need of a booster chair on the witness stand, the system is often ill-equipped to handle them.
“It tears everyone up,” Branson said.
Comments
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thinkagain (anonymous) says…
LJW - Maybe it is stated somewhere in the article but I think the photo tag should clarify if the dots are the actual location of the abuse, the address of the victim, the address of the offender, or the place where the report was made.
KSChick1 (anonymous) says…
the dots are the residences of registered offenders in Lawrence
justforfun (anonymous) says…
HHmmmm % of dots east of Iowa??? What does that tell ya?
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
No, they aren't, KS Chick1. Look at the key on the graphic.
Where you have addiction issues, you often find out-of-control sexual compulsions. Does anyone else notice how many dots are along Redbud Lane? Sex crimes are often linked to matters of addiction. Once again, we can see how our permissiveness toward drugs and alcohol has untold unwanted collateral effects.
I'm not saying "hemp causes sex crimes"; what I'm saying is that when people begin to lose control of themselves, that lack of self-control can take them in unexpected directions, to places they otherwise would not have gone if not for the chemical abuse.
jkealing (Jonathan Kealing) says…
thinkagain, KSChick1-
The dots are the locations where the abuse occurred, according to the Lawrence Police Department.
Jonathan Kealing
Online editor
Boston_Corbett (anonymous) says…
Lawrence doesn’t have a medical provider who can do a forensic sexual assault exam on children age 14 and younger. . .[the trip to Topeka or KC] . . That drive can be an added burden for a family
___________
Neither does the vast majority of Kansans... probably over 100 of the 105 Kansas Counties.
missmagoo (anonymous) says…
"Lawrence Memorial Hospital doesn’t see enough cases to do the exam, said hospital spokeswoman Belinda Rehmer. She noted that in 2008, the facility didn’t see anyone requesting such a service. Agencies where sexual assaults are reported, such as GaDuGi and police, refer clients elsewhere."
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one case is 'enough.'
Practicality (anonymous) says…
OldEnuf2BYurDad (Anonymous) says…
"Where you have addiction issues, you often find out-of-control sexual compulsions. Does anyone else notice how many dots are along Redbud Lane? Sex crimes are often linked to matters of addiction. Once again, we can see how our permissiveness toward drugs and alcohol has untold unwanted collateral effects."
Sadly, so true OldEnuf, and Lawrence's innocents are forced to bear some of the cost of these laissez faire attitudes by our local government and population.
hk45 (anonymous) says…
It is good to see the true nature of child abuse in Lawrence has been brought to the front page of the news. So many children are in the need of help and hopefully the funding will come soon for the center. It is needed.
LMH needs to do more for children who are victims of sexual abuse and be proactive in helping them.
staff04 (anonymous) says…
"HHmmmm % of dots east of Iowa??? What does that tell ya?"
Population concentration?
ally (anonymous) says…
Here's a link to a site that shows where predators live. http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi/offen...
kusp8 (anonymous) says…
"Boston_Corbett (Anonymous) says…
Lawrence doesn’t have a medical provider who can do a forensic sexual assault exam on children age 14 and younger…[the trip to Topeka or KC] . . That drive can be an added burden for a family
___________
Neither does the vast majority of Kansans… probably over 100 of the 105 Kansas Counties."
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BC, you're probably right, but I would like to know if towns of comparable size have the services or if they have to drive to a different town. I looked online and Manhattan and Salina are the closest in population, minus the KC suburbs. Does anybody know if they have the specialized services?
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
"The judge can depart from Jessica’s Law if there are substantial or compelling reasons."
There's the problem. There's a pathetic judge right here in Lawrence who loves to cut deals for men who rape children. There is no treatment for sex offenders. They should receive life without the possibility of parole. It's not like alcoholism or drug abuse. There is no recovery.
Jersey_Girl (anonymous) says…
LMH probably hasn't seen many case b/c the first thing the parents are going to do is call the police and the police already know that LMH doesn't provide that service, so they send the family to Topeka or KC. Perhaps the police need to give the stats to LMH so they are aware of the need.
Practicality (anonymous) says…
Logarithmic says, 6 April 2009 at 9:24 a.m.
“Complete and total lie.
Don't take your eye off the core issue by giving credence to such stupid ideas - offered of course, with no proof.
As is demonstrated in a sister article, the perpetrators tend to be friends and family, not some stranger. And I believe that perpetrators were often abused themselves as children.”
Logrithmic says this in response to a post by OldEnuf2BYurDad in which he said,
“Where you have addiction issues, you often find out-of-control sexual compulsions”
Logrithmic,
What is so hard to understand about this concept, oh King of the Loons?
Alcohol and Drug use lower inhibitions. If one is sexually aroused by little kids, but doesn’t act upon those impulses because of fear of legal ramifications or societal pressure, they have an increased likelihood to do so after drug or alcohol use caused by the lowered inhibitions. That is not to imply that ALL sexual abuse is caused by alcohol or drug use, just that the chances of the perpetrator committing the crime are increased with drugs and alcohol. The same goes with Sexual Assault against adult women. There is an increased chance of that occurring as well, when drugs or alcohol are involved due to the lowered inhibitions. I am not trying to say that the drugs or alcohol causes the deviant behavior, just that drugs and alcohol increase the likelihood of someone acting on the deviant behavior that was already there. But, maybe you do not know this because they didn’t cover it in the Marijuana Policy Project. Do you have any brain cells left functioning?
P.S. Kudos to the LJW for reporting on a problem that makes most people uncomfortable
Practicality (anonymous) says…
Logarithmic says, 6 April 2009
“Now, I will post a link that supports my claim that the abuser was usually abused him/her self as a kid:”
What the hell are you talking about here? Who is disputing this? I wasn’t! Nice pathetic attempt at trying to deflect the readers about what was actually posted though.
Logrithmic says,
“Please don't be fooled by the agenda of some to suggest that addiction to drugs and alcohol is the cause of child abuse. If that were the case, every nicotine or caffiene addict in town should seek counseling.”
This is absurd. I really think you are losing it buddy. Is there a link between nicotine or caffeine to lowered inhibitions?
“I will not deny that for some alcohol might play a role at the actual moment of the crime. But it is not the cause.” (logrithmic)
I noticed you left drugs of this statement with alcohol. Why is that? Do you have an agenda?
“People are addicted to many things - gambling for example. I doubt that there is any relationship between gambling addiction and child sexual abuse.” (Logrithmic)
Who said that there was? Again, stay focused loggy, your bad attempts at deflection and smoke screening the topic and issue are starting to wear thin.
“The sad part about this discuss is that it is being hijacked and derailed by people with an agenda.” (Logrithmic)
The only agenda here is trying to end sexual abuse of kids. What is your agenda?
Here is some proof for you though concerning the topic!
“Percent distribution of victimizations by perceived drug or alcohol use by offender”
“Perceived drug or alcohol use by offender of Sexual Assault”
“Total (Perceived to be under the influence at time of sexual assault) 42.8%”
Taken from
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/...
The reason they have to ask the victim is because they rarely catch the offender right after the assault. I do not believe that makes it any less valid though.
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
nickk (anonymous) says…
Actually, the littlest victims are those inconvenient babies who were aborted by their mothers. There is nothing worse than being a victim of "choice".
tonymontana (anonymous) says…
Oh crap. My neighborhood...
Ljames (anonymous) says…
let victims testify via closed circiut tv.
sorry for the spelling
nick abortion is not sexual abuse