Co-Lead Researcher on the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Research Study
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office; Supervisor, Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force
Starting in 2013, the Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio) Sexual Assault Kit Task Force began investigating and prosecuting cases from approximately 5,000 previously unsubmitted SAKs from 1993 to 2009. In the Fall of 2014, The Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education was approached by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO) for the purposes of understanding more about these unsubmitted SAKs. Funded by the CCPO, the researcher team was given access to the SAK case files, and they coded a random sample of 243 sexual assaults case files with completed investigations that either resulted in prosecution or were not pursued due to insufficient evidence.
This webinar will detail key findings from this research study and discuss how these findings are being used to inform and reform how sexual assaults are investigated and prosecuted. Topics include:
- Characteristics of the victims and offenders
- Similarities and differences between sex offenders who are connected with one sexual assault versus more than one (serial offenses)
- Offending patterns for serial sex offenders, stranger sexual assaults, multiple offender sexual assaults, and captivity sexual assaults
- An exploration of what happened with sexual assault cases “then vs. now”
- Victim “vulnerabilities” and their impact on prosecutorial outcomes
- Cost savings of testing previously unsubmitted kits
Objectives
Following the webinar, participants will be better able to:
- Recognize the complex issues surrounding unsubmitted SAKs
- Identify the research methods employed in this study
- Evaluate how sexual assaults are processed through the criminal justice system (e.g., what happens with a sexual assault report)
- Appreciate why an examination of the sexual assault kit case files provides greater insight into victims, offenders, and offending patters
- Recognize how research findings can be employed to inform and improve current practice
This project is supported by Grant No. 2013-TA-AX-K045 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
With a paid registration or subscription, you are free to personally listen to this webinar, as many times as you wish. You may also excerpt or cite the material following accepted conventions. However, you may not allow other individuals to listen to this webinar without their own registration or subscription.
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