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Best Practice for Prosecutors and Police in Handling Sexual Assault Cases
According to the Department of Justice’s framework for prosecuting sexual assaults published in May of 2024:
The following are quotes from the above listed framework for prosecutors:
“Perpetrators of sexual assault and domestic violence often target victims based on their vulnerabilities and their perceived lack of credibility within society (from which jurors are drawn).[8] As a result, prosecutors may hesitate to bring charges, concluding that a jury will never believe the victim and the case cannot be proven. But these cases are provable. Prosecutors can have success on the merits, uphold the rule of law, and serve victims and the public, all while relying on a victim’s account…
It is not uncommon for victims of trauma, and specifically of domestic violence and sexual assault, to behave in a seemingly counterintuitive manner, both at the time of the crime and later when they are interviewed. But such behavior becomes less counterintuitive if we understand the dynamics of sexual assault and domestic violence as well as the neurobiology of trauma”
“A victim may report right away or may wait to report for a day or a decade.”
“Most often, no one except the victim will be able to testify about the moments of the assault. Prosecutors must therefore corroborate the victim’s account by showing that events leading up to, following, and surrounding the assault occurred in a manner consistent with the victim’s account.”
“The perpetrator’s choice of victim may likewise be incriminating… Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault tend to be perceived as less credible than their perpetrators” “Evidence that the perpetrator chose a victim whom he thought no one would likely believe, evidence that the perpetrator isolated the victim, and evidence that the perpetrator attempted to silence the victim all tend to corroborate the victim’s account and illustrate consciousness of guilt.” “We should also be mindful not to allow the perpetrator’s version of events to result in an automatic declination because it is “he said/she said,” and therefore supposedly cannot be proven. This is a legal fallacy. When a defendant gives a statement to investigators, despite his Fifth Amendment right not to do so, we do not have to credit it.” “Prosecutors must meet with victims. We should do so before we make charging decisions, even if investigators represent to us that we cannot prove the allegations.” “Statutes, rules of evidence, and the caselaw that interprets those sources provide the structure to successfully prosecute domestic violence and sexual assault.”“Nevertheless, societal fallacies about victim behavior and fear that juries will acquit because of those fallacies often lead to declinations. We must take care not to unwittingly project assumptions on an imagined jury and make prosecutive decisions based on those assumptions.”
“A victim may report right away or may wait to report for a day or a decade.”
“Most often, no one except the victim will be able to testify about the moments of the assault. Prosecutors must therefore corroborate the victim’s account by showing that events leading up to, following, and surrounding the assault occurred in a manner consistent with the victim’s account.”
“The perpetrator’s choice of victim may likewise be incriminating… Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault tend to be perceived as less credible than their perpetrators” “Evidence that the perpetrator chose a victim whom he thought no one would likely believe, evidence that the perpetrator isolated the victim, and evidence that the perpetrator attempted to silence the victim all tend to corroborate the victim’s account and illustrate consciousness of guilt.” “We should also be mindful not to allow the perpetrator’s version of events to result in an automatic declination because it is “he said/she said,” and therefore supposedly cannot be proven. This is a legal fallacy. When a defendant gives a statement to investigators, despite his Fifth Amendment right not to do so, we do not have to credit it.” “Prosecutors must meet with victims. We should do so before we make charging decisions, even if investigators represent to us that we cannot prove the allegations.” “Statutes, rules of evidence, and the caselaw that interprets those sources provide the structure to successfully prosecute domestic violence and sexual assault.”“Nevertheless, societal fallacies about victim behavior and fear that juries will acquit because of those fallacies often lead to declinations. We must take care not to unwittingly project assumptions on an imagined jury and make prosecutive decisions based on those assumptions.”
Here is a link to the Model Response to Sexual Violence for Prosecutors from Aequitas. Aequitas provides excellent resources and training for best practice in handling sexual assault cases and in how to treat victims.
And here are some additional resources from Aequitas:
Here is a link to an article from NBC NEWS about sexual assault investigations and convictions
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