Washington DC to reform police handling of underage sexual assault
Washington DC to reform police handling of underage sexual assault
(so the question is, WHY wasn't the referenced law written to include juveniles in the FIRST place? now they have to figure out how to extend the protections???? REALLY????)
Washington DC police chief Cathy Lanier said there was ‘no rationale’ for arresting an 11-year-old rape victim for false reporting in a 2008 case that was recently reopened for investigation.
Washington DC is planning reforms to the way police investigate sexual assault against juveniles and is considering extending some of the tough new laws introduced for adult rape victims last year to improve protection for children, following a series of complaints.
A special taskforce set up by the city council last year will draw up recommendations, expected later this year (and to think, this is only march), that aim to boost the role of victims’ advocates, improve the complaints system for the public and revise the juvenile sexual assault criminal justice system.
The move comes after Washington’s metropolitan police department (MPD) was accused in 2013 of mishandling some of its investigations and mistreating victims in recent years, which caused “grave concerns” in the city council and prompted legislation.
Earlier this month it was revealed that police are re-investigating a series of reported rapes of an 11-year-old girl and reviewing the way her case was handled in 2008. No suspects were arrested, but she was arrested for false reporting, convicted and made a ward of the court, despite persuasive medical evidence that she had been assaulted, the Washington Post reported.
“The government failed her,” a city official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and preferred not to be named, told the Guardian.
The new law covering adult cases, the Sexual Assault Victims’ Rights Amendment Act of 2013, gave victims reporting rape in DC the right to have an independent advocate present during police interviews. It also established an independent entity to provide oversight for the way police conduct sex crime investigations.
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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/18/washington-dc-reform-police-underage-sexual-assault-victims
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