The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/sex-crime/)
The FBI found nearly 1,000 cases of commercial sex crime in the U.S. last year, but experts believe the actual number is much higher, based on victim reports to medical and social service agencies.
Dozens of law enforcement agencies are making it appear as though they have solved a significant share of their rape cases when they simply have closed them without an arrest.
After a scathing report on the state’s widespread failures in the investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults, a task force is expected to recommend bringing state law in line with other states that plainly outlaw intercourse with a person too drunk to consent.
“I believe the women who shared their experiences with our investigation team,” wrote a prosecutor, “however legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution” of former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill says a jury should be allowed to throw out a case in which a man saved and then deleted a sexual video. The defendant would face a mandatory 15-year prison term if he is convicted.
Federal rules on campus sexual-assault cases to be proposed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will require that accused students be allowed to cross-examine accusers. It’s a shift from an initial draft to replace Obama-era guidelines the administration believed didn’t provide enough protections for students accused of assault.
When a judge dismissed one set of charges against Harvey Weinstein, that was only the start of a series of problems for the prosecution that could cause the case against the Hollywood mogul to unravel.
Minnesota prosecutors reject half the cases police send them. They reject cases that include DNA evidence, witnesses, and sometimes even confessions. They rarely ask police to conduct additional investigations. Victims say they are often never told why their assailant won’t be charged with a crime.
Investigators will issue subpoenas to dioceses across Pennsylvania in what’s called an unprecedented investigation, following up on a scathing grand jury report finding that more than 1,000 children had been abused by priests. “It’s something we always wished for but thought would never happen,” said Judy Jones of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “
The government shutdown of Backpage.com this year sought to curtail the type of sex-for-sale classified ads that made the company infamous. Months later, the closure has prompted an increase in sex trafficking on San Francisco streets.