Sex Crime
Battling Sex Crime in Kansas: ‘It’s Nice to Know Someone Believes You’
|
Justice for sexual assault survivors remains elusive in Kansas. But greater attention by police and courts to the needs of victims is having an impact.
Domestic Violence
Alaskan Women Face Nation’s Highest Levels of Sex Assault: Panel
|
The lack of police resources in Alaska’s remote rural communities puts women at special risk, according to speakers at a panel co-sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Mission to the United Nations. Native females are the most vulnerable.
TCR Special Reports
Miami-Dade Sex Offenders ‘Forced to be Homeless’
|
An ordinance that bans anyone convicted of a sex offense with a minor from living near schools effectively puts most of the county out of reach for hundreds of individuals. The ACLU argues the ordinance, like similar statutes elsewhere, is unconstitutional.
Crime Statistics
Federal Courts Getting Tougher on Sex Offenders: Report
|
The number of sex offenders convicted in the federal criminal justice system nearly doubled between 2010 and 2016, and sex offenders were more frequently convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty during that period, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Viewpoints
Is Cosby’s Prison Term a Wake-Up Call to Prosecutors?
|
The entertainer’s 3-10 year sentence may empower more women to report assaults, but there’s still a long way to go before sexual predators are deterred by the threat of serious prosecution, says a former sex crimes prosecutor. One place to start: an annual “Report Card” from local DA’s about how they dealt with cases of rape and sexual abuse.
Media
Does ‘Rape Culture’ in the Media Fuel a Permissive Climate for Sex Crimes?
|
Biased or unsympathetic press treatment of victims is a good predictor of a high incidence of rape, according to researchers who analyzed coverage of 310,000 cases between 2000 and 2013. It also influences police to make fewer arrests , they claimed.
Jails
NYC Pays $280K Settlement for Rikers Anti-Gay Attack
|
According to a press release from the victim’s attorney, Thomas Hamm, a visitor to the Rikers Island facility, was beaten by two corrections officers hurling anti-gay slurs. Earlier this year, the Jail’s Action Committee released a report maintaining that conditions for visitors to Rikers “continue to be discouraging at best and traumatizing and violent at worst.”
TCR Special Reports
Sex Trafficking: Can Private Investigators Fill Gaps Left By Police?
|
In Part Two of our investigation of America’s sex trafficking crisis, TCR finds a burgeoning “niche” industry of private nonprofit groups—many comprised of ex-cops or military operatives—who operate outside law enforcement. One former FBI agent maintains that if such groups didn’t exist, the picture would be a lot grimmer.
Justice System ‘Fails to Protect’ Native American Women
|
More than half of Native American women have encountered sexual and domestic violence at some point during their lives, even amid a wave of efforts aimed at reducing such crimes. More than 633 are reported missing, higher than their percentage of the population.
Media
Backpage Founders: We’re Victims of Attack on Free Speech
|
Backpage.com founders James Larkin and Michael Lacey claim the charges against them for operating an adult-sex site were politically motivated. “This is the biggest speech battle in America right now,” said Lacey in an interview with Reason.