Published: June 08, 2008 12:28 pm      

Rape cases prove difficult to prosecute

Victims can wait months while DNA is processed

At least five rapes have been reported in Clarksville in the last six months. Although many of the cases have suspects listed, there have been arrests made in only one case.

Rape cases provide unique challenges for police and prosecutors.

Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said that rape is one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute.

“A lot of times it is one word against another,” he said. “The forensics sometimes isn’t there.”

Even when there is forensic evidence, it can take months to receive DNA results. On Jan. 30, a woman reported being raped in the 1100 block of Marlowe Drive after meeting a man at a license branch in Jeffersonville. Police say they are still waiting on results from a “rape kit.”

In 2002, the general assembly approved funds for a new crime lab in Indianapolis, but it was not open until 2007.

“We had huge backlogs at the beginning of 2007, so we began outsourcing,” said Paul Misner, biology section supervisor, at the Indianapolis Crime Laboratory.

In January 2008, they outsourced 23. Misner said he could not comment on any specific case, but in January 2008, they outsourced 23 cases.

When a case is outsourced, the company has 90 days to complete their findings from the time they receive the materials. After that time, the Indiana State Police still has to review the findings, which could take another month, Misner said.

As of June 4, the Indianapolis crime lab had an average turnaround time of 47 days. Evansville’s lab, where most of Clark County’s cases are sent, had a turnaround of 62 days.

“Our goal is 45 days,” Misner said. “A lot of states shoot for 60 days, so our standard is a little higher than a lot of places.”

However, he also said that in countries like England, two weeks is considered a long wait. Misner said it comes down to how much the government is willing to spend on staffing.

In some cases, police may look at the credibility of the victims.

Clarksville Police Chief Dwight Ingle told The Evening News multiple times in February that the alleged victim from December was "there to buy pot." In a recent interview with a reporter, Ingle repeatedly said that the victim of an alleged May 24 rape “had been out drinking with (the suspects) all night.”

Rebecca Jetton, director of Indiana services at the Southern Indiana campus of the Center for Women and Families, said it is important that people never blame the rape victim.

“I think certainly there is a myth in our culture that if someone has been drinking or is intoxicated that it somehow becomes that person’s fault,” she said.

In that case in which two men are suspected of asking a woman to give them a ride and then raping her, Ingle said they are not waiting on DNA evidence. He said they have turned the investigation over to the prosecutor’s office. Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart did not return multiple messages left with his office this week.

Jetton said that rape is the most under-reported crime in the United States because women feel fear, shame and guilt.

Jetton also took exception to police suggestions that many women are lying about being raped.

“Statistics vary, but we know between two and eight percent of rape allegations are proven to be false, and that false reporting coincides with the false reporting of every other crime,” she said.

Prosecutors still want to build a strong case before an arrest is made. Henderson said they must keep that in mind while also remembering the importance of keeping criminals off the streets.

“You have to balance all of that with the knowledge that if the person did commit the crime, then he is still out there,” Henderson said.

TIMELINE OF REPORTED RAPES IN CLARKSVILLE

• Dec. 14: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped on the playground outside of Parkwood Elementary School. Five teens were arrested for raping, beating and robbing the girl in mid-February. Three suspects are being tried as adults and will be back in court this week.

• Jan. 30: A 21-year-old woman reported being raped by a 31-year-old Jeffersonville resident in the 1100 block of Marlowe Drive. Police know the name of a suspect and are waiting for DNA results.

• March 2: A 17-year-old Jeffersonville girl reported being raped by a 22-year-old acquaintance while she was passed out. Police know the name of a suspect but are waiting for DNA results.

• May 24: A 47-year-old woman reported being raped after giving two men a ride home from Jersey’s Cafe. Police know the names of two suspects, but no arrests have been made.

• May 30: A 24-year-old woman reported being raped by three men after being given a ride from Rojo’s Bar. Police have descriptions but no names for four suspects.