NATIONAL NON-STRANGER
SEXUAL ASSAULT SYMPOSIUM
PROCEEDINGS REPORT
Denver Sexual Assault Interagency Council
P. O. Box 18951
Denver, Colorado 80218-0951
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Letters of Welcome
Introduction 1
Agenda 2
Executive Summary 7
Keynote Presentation Papers 19
Panel Notes and Panelist’s Papers
Panel One 37
Panel Two 50
Panel Three 69
Panel Four 97
Panel Five 112
Panel Six 131
Panel Seven 157
Panel Eight 172
Appendix 193
Biographies of Participants 194
Law Enforcement Survey 214
Symposium Proceedings Report Resources……………………………………….….241
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you for the support and expertise contributed by:
The Center for Sex Offender Management Silver Springs, MD
The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault Denver, CO
The Denver District Attorney’s Office Denver, CO
The Ending Violence Against Women Project Golden, CO
Jury Sciences, LLC Rolley Hills Estates, CA
The National Research Center Boulder, CO
The Rape Assistance and Awareness Program Denver, CO
Funding for the Production of the National Non Stranger Sexual Assault Symposium Proceedings Report and Executive Summary and for its distribution and analysis in Colorado is provided by:
Colorado Victim Assistance Law Enforcement Program
Denver Victim Assistance Law Enforcement Program
S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Act
Drug Control Systems Improvement Program
Introduction
Mary Loring
Project Director and SAIC Liaison
The National Symposium on Non-Stranger Sexual Assault convened in Estes Park, Colorado, September 15-17, 1999. The Symposium was a project of the Denver Sexual Assault Interagency Council and was sponsored by the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program. Funding was provided by S.T.O.P. Violence Against Women Act grants administered by the state and by the State Victim Assistance Law Enforcement Program. Additional support was provided by the Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center. The Symposium gratefully acknowledges the behind the scenes contributions of Robert A. Lipman, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, US Department of Justice; Steve Siegel, Director of Program Development, Denver District Attorney’s Office; and Karmen Carter, Executive Director, Rape Assistance and Awareness Program.
Forty persons, expert on the topic, were invited to address the Symposium objective: to improve the criminal justice response to non-stranger sexual assault. The gathering opened with a welcome address from Denver District Attorney, Bill Ritter, Jr. Mr. Ritter challenged parents, particularly fathers, to educate their sons about respectful and responsible sexual behavior. Participants were then honored with a first-hand account of a non-stranger sexual assault provided by public speaker/victim advocate, Christina Rivera. Subsequent presentations compelled participants to consider how representative, even common Ms. Rivera’s experience was and to wonder about how many other assaults that offender might have perpetrated.
Over the next two days, two additional keynote presentations and eight panels were offered. Panels observed the following format: ten minute presentations from each panelists followed by five minute “reaction” from each of three responders. Responders represented disciplines other than those of the panelists. Symposium participants were then invited to ask questions of the panel and engage in discussion.
This Proceedings Report is intended to serve as an impartial and complete representation of the Symposium presentations and dialogue. Each panelist and keynote presenter was invited to prepare a brief paper offering his or her current thoughts on the topic and practice in the field. For the most part, their presentations synopsized their papers, which are included, unedited, in this report. Discussion was documented by audio recordings and scribing. Summarists drew on those materials to provide a general description of highlights of the discussions that followed each panel.
Virtually all participants expressed their regret that we had not planned one more day devoted to “next steps”. My greatest frustration as project director was leaving the event without an action plan or specific means of developing the innovations suggested during the symposium. Each presentation was so substantial and engaging that we needed time to digest and synthesize the material before we could begin to formulate integrated promising practices. I have therefore attempted to draw from the papers and summarized discussions, the recommendations or direction for change that was suggested or implied by participants. This Executive Summary is intended to serve as a springboard from which promising practices, model programs and innovative collaboration may come.
Symposium Agenda
NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON NON-STRANGER SEXUAL ASSAULT
September 15-17, 1999
Holiday Inn Conference Center
Estes Park, Colorado
Sponsored by the Sexual Assault Interagency Council, Denver, CO
The Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, Denver, CO and
The Denver District Attorney’s Office
Wednesday, September 15
5PM Reception: Cash Bar and Dinner Buffet
6PM Welcome – Steve Siegel, Director of Program Development, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Co-Chair, SAIC
Remarks: Joye Whatley, Office For Victims of Crime
Remarks: Bill Ritter, Denver District Attorney
6:30PM Opening Address – Christina Rivera
7:00PM Dinner Buffet
Thursday, September 16
7AM Breakfast Buffet – Columbine Room
8AM Welcome – Mary C. Loring, Liaison, SAIC
8:15AM Acquaintance Rape Update – Mary P. Koss, PhD, University of
Arizona
9AM Panel One – Crime Scene 1: First Response
Presenters
* Patrol Response and Offense Report
Gerald Whitman, Patrol Division Chief, Denver Police Department
* On-scene Victim Assistance
Zoe Livingston-Poole, Victim Assistance Unit, Denver Police Department
* Non-Stranger Sexual Assault: Rural Realities
Betty Royse, County Sheriffs of Colorado, EVAW Project Golden, CO
Responders
* John Bennett
* Mary Keenan
* Marte McNally
10:30 - 10:45AM Break
9
Thursday, September 16 cont’d.
10:45 - 12:15PM Panel Two - Crime Scene 2: Investigations and Evidence Collection
Presenters
* Forensic DNA
Joanne Archambault, Sex Crimes Unit, San Diego Police Department
*SANE Medical Evidence Collection in Non-Stranger Sexual
Assaults
Linda E. Ledray,RN, PhD, FAAN, Sexual Assault Resource Service, Minneapolis, MN
* Optimizing Physician/Nurse Role in the Criminal Justice
System
Michael L. Weaver, MD, American College of Emergency Physicians Sexual Assault Task Force
Responders
* Don Linton
* Scott Keenan
* Mary Koss
12:15 - 1:15PM Lunch, Columbine Room
1:15 - 3PM Panel Three - Victim Variables
Presenters
* The Legacy Continues: Rape Culture and African American
Women
Cathy D. Phelps, Program Director, Victims Service Center, Denver, CO
*Non-Stranger Sexual Assault In Indian Country
Bonnie Clairmont, Sexual Offense Services of Ramsey County, St. Paul, MN
*The Trauma of Non-Stranger Sexual Assault
Marte McNally, MA, LPC, Director of Counseling Services, Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, Denver, CO
* Criminal Justice System Response to Victimization of Adults with Disabilities: 1999 State of the Art Report
Nora J. Baladerian, PhD, Disability, Abuse & Personal Rights Project, Culver City, CA
Responders
* Lynn Hecht Schafran
* Anne Munch
* Robert McGrath
3 - 3:15PM Break
3:15 - 4:45PM Panel Four - Victim Offender Relationship and Conduct
Presenters
* Offender Characteristics and Behavior
Robert J. McGrath, Clinical Director of Sex Offender Treatment Programs, Vermont Department of Corrections
* Lack of Consent and Its Communication
Jean G. McAllister, MSW, Sex Offender Management Board, Colorado Division of Criminal Justice
* Relationship Dynamics
Gail Burns-Smith, Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Service, Inc., East Hartford, CN
Responders
* Joanne Archambault
* Don Linton
* Cathy Phelps
Friday, September 17
7AM Breakfast Buffet, Columbine Room
8AM Opening Remarks – Aristedes Zavaras, Executiave Director,
Colorado Department of Public Safety
8:15AM Unmasking the Never-Incarcerated Rapist, David Lisak, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Big Horn Blue Spruce Room
9 - 10:30AM Panel Five - Investigation Strategies
Presenters
* Non-Stranger Sexual Assault Investigative Techniques.
John C. Bennett, Criminal Investigations, Aurora Police Dept.
* Dynamics of Sexual Assault
Joanne Archambault, Sex Crimes Unit, San Diego Police Dept.
*Incriminating Statements
Scott E.Keenan, Detective Division, Chicago Police Dept.
Responders
* Marti Kovener
* David Lisak
* Patti Powers
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45 - 12:15 Panel Six – Effective Prosecution
Presenters
*Acquaintance Rape Trials: Conceptual Frameworks and Bias
Donald G. Linton, Chief Deputy Cache County Attorney, Logan, UT
*Prefiling and Pretrial in the Acquaintance Rape Case
Mary Keenan, Chief Deputy, Boulder District Attorney’s Office, Boulder, CO
* The Trial of a Sexual Assault Case in a Multidisciplinary Context
Patricia D. Powers, JD., Senior Deputy, Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office, Yakima, WA
*The Prosecutor’s Role in Assisting Victims of Non-Stranger Sexual Assault
Anne P. Munch, Esq., CO District Attorney’s Council, EVAW Project, Golden, CO
Responders
* Bonnie Clairmont
9
* Gerry Whitman
* Jean McAllister
12:15 - 1:30 Luncheon Presentation, Juror Behavior in Non-Stranger Sexual Assault Cases, Big Horn Blue Spruce
Stephen Paterson, Jury Sciences, Rolling Hills Estate, CA
1:30 - 3PM Panel Seven - Judge and Juror Influences and Attitudes
Presenters
* Juror Values and Beliefs in rape Cases: What the Research Shows
Lynn Hecht Schafran, Esq. Director,National Judicial Education Program, New York, NY
*Strategic Voir Dire
Patricia D. Powers,JD., Senior Deputy, Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office, Yakima, WA
* The Judge’s Role
Claudia Bayliff, Attorney At Law, Boulder, CO
Responders
* Margaret Griffin
* Nora Baladerian
* Linda Ledray
3 - 3:15PM Break
3:15 - 4:45PM Panel Eight - Interagency Collaborations
Presenters
* Collaborative Councils
James Gilson, Deputy Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Trenton, NJ
* Victim and Offender Service Collaboration
Marti Kovener, Victim Services 2000, Denver, CO
* The Collaborative Approach to Sex Offender Management
Margaret Griffin, American Probation and Parole Association, Sex Offender Management Specialist, Center for Sex Offender Management, Lexington, Kentucky
Responders
* Gail Burns-Smith
* Michael Weaver
* Zoe Livingston-Poole
4:45 - 5:15PM Closing Remarks – Mary C. Loring, Sexual Assault Interagency Council
Executive Summary
National Non-Stranger Sexual Assault Symposium September 15-17, 1999
Mary Loring, Project Director
Keynote Presentations:
Four presentations were offered outside of the panel format, as keynote or highlighted presentations:
Christina Rivera Christina’s Story
Mary P. Koss, Ph.D. Acquaintance Rape: A Critical Update on Recent Findings with Application to Advocacy
David Lisak, Ph.D. Unmasking the Never-Incarcerated Rapist
Stephen J. Paterson Date Rape Data
Some have argued that sexual assault perpetrated by someone with whom the victim is acquainted is less traumatic than a stranger assault. Ms. Rivera’s remarks contradict that belief. “He took a lot of things from me that day, and for years to come: my dignity, my self-respect, my love for life, my hope. Days stretched into years of believing I had somehow caused this, that I was somehow to blame, that my choices had been all wrong...I told no one of my experience: not family, not friends, not the police. I tried desperately to block it from my memory and when that didn’t work, I blamed myself, and hated myself.” [1]
Ms. Rivera introduced us to a sexual assault perpetrator through her memory of the things he said and did: the deceit, manipulation and eventual cruelty he exhibited. Dr. David Lisak introduced us to another sexual assault perpetrator through a verbatim transcript of an interview he did with “Frank”. The interview begins with Frank’s description of the parties his fraternity was known for. “We would all invite girls, all of us in the fraternity. We’d be on the lookout for good- looking girls, especially freshmen, the real young ones. They were the easiest, it’s like we knew they wouldn’t know the ropes kind of, it’s like they were easy prey.”[2] These undetected rapists are numerous: 6.5% of 1,881 men interviewed disclose sexual experiences that meet the legal definition of rape. And they are responsible for numerous criminal acts including multiple rapes, sexual abuse against children, and battery against adult intimate partners.
Prevalence research results are consistent (recent findings reaffirming earlier findings), placing the percentage of sexual assaults perpetrated by someone other than a stranger at approximately 75% and the likelihood of being raped in one’s lifetime at 14-15% for women in the US.[3] In exploring vulnerability factors among women, the strongest predictor is a history of victimization, but attempts to explain the causal relationship therein have been unsuccessful. Referenced studies support the conclusion that rape is not generally predictable on the basis of acts of the victim. So how does one reduce vulnerability to sexual assault? Beware the use of drugs and alcohol because of the way such use is interpreted by both genders. College women interviewed in focus groups indicate that alcohol is ‘seen as an effective tool to reduce tension and minimize responsibility for one’s sexual decisions’, while college men interpret drinking as a cue of sexual availability, low reputation, and a boon to seduction.[4] This attitude pervades American juries and slants opinions of jurors against many female victims of non-stranger sexual assault.
Stephen J. Patterson is co-founder of Jury Sciences, LLC. His firm conducted research on juror response to NSSA for the symposium and presented findings that were disturbing if not surprising. 60% of the twenty persons (mock jurors) responding to a description of date rape in which the accused denied force or coercion agreed that suspect had not committed rape.
These presentations confronted Symposium participants with the uncomfortable reality that grooming and manipulation behaviors are very similar to courting and seduction behaviors. In fact, the two may not be distinguishable at first glance. Only by evaluating and exposing the deliberate and purposeful intent of the rapist and the victim can the distinction be drawn clearly. Once exposed, intent must be skillfully and persuasively articulated to jurors so that they can overcome their prejudicial victim-blaming attitudes and beliefs.
Panel 1: Crime Scene First Response
Experts agree that the quality of the first response to the non-stranger sexual assault victim, offender, and crime scene impacts every element of subsequent response. From medical/forensic exam through courtroom trial proceedings and including the reporting victim’s eventual trauma management, patrol officer response inaugurates the process and sets its tone.
Patrol officers, whether in urban or rural law enforcement agencies, are necessarily generalists and will never become experts in any particular crime, including non-stranger sexual assault. Nonetheless, those same officers exercise a considerable degree of discretion on every call.[5] Rural law enforcement agencies face the additional obstacles of inexperienced officers, high turnover, insufficient manpower, and no resources to pay for overtime, equipment, training, or competitive salaries.[6]