Dear (femspotter):

Thank you for contacting me in support of H.R. 4114, the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009. I appreciate hearing from you and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

Like you, I believe that every person who has been a victim of rape deserves the best medical treatment and the best possible chance of justice. Every year, nearly 200,000 individuals report to the police that they have been raped. Almost all are asked to submit to the collection of DNA evidence from their bodies, which is then stored in a small package called a rape kit. However, there are currently thousands and thousands of kits that sit untested in police storage facilities while victims wait in vain for justice.

That is why I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 4114, the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009, which was introduced by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on November 19, 2009. If enacted, this legislation would help reduce the national backlog of over 180,000 untested rape kits currently on police shelves by creating incentives for jurisdictions to eliminate their rape kit backlogs, process their incoming rape kits in a timely manner, and publicly report their backlog numbers. The bill will also address several other factors that work to deny justice to victims of sexual assault – including the denial of free rape kits to survivors of sexual assault and the shortage of trained health professionals capable of administering rape kit exams. This legislation is currently pending before the House Committee on Judiciary. Please be assured that I will keep our shared support for improving the process of bringing rapists to justice very much in mind as Congress continues to consider this issue.

Thank you again for contacting me. As your Representative in the United States Congress, it is a privilege and an honor to serve you and to act as your voice in Washington. Please feel free to contact me again with any other issue or matter that concerns you. You may also want to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/rothman where you can find out how I have voted on legislation, learn which bills I have introduced and cosponsored, and keep current with my latest Congressional activities and policy statements.

Sincerely,

Steve Rothman
Member of Congress

In the Harlem double rape scenario, the alleged rapist was caught because he had his victim’s cell phone in his pocket. He pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor theft (of the phone) and the rape charge was dropped. That’s just disgusting!

First, it goes back to prosecuting rape. Without a stellar virginal, innocent victim, it’s hard to prosecute rape. If they go ahead with it, it means the state has cold hard physical evidence. We as a society must understand that rape is all about the no. We must teach our women to go as soon as possible to a hospital to report the rape. This is hard to do because of all the emotions that come up during rape.

Second, how do we as society keep from having repeat offenders? I’ve read several articles on child sex crimes, and it has been proven that if these offenders live together, like in an apartment or house, they are much less likely to repeat again. Even if they live near a school or park. I haven’t seen any evidence on criminals who attack adults. How do we rehabilitate sexaul criminals? How can we tell which ones did it once and will never do it again from the ones that are so damaged that they are not to be trusted?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/12/scotus.sex.offender.law/index.html

Unfortunately, I’ve learned that New York City, while championing its total test rate on rape kits and its 70% arrest rate, let one slip by. It let an alleged rapist out on a plea bargain and he allegedly raped again, same M.O.

http://www.1010wins.com/pages/6031821.php

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/01/06/2010-01-06_raperob_suspect_is_nabbed_for_new_years_day_attack.html

http://www.hrw.kintera.org/rape-kits

I urge everyone to go to this link on Valerie’s blog and send your Congressmen a letter about the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009. I wasn’t aware of this act and I was glad to support something that’s already in play. This process literally takes less than one minute to complete.

http://vmneumann.wordpress.com/