Craven County Sexual Assault Response Team gives victims ‘human connection’
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After several incidents of sexual assault in New Bern last year brought forth a large public interest, the New Bern Police Department is joining together with multiple agencies throughout Craven County to help provide crucial services to victims.
In addition to the New Bern Police Department, the Craven County Sexual Assault Response Team includes the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, Craven County District Attorney’s Office, CarolinaEast Medical Center, Coastal Women’s Shelter, the Department of Social Services, the U.S. Marine Corps and Promise Place, a New Bern nonprofit that specializes in the counseling and treatment for sexual assault victims.
At their September 13 meeting, the New Bern Board of Aldermen approved a memorandum of understanding between the New Bern Police Department and the other agencies which provides guidance for each agency with respect to their responsibilities when handling sexual assault cases.
According to New Bern Police Chief Patrick Gallagher, the MOU is an attempt to “harmonize and coordinate” the agencies’ responses to victims of sexual assault and provide wraparound services for those victims.
Gallagher said the memorandum binds the relationships between the agencies at a time when new questions have been raised concerning the treatment of sexual assault victims.
“In 2021 there were some incidents that had occurred locally which had a lot of public interest in how sexual assault was managed through law enforcement and other entities,” Gallagher commented. “Promise Place, through the efforts of their staff was instrumental in trying to bring to the table all of the stakeholders involved in sexual assault in the area and region.”
Last September, the owner of Prohibition in New Bern Chris Straight was at the center of a police investigation after an anonymous person filed a report of sexual assault. While Straight and Prohibition were not named in the investigation, the department and district attorney’s office announced they would not be pressing charges and cleared the accused at that time.
The decision brewed a social media storm and two months later, Straight would turn himself in for an alleged sexual assault crime that occurred in 2019. A Craven County Grand Jury indicted Straight on for second-degree forcible sexual offense in 2019.
More:Former New Bern man indicted for alleged 2019 sexual assault offense
More:No charges being pressed after police investigation into downtown New Bern bar
The Sexual Assault Response Team’s mission is to provide all available medical, law enforcement and treatment options to allow the victim to make an informed decision on how to proceed, Gallagher explained.
“Law enforcement, social services, the prosecutor’s office and other entities have the ability to say ‘This is what we can do for you.’ We believe that all victims of sexual assault, regardless of age or gender, deserve to have as many resources as we can provide so that at the end we can bring some resolution that would meet their needs,” Gallagher said.
An “incredibly personal” crime
According to information provided by Gallagher, the New Bern Police Department dealt with a total of 48 sexual assault cases in 2020 and 49 in 2021. So far, the department has responded to 27 sexual assault cases this year.
The statistics show that the majority of cases the department has investigated over the last three years have been forcible fondling crimes. A total of 39 have been forcible rape and 12 have been statutory rape.
From 2020 to 2021, the department saw a decrease of 13% in forcible rape cases and an increase of 10.1% in forcible fondling cases. The instances of statutory rape remained steady over that time period.
Gallagher said although the investigative process is much the same as with other crimes, sexual assault cases are “incredibly personal” and require a human connection with the victim.
“There has to be an understanding that it is different, especially when we’re dealing with children who have been sexually abused,” he explained. “It is critically important that we have a forensic interviewer that is trained in how to ask questions of a juvenile…We don’t want to ask questions in a way that creates a response that would not be admissible in court.”
Gallagher said the MOU does not mean the New Bern Police Department will change its normal investigative procedures in response to sexual assault cases.
“We know we need to collect evidence, we know we need to obtain statements,” Gallagher said. “What might be different is the collaborative communications we have with the other stakeholders within the response team. Because what law enforcement does is different than what Promise Place would do. We have to understand and appreciate that their role and our role, though we want a similar outcome, may be different.”
Gallagher said having other agencies involved in the process can give victims access to those outside the sometimes intimidating role of law enforcement. He said relying on male police officers to work with sexual assault victims can be problematic.
“Potentially they may be looking at someone who looks like their offender,” Gallagher said. “They may not feel as free to express themselves to a man. They need to feel free to speak, to ask questions so they can make an informed decision as to what they want to do.”
Gallager said his department was “thrilled” to be part of a solution-based approach to sexual assault cases.
“Obviously we are on the investigative law enforcement side, but I’ve been involved in the criminal justice system for almost 40 years and I know that the traumatic effects that proceed a sexual assault for the victim are incredibly personal and require more than just a law enforcement response,” he commented.
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