A 14-year-old girl reported being
sexually assaulted in November. A uniformed policewoman took
the report the following day. But getting a detective to
investigate took weeks.
Only after repeated telephone calls and a volley of letters
to city officials did police begin to look into the
molestation, said Gina Dobbs, the victim's mother.
"I had to hound them - literally hound them - to
get them on her case," Dobbs said. "They're a mess."
Six weeks later, the abuser was arrested. That was far too
long, said Dobbs, who in the interim had to endure running
into the man at the H-E-B supermarket in Flour Bluff.
Dobbs used to work with law enforcement and knew what was
necessary to aid in an investigation, such as not allowing her
daughter to bathe until after a rape examination. Through her
wits and her haranguing, enough evidence was gathered to
punish the molester, Dobbs said.
She did not want her daughter's case to be one of the many
that disintegrate before they land in front of a judge.
When cases involving sexual misconduct with a child went to
Nueces County juries in 2003, the accused molesters walked
away two-thirds of the time.
And many other people indicted as sexual predators that
year had their cases thrown out of court, according to
government records examined by the Caller-Times.
Advocates for children have blamed shoddy police
investigations for the acquittal and dismissal rates. And a
local forensic nurse went so far as to describe some Corpus
Christi police investigators as apathetic - a label vehemently
denied by those in top posts at the police department.
Sonja Eddleman, the head sexual assault nurse examiner at
Driscoll Children's Hospital, said the hospital works with 33
counties and dozens of law enforcement agencies.
"Most of them respond really quickly," Eddleman said. "One
of our fall-downs has been the response of the CCPD."
Detectives give high priority
Corpus Christi Police Chief Pete Alvarez said his
detectives put a high priority on child molestation
investigations, no matter what other people have said.
"I think it is sad that these folks resort to that kind of
criticism because it is not so," Alvarez said. "My people
scrutinize the cases as much as they can."
Eddleman said the local police department needs to take a
more vigorous approach to reel in the number of sexual abusers
who run freely through the community.
At one point in the past few months, 40 rape kits, which
contained forensic evidence collected at the hospital, chilled
in a Driscoll refrigerator. There they sat - waiting for a
CCPD detective to pick them up, Eddleman said.
Asked about the rape kits, Corpus Christi Police Cmdr. Mike
Walsh said sometimes they are unnecessary in an investigation.
Walsh also defended his team of investigators and said they
are passionate about their work. Walsh added that his
investigators must do a pretty good job because most cases of
child molestation they take to court have ended with guilty
pleas to judges.
Dobbs' daughter's case was one of those cases. The
perpetrator pleaded guilty and got six months in jail and
probation. But the man likely would have gone unpunished if
Dobbs had not pushed for the investigation, she said.
"I really believe he still would be running around out
there," Dobbs said.
While guilty pleas are frequent in child sex crimes, the
rate of dismissal has been higher than in other kinds of
criminal cases, according to a Caller-Times examination of
Nueces County cases in 2003.
Also, juries in the county have convicted accused child
molesters at a lesser rate than they have defendants in other
kinds of cases.
Of 431 cases of child molestation in 2003 - which include
sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a
child, indecency with a child and sexual performance by a
child - 59 percent ended with convictions, 8 percent resulted
in acquittals, 28 percent were dismissed and the rest had not
been to court.
It should be noted that some defendants have had more than
one case against them, police said.
According to information made available by District
Attorney Carlos Valdez's office, 54 cases of child sexual
abuse were decided by juries. Of those cases, juries returned
a conviction 18 times, or in 33.3 percent of the cases. The
other 36 jury trials in 2003 ended in acquittals, allowing
66.7 percent of those indicted for sex offenses to go free.
Child advocates, judges, lawyers and police have all agreed
that some of the acquittals were justified. But almost
everyone has also said many child molesters have walked out of
court and back into the community.
Judge Tom Greenwell of the 319th District Court did not see
a single conviction in seven sexual abuse trials in his court
in 2003.
But the lawyers are not to blame, he said.
"Before they come to the courthouse, these cases should be
investigated better," Greenwell said. "A number of these cases
are not winnable cases. There's too much doubt, too many loose
ends."
One of the problems is the detectives are not responding in
a timely manner to outcries of abuse, some critics have said.
The city's uniformed officers usually speed to an alleged
victim's house when they hear about abuse, but the detectives
have been too far behind, Eddleman said.
"Their patrol officers are incredible about responding
quickly," Eddleman said. "I think the initial report is
generated quickly. The breakdown in the process - or the area
for improvement - may be getting the report from the patrol
officer to the detective who'll be investigating."
Like Eddleman, Dobbs, the mother of the 14-year-old victim,
praised the patrol officers. They spoke kind words and
delivered caring hugs in the tearful hours following the
report.
"They have been sympathetic and caring," Dobbs said. "They
showed it was important to them."
Problems begin
It was after the uniformed officers left that Dobbs
started to have problems, she said.
Eddleman explained that patrol officers are supposed to
take a minimal report that is typed into the police force's
computer system. Then, a captain gets the report and assigns
the case. That is often a two-day process.
"It's absolutely too long," Eddleman said. "If it were my
child, that would be too long."
After a lot of time passes, the molester can clean up the
scene and get rid of evidence, she added.
Sandra Chapa, whose young niece reported being fondled by
her father, was disappointed, even angered, with the Corpus
Christi police. There was no investigation after the first
report, she said in the weeks after her niece's outcry. There
was "no follow-up. No aggressiveness on it."
"You go to the police, and they are supposed to help you,"
Chapa said. "The police haven't done anything . . . I don't
know what their procedure is, but it isn't working."
Weeks later, the father was arrested and indicted. His case
still is pending.
Chapa blamed the police lag on "a lack of communication
somewhere."
Walsh said all the people who work with victims can get in
touch with him or any of the police investigators at any time
if they need a detective. They have the mobile telephone
numbers for him and all the investigators.
Further, he said, the detectives are worked hard, and they
have to set priorities. "There is a significant caseload that
each of these investigators carry," Walsh said. "The caseload
is larger for each investigator than I would care to see it."
Walsh added he always takes Eddleman's criticism seriously,
but she cannot always understand the inner workings of the
criminal investigation division of the police department.
Eddleman was not the only one with harsh words for the
investigators. Other people who work with victims of abuse
have complained of foot-dragging.
Child Protective Services Program Director Robert Rosetti
said he and his staff usually get to the scene of an alleged
molestation the same day they get the call, which, he added,
is often well before detectives show up.
CPS investigators are charged with conducting civil, but
not legally binding, investigations. CPS investigations do not
have to meet the same evidentiary rules as police. But if CPS
investigators find a dangerous situation, they get the child
to a safe place.
"The sexual abuse investigation should be fast. You should
confront the perpetrator that day," Rosetti said. "You'll have
the best chance for the guy to spill the beans, and that is
the best for the child."
Slow response hurts case
If investigators, either CPS or police, are slow to
respond to a report, the chances are better that the
perpetrator is not going to say anything, Rosetti said.
In a recent interview, Rosetti talked about an incident in
which a weeping man admitted to molesting a child. Rosetti
recalled that in the detective's lag time, the accused man was
able to regain his composure and eventually deny any
wrongdoing to the police, which is the only agency that can
collect evidence or take confessions that would be admissible
in court.
"I can't control the police investigators," Rosetti said.
"We could do better."
Mindy Guajardo, executive director of the Nueces County
Children's Advocacy Center, also said there is plenty of room
for improvement.
Guajardo talked about "Priority One" investigations from
her office in the advocacy center, a nonprofit agency that
provides treatment services to abused children and their
families. "Priority One" reports are the dire cases that must
be investigated by law enforcement and CPS within 24 hours in
accordance with state law.
"Coordinating that on the onset is very important,"
Guajardo said. "That definitely is not happening."
The chief of police said, like in any organization, there
are always ways to better a process.
But Alvarez added, "If a case is there, and it's a serious
case, we'll be right on top of it."
The problem with "Priority One" cases is that the 24-hour
rule is open to interpretation. Police officials have said
they believe the patrol officers' initial report satisfies the
quick reaction mandate. But Guajardo said she believes the
spirit of the rule calls for the beginning of a full
investigation within 24 hours.
Even with the 24-hour rule, the detectives take, at best,
two to three days to initiate the investigation, Guajardo
said.
Sometimes, it can take weeks, she added.
When Valdez talked about patrol officers being the first
responders, instead of the detectives, he said, "That may be
the problem."
Detectives should be the first on the scene, he said and
added that could lead to the collection of more evidence to be
used by county prosecutors.
Valdez further said the amount of time between reports and
investigations has been over-stretched. His prosecutors have
told him so.
"If there is a significant amount of time between the
report and the investigation, you're going to see the loss of
evidence, important evidence, evidence that could probably be
the difference between a guilty verdict and an acquittal,"
Valdez said. "It is true we have to work with what we get,
with what they bring us."
Valdez's perspective comes as one of the most neutral
players in the game, he said. He recognizes the infighting,
frustrations and the misunderstandings between the advocates
and the police.
Efforts made to improve
But from his vantage, he said, he has seen some efforts
to improve investigations and relationships.
Walsh, for one, has paid with his own money to bring
everyone together over a barbecued meal to work out problems.
Chief Alvarez said he would welcome the opportunity to sit
down with advocates once again.
There also have been training sessions and technology
improvements, such as a closed circuit network that allows a
child to testify from a room away from the accuser.
But more needs to be done, Valdez said.
The police and the child advocates need to improve the way
they communicate and cooperate, he added, and that kind of
effort should increase conviction rates and the number of
incarcerated sexual predators.
Dobbs, the mother of the 14-year-old victim, also said
changes need to be made. Her daughter's experience soured
Dobbs and shook her confidence in the local police.
She prays a similar situation never will occur, but if it
happens again, she said, she would seek help outside of the
Corpus Christi Police Department.
"I'm still, to this day, not happy with them," Dobbs said.
"I'd rather call the state police or the sheriff."
Contact Tim Eaton at 886-3794 or
eatont@caller.com
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