Houston’s KPRC Channel 2 at click2houston.com reports there has been “mishandling” and “delayed response time” to sexual assault reports by Houston Police and Harris County Sheriff’s Office authorities and that it may be an “ongoing problem,” dating back to 2021.
To acknowledge and address the problem, HPD Chief Troy Finner labeled it “unacceptable” and said he was permanently assigning investigators to old sexual assault cases that had been suspended due to a lack of sufficient personnel.
“Sexual assaults are some of the most traumatic crimes for victims and their families,” Finner said in a statement on X, previously known as Twitter. “To address this matter, I have assigned a team of investigators to review those cases coded ‘Suspended – Lack of Personnel.’ Furthermore, I am permanently assigning additional investigators to the Special Victims Division to prevent this from recurring.”
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Lack of resources blamed for delayed responses
Just last month, the Harris County Sexual Assault Response Team released statistics concerning delayed response times to reports of sexual assaults—delays that it attributed to a lack of resources.
Statistics showed that between 2022 and 2023, HPD received 1,519 reports of sexual assault, and 1,328 of them, or 87%, were investigated. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office received 1,107 sexual offense reports in 2022, and only 169 cases (about 15%) were investigated.
The county said 479 of the 1,107 reported cases of sexual assaults were administratively closed—closed due to the complainant not cooperating, closed due to lack of prosecution or closed due to not meeting the elements of the crime.
The Sexual Assault Response Team emphasized that the number of reported cases is only a small percentage of actual sexual assaults, since studies show that under 10% of sexual assault survivors choose to report the crime to law enforcement.
National estimates have included a conclusion that an American is sexually assaulted on average every 68 seconds. And in cases of rape, 80% of victims know their perpetrators, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
RAINN says the criminal justice system is known for failing survivors. It claims that for every 100 rapists, only 3 face any legal consequences for their actions, and the other 97 escape incarceration.
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Are Texas sex crime punishments severe?
The answer to that question is an emphatic yes. When accused persons are found guilty in the legal system, they can face severe sex crime punishments in Texas—especially when such a crime involves children as victims.
In fact, deviate sexual intercourse involving children and the crime of continuous sexual abuse of a child or children can bring punishments of up to 99 years or life in prison.
In terms of punishments, the latter crime is the most serious crime under Texas law after capital murder, that being a murder that involves the killing of police or fire department personnel who were carrying out their duties.
A first-degree felony, continuous sexual abuse of a child occurs when a person who is 17 or older engages in 2 or more acts of sexual abuse with a child or children under age 14 within a period of 30 days.
Penalties for the crime include at least 25 years in prison as a set-in-stone minimum and up to 99 years, or life in prison, as a maximum. (For repeat offenders, life in prison is an automatic punishment.) Offenders also can be fined up to $10,000.
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Anyone who serves 25 years or more in prison for the crime and then is released must register as a sex offender upon release.
For the crime of continuous sexual assault of a child, no legal options exist for early release, probation or deferred adjudication (the last being a plea deal that customarily involves a guilty plea by the defendant in exchange for reduced charges or punishments).
Other sexual assault penalties in Texas can include 2 to 20 years in a state prison and a fine of as much as $10,000 for a second-degree felony assault. For an aggravated sexual assault involving a weapon or the threat of bodily injury, the minimum prison sentence in Texas is 5 years.
In case you’re wondering, Texas laws do not refer to “rape” but rather to “sexual assault.”
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Get an experienced Houston area sex crime defense lawyer
Not everyone accused of a crime is guilty of the charge. And every person is entitled to their day in court.
In some cases, sex crimes are falsely reported as an act of revenge or perhaps to be used as leverage in a divorce or child custody proceeding. Some reports of sex crimes may also be a case of mistaken identity, or the prosecution of such cases may be invalidated by law enforcement authorities having failed to honor defendants’ Constitutional protections.
If you or a family member faces an accusation, claim or charge of sexual assault in the Houston area, you must engage an experienced, skillled and knowledgeable sex crime defense lawyer.
The Neal Davis Law Firm has such skill, knowledge and experience. Our award-winning law firm has fought for the legal rights of many Texans in the Houston area, including Sugar Land, Katy, The Woodlands, Conroe and elsewhere in Harris County, Montgomery County and Fort Bend County.
Considering the possible severity of punishments for various sex crimes, it is vital that you or your loved one contacts a sexual assault defense lawyer or attorney quickly to build and launch your legal defense.
Contact our law firm today to arrange a confidential consultation for your case.
