Sexual Assault

A long-awaited report on sexual assaults in the military was finally been released on September 21, and its biggest takeaway is that women and men are more likely to be assaulted on a United States Navy ship than any other type of military installation. Further, the ship most likely to be involved is an aircraft…

A young woman in California is suing her alleged sexual assault perpetrator as well as two UCLA fraternities concerning policies she asserts are insufficient to protect future and alleged victims. The woman claims that a man perpetrated sexual assault against her at an August 2016 party. Identified as Jane Doe in the court filing, the…

The state of California has passed, and the Governor has signed into law, new legislation that protects the confidentiality communications between sexual assault victims and their counselors on college campuses in the state. California Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes introduced the bill – AB 1896 – back in January. Now law as of July 18, it provides…

National Public Radio (NPR) released an investigation early this year regarding people with intellectual disabilities and sexual assault. The numbers were, unfortunately, appalling. As the United States deals with an ugly period in history with the explosion of #MeToo, our most vulnerable population seems to be left behind. NPR, with assistance from the Justice Department,…

In late June, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced that Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick was accused of sexually abusing a teen 45 years ago while serving as a priest in New York. After a forensic investigation and review of those results by the Archdiocesan Review Board, the accusations were found credible. The Vatican…

In 1989, the University of Southern California hired a doctor named George Tyndall for their Engemann Student Health Center. Over the years, rumors and stories started to swirl about Tyndall’s behavior – a suggestive or lewd comment here, an inappropriate touch there. In the 1990s, his coworkers even alleged that he was taking photographs of…

In January of last year, a woman got into what she believed was an Uber outside a Hollywood nightclub. Instead, her evening turned into a nightmare as she had unwittingly entered the vehicle of a rapist posing as an Uber driver, who took her to a secluded area and assaulted her. Nicolas Morales, 44, was…

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made headlines after some controversial comments on a March 11 appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” During a discussion about her department’s changes on how colleges should report sexual assaults, she appeared to suggest that the number of false accusations was equal to the number of actual, real assaults. When host…

With more than 10,000 rape kits sitting untested in California, lawmakers have introduced a bill that will address the backlog and ensure future kits will be tested in a timely manner. Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) introduced legislation in late February that would require law enforcement and forensic labs to more promptly test rape kit…

One of the most reprehensible and horrific crimes is the sexual exploitation of children. Sexual assault is any kind of non-consensual sexual activity, and it can range from subtle to violent. Types of sexual crimes against children can include rape, sexual threats and intimidation, incest, assault by partners, human trafficking, harassment, street harassment and other…