Offending patterns for serial sex offenders identified via the DNA testing of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits

Lovell, Rachel; Luminais, Misty; Flannery, Daniel J.; Overman, Laura; Huang, Duoduo; Walker, Tiffany; Clark, D R

doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2017.08.002

Cited by 38 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“… and elsewhere that nonstranger serial rapists may go undetected if nonstranger SAKs are not entered into CODIS, for example, because many law enforcement personnel view nonstranger SAs as less serious. It also confirms the quote “one person's friend is another person's stranger” and is consistent with the observation that over 25% of serial sexual offenders in a sample of previously untested SAKs in Cuyahoga County, Ohio assaulted both strangers and nonstrangers .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Analyzing Approaches to the Backlog of Untested Sexual Assault Kits in the U.S.A.

Wang

Wein

2018

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Motivated by the debate over how to deal with the huge backlog of untested sexual assault kits in the U.S.A., we construct and analyze a mathematical model that predicts the expected number of hits (i.e., a new DNA profile matches a DNA sample in the criminal database) as a function of both the proportion of the backlog that is tested and whether the victim-offender relationship is used to prioritize the kits that are tested. Refining the results in Ref. (Criminol Public Policy, 2016, 15, 555), we use data from Detroit, where government funding was used to process %15% of their backlog, to predict that prioritizing stranger kits over nonstranger kits leads to only a small improvement in performance (a 0.034 increase in the normalized area under the curve of the hits vs. proportion of backlog tested curve). Two rough but conservative cost-benefit analyses-one for testing the entire backlog and a marginal one for testing kits from nonstranger assaults-suggest that testing all sexual assault kits in the backlog is quite cost-effective: for example, spending %$1641 to test a kit averts sexual assaults costing %$133,484 on average.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Analyzing Approaches to the Backlog of Untested Sexual Assault Kits in the U.S.A.

Wang

Wein

2018

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…Indeed, in its first 3 years of operation SAKI has resulted in the upload of more than 15,000 profiles to CODIS and more than 900 charges being filed (SAKI, 2019). Research from these projects has also identified a higher rate of serial sexual offenders than was previously suggested (Campbell et al, 2015b; Lovell et al, 2017, 2018), highlighting the value of testing DNA evidence in sexual assault cases. Mandatory testing laws and training and technical assistance from national and regional grant programs to test SAKs (such as SAKI), combined with technological advances increasing the sensitivity of testing and decreasing time to results, will likely result in an increase in the number of sexual assault cases with DNA evidence available at the prosecution phase.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 81%

Identification, Corroboration, and Charging: Examining the Use of DNA Evidence by Prosecutors in Sexual Assault Cases

Henry

Jurek

2020

Feminist Criminology

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This study examines the influence of DNA evidence on prosecutorial decisions in sexual assault cases. Thirty-eight prosecutors experienced with prosecuting sexual violence cases were surveyed regarding the use of biological evidence in sexual assault cases, including the ways in which it is generally used, the cases in which it is most critical to have, and factors impacting case attrition. Results indicate that prosecutors perceive DNA evidence to be extremely valuable in prosecuting sexual assault cases. Several themes related to the perspective, context, process, and conditions under which DNA evidence plays a vital role in sexual assault case processing are identified.

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“…In most contexts, serial criminality is defined as committing two (Lovell et al, 2017; Slater et al, 2014) or sometimes three or more separate incidents at two points in time for a certain population of interest (Edelstein, 2016). Serial criminality most often implies adjudication in the criminal justice system (Deslauriers-Varin & Beauregard, 2013; Rebocho & GonÇalves, 2012), meaning that the offender is connected to two or more crimes via arrest and/or conviction.…”

Section: Serial Criminality Of Sexual Offendersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of reported sexual assaults never proceed beyond the investigative phase (Bouffard, 2000; Campbell, 2008), which has allowed offenders to remain free to reoffend (Lovell et al, 2017; Lovell, Luminais, et al, 2018). Thus, the criminal justice system’s inadequate response to sexual assault is a contributing factor in serial sexual perpetration (Human Rights Watch, 2013; Lovell et al, 2017). Data that rely only on official criminal justice system records are an undercount of reoffending, but especially in the case of sexually based reoffending.…”

Section: Serial Criminality Of Sexual Offendersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Offending Histories and Typologies of Suspected Sexual Offenders Identified Via Untested Sexual Assault Kits

Lovell

Huang

Overman

et al. 2020

Criminal Justice and Behavior

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In this study, we present findings that detail the criminal offending histories and typologies of suspected sexual offenders identified from an initiative to follow up on the testing of thousands of previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs). This study advances our understanding of sexual offenders by incorporating data from criminal justice system records (“detected” criminal offending) with data from newly tested SAKs that were not previously adjudicated (“undetected” sexual offending). Our findings demonstrate that these offenders have extensive criminal histories, very frequently continued to offend after the SAK-associated sexual assault, and, more often than not, have criminal histories that do not include a prior arrest(s) for rape. A latent class analysis identified three classes of offenders based on their offending history, “High-Volume Generalists,” “Low-Volume Offenders,” and “Sexual Specialists.” Most were generalists, with a large proportion committing lots of serious crimes.

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Offending patterns for serial sex offenders identified via the DNA testing of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits

Cited by 38 publications

References 52 publications

Analyzing Approaches to the Backlog of Untested Sexual Assault Kits in the U.S.A.

Analyzing Approaches to the Backlog of Untested Sexual Assault Kits in the U.S.A.

Identification, Corroboration, and Charging: Examining the Use of DNA Evidence by Prosecutors in Sexual Assault Cases

Offending Histories and Typologies of Suspected Sexual Offenders Identified Via Untested Sexual Assault Kits

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