Charges filed in only 4 of 28 rapes

Deepa Bharath

Charges were filed by the Orange County district attorney in only

four out of 28 rapes reported in the city between January and

September 2003, officials said.

The city saw a 154% increase in rapes, according to a report

released by the state attorney general’s office on Wednesday.

Reported incidents went up from 11 during the first nine months of

2002 to 28 during the same period in 2003.

There is no explanation for why rapes -- or for that matter any of

the violent crimes -- go up or down, Costa Mesa Police Det. Sgt. Jack

Archer said.

Many of the Costa Mesa incidents involved alcohol or date rape

drugs and very rarely involved stranger attacks, Archer said. In

almost all cases, the victim and suspect knew each other, he said.

“Two out of the 28 cases were unfounded,” he said. “In all other

cases, except for the four that were filed, either there was little

or no evidence that a crime had occurred or the victims themselves

decided not to go any further with it.”

In all four of the cases that were filed, the victim and the

suspect knew each other.

The increasing number of reported rape cases doesn’t surprise

Heather Banuelos, program director for Sexual Assault Victims

Services, which serves as Orange County’s rape crisis center.

“We’re seeing an increasing trend everywhere because more and more

people are reporting them,” she said. “And that’s because people are

becoming more aware and getting educated about how to react if they

ever become a rape victim.”

Last year alone, the center helped almost 1,800 victims, Banuelos

said.

“Less than half of the reported incidents actually get filed,” she

said.

The sooner victims report the incident to police, the better the

chance of prosecution, Banuelos said.

The center works with the police department to take the victims to

Anaheim Memorial Medical center, where they would be given a “rape

kit exam,” she said.

“Collecting evidence is very important,” she said. “It’s very hard

to prosecute a case when it’s he said, she said.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.