13 Investigates: Rape victim finally contacted by HPD 5 years after assault says 'we matter'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For weeks, a sexual assault victim whom 13 Investigates spoke with said she couldn't sleep in her own room.

"I didn't want to be in my room. I slept in the living room, the couch, and it would take forever for me to fall asleep," she said. "I still have trouble falling asleep."

The young woman, who didn't want to be identified but said we could call her "Jennifer," said she was raped by a relative's husband during a family member's party in 2018.

After the incident, Jennifer said she went to the hospital, where DNA evidence was collected as part of a sexual assault kit. But she said after that, she didn't receive any updates from the police.

"Every time I spoke, I will get told, 'We'll take it up to our superiors, we'll let them know. We'll get back to you.' (They) wouldn't get back to (me), so I'd call again," she said. "My dad encouraged me to keep calling so they know that I want answers. I never got answers."

13 Investigates found Jennifer's case is one of 49 sexual assault cases with DNA evidence that the Harris County Forensic Science Center and the Houston Police Department say they're prioritizing.

Those 49 cases are among 4,017 sexual assault incident reports since 2016 that were labeled with an internal "suspended - lack of personnel" code by HPD.

In total, HPD says it wrongfully marked more than 260,000 incidents with the suspended code, meaning those cases were never followed up on by investigators despite workable leads.

For the first time, 13 Investigates is getting an inside look at communications about how these cases are being handled now.

ABC13 received internal emails between HPD and the Houston Forensic Science Center, which show leaders from both agencies met on April 2 to discuss the 4,017 sexual assault incident reports that were suspended.

A PowerPoint presentation from that meeting shows there were 75 sexual assault kits from suspended cases that had a CODIS hit, which is when DNA from a victim is connected to a known suspect or another case using a national database.

13 Investigates received a spreadsheet with information on 49 sexual assault cases that had CODIS hits. We requested and received incident reports for each of those cases.

HPD has confirmed in one of these 49 incidents, DNA evidence collected for the sexual assault produced a "hit" with a man who, two years later, was charged with murder. The department says it is reviewing that case, and the sexual assault victim is scheduled for an interview.

In another case, a woman was "sexually assaulted by two males inside her apartment complex as she was trying to get inside," according to an HPD report.

And in some cases, like Jennifer's, the victim was able to identify their alleged attacker. One incident even involved a woman reporting "her husband" as the suspect.

The Houston Forensic Science Center previously said it notifies HPD via email whenever there is a CODIS hit.

Now, 13 Investigates has learned that the science center's top leader was worried that cases wouldn't be appropriately handled earlier this month.

On April 3, 2024, Dr. Peter Stout, president of the Houston Forensic Science Center, emailed HPD Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite the following: "You said to let you know where you have a gap. Sounding to me like there is a gap in addressing CODIS hits and entries in the sexual assault cases. The team here is concerned that they find themselves having to push pretty hard to ensure that known hits are actually being seriously looked at. Happy to discuss."

Satterwhite responded, saying, "Let's discuss asap. What is your schedule like tomorrow?"

In another email that day, Dr. Stout reiterated, "There are a significant number of CODIS hits in SL cases that need to make sure something has really been done."

Satterwhite responded, "It appears all CODIS hits to include the 49 referenced below are being addressed as a priority. As always, please keep us apprised of concerns and challenges your team faces so that we can all work as proactively as possible to address."

In his response, Satterwhite copied Chief Finner and three other HPD leaders into the email, who said they are "handling and taking this issue seriously" and that it is "our highest priority."

On Thursday, Finner said more than a third of the 264,000 suspended incident reports have been reviewed. Of the 92,000 cases reviewed so far, he said 30,000 "were properly suspended but should have used a code other than the lack of personnel. That means one of every three reports we are reviewing (was) correctly suspended but with the wrong code."

"Chief Finner has said from the beginning of this massive and thorough review process, including those incident reports with DNA profile matches in the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) national database, that we will likely discover flaws in our case management system and how incident reports were being suspended due to lack of personnel," according to a statement from HPD. "We owe it to those complainants with CODIS hits in their incidents to fully pursue all DNA profile matches when our department receives notification of a CODIS hit. We have taken steps with our partners at the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC) to enhance communication and improve protocols to ensure this happens."

The Houston Forensic Science Center said in a statement on Thursday, "HPD should be commended that they have recognized and are working with all the criminal justice partners to try and address where CODIS hits are not effectively handled."

The center says a CODIS hit is not a conviction but rather an investigative tool that provides information to police to use as part of their investigation.

Contacting victims

Finner vowed to prioritize sexual assault cases.

HPD told us Thursday it has been trying to reach out to Jennifer since February.

In addition to trying to call Jennifer, an HPD spokesperson said that on April 10, they went for an in-person visit at the address on her incident report, about 40 miles outside of Houston. HPD did not locate her there, and Jennifer told us she had since moved.

13 Investigates contacted Jennifer this week by calling the phone number on her initial 2018 report. We learned it was her father's number, but he passed our message along to his daughter, who said she didn't even know that HPD had been suspending cases due to a lack of personnel, much less that her case was one of them.

"My dad had sent me (13 Investigates') messages. He called me. I thought he was calling me about something else, something goofy," Jennifer said. "I broke down, and then I went to search and to learn that so many people were just ignored. That's not right. The police are supposed to be there to help us, not throw us to the side like we don't matter."

On Thursday, Finner said 86% of the 4,017 sexual assault incident reports "have been cleared, suspended or inactivated, mostly due to no additional leads. The remaining reports are being investigated. Any incident will be reopened should a complainant contact us and provide additional information or evidence."

13 Investigates spoke with another sexual assault victim this week, whose case was listed as having a CODIS hit.

That victim said after she was assaulted in 2020, she felt like all HPD did was listen to her cry and tell her story, but that they never contacted her with updates to her case despite taking DNA evidence.

She said HPD did contact her a few weeks ago, asking if she wanted to pursue charges, which she does.

"The first time I talked to (police), I asked if she could give me a week or two because she's bringing back a situation - I have to relive this (expletive) again," the victim said. "When she called back again, she was just letting me know ... 'keep in mind, DNA was basically found.' That made me feel a lot better."

HPD told us they would try reaching out to Jennifer again.

She told us back in 2018 she stopped calling the police a few weeks after the incident when she couldn't get answers.

"I wanted to forget, but it's six years later, and it's still there. I get nightmares every now and then. Sadly, sometimes, my spouse touches me in a certain way. It just - it brings back flashes of that night, and I just break down," she said.

She said she felt broken then and sometimes still feels broken now.

But, she said there's one thing that would help.

"I'm bringing another little girl into this world. To think that they could go through something like this - I don't want people who do this to keep getting away. I would pursue these charges wholeheartedly," she said. "We matter. Every person who has been assaulted or has ever been a victim, even though we survived, we matter. We deserve our justice."

UPDATE: After we shared her contact information with HPD, Jennifer told us a Houston detective contacted her on Friday to schedule an interview.

HPD is asking victims whose contact information has changed since the time of their report to call (713) 308-1180 or email specialvictimsreport@houstonpolice.org.

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