Over 4K sex assault cases suspended due to personnel shortage will be reviewed, HPD says
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Thousands of sexual assault victims who have waited years for justice may soon see some progress in their case. Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner announced a formal plan to address reports that sat in limbo since 2016.
During a Thursday press conference, Finner explained that 32 employees will be diverted to the Special Victims Unit. They are tasked with combing over 4,017 adult sex crime cases that were labeled as suspended due to a lack of personnel. In the last two weeks, investigators have already reviewed about 700 reports.
The chief said the number of cases slated for review is preliminary and could change over the next 30 days. Part of the investigation involves looking at whether cases have been coded incorrectly as sexual assault and weeding through duplicate reports.
HPD said the issue only impacts adult cases, and cases involving children and teens are being investigated.
"One thing I'm not going to do is take families, victims, and survivors on a roller-coaster ride. This is one of the most traumatic crimes. You and your families are important to me and should be treated with dignity and respect, which includes a trauma-informed response," Finner said.
Finner claimed the label was a code he first put a stop to in November 2021 but then discovered just two weeks ago that it was still being used.
"That code was put into effect in 2016. It will not be used again in my administration. It was unacceptable then. It's unacceptable now," Finner said. "If we have missed investigating even one sexual assault, we failed. I promise the Houston Police Department will correct this, and there will be accountability."
SEE PREVIOUS REPORT: 'Significant number' of sexual assault cases suspended due to HPD staffing, Chief Finner says
The backlog of sexual assault investigators is a problem plaguing other agencies as well. According to a December report released by the Harris County Sexual Assault Response Team, the Harris County Sheriff's Office only has five sex crime investigators, which can lead to a two-year delay before a pending case is investigated.
Between the beginning of 2022 and the end of August 2023, HCSO received 712 reports of adult sex crimes that resulted in only 256 investigations.
Christopher Reed told ABC13 his 16-year-old godniece has been waiting months for an investigator to be assigned to her case. The teen's mother explained that back in September, she was allegedly touched inappropriately by her manager at work. The victim and mother are not being named to protect the teen's identity.
"Those statistics are alarming, and each one of those numbers is a person. I am upset. As a citizen, I'm thinking about how these crimes could be put off, and the perpetrator is allowed to just continue," Reed said. "We're sitting here now, and we don't even know if the witnesses are still available that were there when the incident happened. We don't know if surveillance video can still be accessed."
Although these personnel shortages mainly affect adult cases, the mother said it impacted their family, too.
"For me, it's more anger. But for my daughter, I feel sad. She's having anxiety attacks, and she's seeing a therapist. Now, she feels violated. She's always asking me what's going on with her case. (I tell her) 'I don't know,' and she instantly backs down because she doesn't know how to handle it," the mother said.
After ABC13 reached out on Thursday, HCSO said investigators are working to reach out to Reed's family.
As for Houston police, Finner said any victims whose cases have gone cold can expect to be contacted by HPD within the next few weeks. Any complainants whose contact information has changed since the time of your report can call (713) 308-1180 or email specialvictimsreport@houstonpolice.org.
For more on this story, follow Rosie Nguyen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
