New Harris County report on sex assaults shows difficulties in reducing and solving crime

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Many law enforcement agencies in our area agree: sex assaults are often unreported and unsolved.

In fact, local leaders with the Houston Area Women's Center told ABC13 that about half of sex assaults go unreported.

"We get overlooked, we get dismissed, we get accused of lying, and we have to live with those scars every day," said one woman who asked not to be identified due to job concerns.

She said she was sexually assaulted, but never reported it.

"I was embarrassed. I was shocked. This couldn't have happened to me of all people because I'm such a strong person," she explained.

The Harris County Sexual Assault Response Team was formed in 2021, mandated by state law to get local agencies to work together.

On Tuesday, the team released a new report showing the Harris County Sheriff's Office doubled the size of its adult sex crimes unit from six to twelve members in the past two years.

The District Attorney's office reported that it increased its unit from five to nine members.

But statistics from DPS show how the sheriff's office responds to sexual assault reports.

Not only do numbers show a clearance rate that's about half the average of all crimes, but arrest rates are extremely low and haven't changed much in the past four years.

Leaders agree, it's not just staffing that needs to change. It's culture.

"Maybe close to 50% of people are not reporting, so we want to make sure we show a real landscape of sexual violence in our community," Harris County SART Presiding CEO Sonia Corrales explained. "It's not just one issue, one entity. It's everybody's issue."