'I had very high hopes': Understanding the challenges of a rape conviction
Between Jan. 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2023, the Ada County Prosecutor's Office charged and closed more than 90 rape cases. 15 cases ended in conviction.
National statistics from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network show most rapes go unreported. When they are reported to police, the vast majority of cases don't lead to rape convictions.
In Ada County, about 16% of rape charges end in someone being convicted of and sentenced for rape.
This can lead to victims being retraumatized, feeling the justice system failed them, exactly what one Boise woman who KTVB is referring to only as Rose – said happened to her.
"I can see why women don’t report and don’t go through it because of my instance, for example, because justice is almost never served," Rose said.
Scattered Reality Boise Woman's Story
How do you put the pieces together after something so traumatic leaves your reality shattered and scattered?
"I felt like I didn’t belong here anymore," Rose said. "Like what's the point? I had been talking to a man on Tinder for about a week and decided to meet up and go on a date. Then we went back to his place and we did have consensual sex at first. Then he came back and raped me."
Rose reported the alleged rape to police in October 2022.
"He beat me up. He choked me," Rose said.
She got a rape kit that night at the FACES of Hope Victim Center, now the Ada County Victim Services Center.
Court records show police got an arrest warrant the next day, Oct. 3, 2022, and a grand jury later indicted the man on two counts of rape and aggravated assault.
"I had very high hopes," Rose said.
But more than a year later, the suspect's defense attorney introduced evidence about Rose, where she posted her "alternative sexual preferences" and kinks online – preferences like choking, domination and something called "consensual non-consent" play.
The man claimed Rose told him about those fetishes, and everything between them was consensual.
Rose denies both claims. She said prosecutors never showed her what the defense had on her.
Still, an Ada County prosecutor told a district judge in a November 2023 motion hearing that the evidence changed the case.
“I’ll just put on the record that there was a change in the complexion of the case," said John Dinger, an attorney with the Ada County Prosecutor's Office.
The evidence would make the allegations difficult for the state to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt." Prosecutors and the defense agreed to an Alford plea.
The man pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor battery in December 2023 – even while claiming he was innocent of that. In the November hearing, the prosecutor's office acknowledged Rose wasn't happy with the outcome, but it was the "right resolution."
"We have complied with the Victims' Rights Act as we had throughout this whole thing," Dinger said.
Under the Victims' Rights Act, victims of crimes against children, violent crimes and sex crimes don't need to sign off on a possible plea agreement before it's entered. They just need to be advised of one, which Rose was.
"Technically just informing a victim is probably ethical," said Lourdes Matsumoto, the director of law and policy with the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. "But it doesn’t feel ethical to say, 'I need you to put yourself out there, I need all your info, I need you to go through this trauma, I need you to continue to reopen this wound in order for me to prove my case, but I can get rid of it without ever having your stamp of approval.'"
"I asked if they had made the decision and they said, 'yes,' and I said, 'well you didn’t even consult me, didn’t even call me in to talk to me about it, you just took that choice away from me too,'" Rose said.
Charges vs. Convictions Case Results
KTVB wanted to know if Rose's case was unique and how many cases actually result in rape convictions.
Ada County Prosecutor's Office data shows they charged and closed more than 90 rape cases between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2023.
Rose's case is among more than 20 of those that plead down to misdemeanors.
While 56 rape charges ended in some kind of felony conviction – rape convictions are rare.
According to Idaho Judicial Branch data, 15 rape cases in Ada County ended in rape convictions during that six-year span.
"It takes so much strength to get there and then to have that be the outcome, is in some ways more damaging than if you wouldn’t have pursued it ever to begin with," Matsumoto said.
In the second-most populated county in Idaho, rape conviction rates are a little lower. Out of more than 40 cases filed and closed in Canyon County, just six (14%) ended in felony rape convictions, according to Idaho Judicial Branch data.
Finding Solutions System Overhaul
In its interview with Matsumoto, KTVB asked whether she believes the Ada County Prosecutor's Office does a good job at pursing, prosecuting and/or convicting rape cases:
"It's not something any agency, any system, is doing to accurately reflect the amount of harm and injury taking place," Matsumoto said. "Again, that’s not to say that no prosecutor in the state is soft on this issue or doesn’t want to, it’s just the systems. It’s a systemic problem. The system is not set up to assist victims to bring those cases forward, and the ability of everything in the world in your entire past to be used against you makes it difficult for a prosecutor to secure convictions. It makes it more difficult. So, I would say that’s probably true of Ada County as it is of every prosecutor in entire country."
The Ada County Prosecutor's Office declined an interview on camera, but told KTVB over email that rape convictions don't necessarily reflect success or the best result in every case. Sometimes they try to avoid trial when a victim can't emotionally face cross-examination.
The office said they do an "outstanding job" handling sex assault cases, adding the following in a statement:
"The Ada County criminal justice system is not perfect, it bears the same limitations as similar systems throughout the state and the country. What is different about Ada County is the fierce commitment that the people involved in the system have to do the very best we can within the constraints of the system.”
In the November 2023 motion hearing, District Court Judge Patrick Miller said "my experience is that the state does vigorously pursue all cases of a sexual nature, of a domestic nature."
During two different hearings in Rose's case, two different judges praised Ada County for going after sex crimes.
"If the State felt that it could prove the charges that it would not back away from them," Miller said. "I don't have any doubt about that."
Matsumoto feels the criminal justice system isn't set up to keep victims' trauma top of mind. She also said the ability to introduce evidence about a victim's past adds another barrier to reporting, prosecuting and convicting rapes.
"What is needed to successfully prosecute or get a conviction versus what is needed to honor the victim’s trauma and journey through this are often diametrically opposite," Matsumoto said.
Matsumoto said convicting more rapes would take overhauling the system.
Although Rose doesn't feel the system gave her justice, she's moving forward, rebuilding her life – piece by piece. She's even creating a new picture by trying to give others strength.
"I want to share my story in hopes that while in my eyes – maybe in other people’s eyes, the system has failed me – there is still that slight percentage that it could not fail someone else," Rose said. "If other women, survivors, see that I am strong enough, that they are also strong enough to do it too."
It's important to note false allegations of sexual assault are rare. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, most research into false reporting is unreliable, but a review of studies available shows the prevalence of false reporting is between 2% and 10% of incidents reported to police.
If someone is sexually assaulted in Ada County, they can go to the Ada County Victim Services Center, where they can get a forensic exam and talk to law enforcement if they choose to.
They can also reach out to Faces of Hope, which offers a safety net in times of crisis with resources like counseling, support groups, legal help, hotel and transportation vouchers, and more.
KTVB’s award winning investigative team reports on local, crime, and breaking news across Idaho.
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