DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District George Braucher is speaking out about a surge in sex crime cases and why he thinks there's an increase.
Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault and Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution.
“It's unclear to me if we're seeing an incredible uptick in it, or if because this jurisdiction that has invested so heavily in public safety, including creating subject matter experts in rape cases … if that, in and of itself, hasn't caused an increase in the number of cases filed,” Brauchler said.
In Douglas County, just one county in the 23rd Judicial District, Brauchler said his team is prosecuting five separate public school teachers for sex crimes.
“That's unheard of in my time in the job here. Look, I've only been prosecuting for 30 years, and every once in a while you'd come across a teacher. We're now at five, at this moment in time,” Brauchler explained.
He attributes some of the success in finding those cases to victims speaking out at younger ages.
“Combine that with the mandatory reporter statutes that we have, and we have access now to a whole bunch of people that are doing bad things that previously have never been held accountable,” Brauchler said.
Accountability, Brauchler explained, is hard to get in sex assault cases because it relies on victims speaking up, and that’s not easy.
“That's very difficult for those kids to come forward, but many times, when they do, the people closest to them will accuse them of making things up or lying,” Brauchler said.
Some laws do acknowledge extended statutes of limitations, according to Brauchler, which is helpful when a victim speaks out years later. That allows the case to move forward but can hinder evidence gathering.
“What we've acknowledged is many times, these victims don't outcry right away. That's just a real dynamic that takes place with kids and adults,” Brauchler said. “Well, when they outcry later on in life, you know what? You're missing forensic evidence. You're not going to have that DNA. You're not going to have that mark on someone.”
There’s also the fear of re-victimizing someone. Brauchler said sometimes, cases will make it to trial and parents will ask prosecutors not to put the victim on the stand so they don’t have to relive their trauma.
“Well, now, what do you do as a prosecutor? You want to get that [suspect], you want to lock him up. But at the same time, if you do it at the expense of the person he made a victim, you re-victimize them," Brauchler said. “That is a very tough decision, and these women that run this unit deal with that on an every week basis, on these crimes.”
