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I have periodically read about the city's rape kit backlog, but I guess it's never registered with me just how bad it is. How do you let rape kits sit around for over a decade? What kind of message does that send about how seriously law enforcement takes this crime?
Quote:
In early April 1997, a 17-year-old girl said she was raped by an acquaintance at a party near the University of New Mexico. She said he pushed her to the ground in an alley and told her to be quiet or he would kill her.
Almost seven years later, about 1,000 miles away in Mountain View, California, a 42-year-old woman said she was sleeping in a motel when a stranger broke in, held her down and sexually assaulted her for about half an hour.
Late last month, after the Albuquerque Police Department tested the 1997 rape kit, detectives determined the same man was responsible.
Van Riley Overton Jr., now 45, was arrested in Albuquerque on Sunday.
Over the past several years, Overton became heavily involved in volunteer work and philanthropy in the Albuquerque-area.
He co-founded Duke City Dream Lab and later founded the nonprofit SpreadLoveABQ, both of which are geared to helping Albuquerque youths grappling with substance abuse, homelessness and other adversities.
In 2017, Berry honored Overton as volunteer of the year for his work on behalf of the Albuquerque Public Schools Title 1 homeless project, and for organizing art programs that raised donations of food and clothing for homeless students.
This is one way some predators and abusers disguise themselves. They do charity work, building a reputation for being a "'great guy", a "caring guy". They may present a very sympathetic persona toward friends and family members as a strategy for deflecting any rumors or accusations that eventually arise. They organize supporters in this informal way, who don't hesitate to step up to defend him, saying things along the lines of: "He's such a nice man! It couldn't be him who did those awful things they're accusing him of". They can be master manipulators, con artists of a sort.
I have periodically read about the city's rape kit backlog, but I guess it's never registered with me just how bad it is. How do you let rape kits sit around for over a decade? What kind of message does that send about how seriously law enforcement takes this crime?
At any rate, good for Mayor Keller for doing what needed to be done to clear this backlog.
Actually, it seems from the article that it was more like two decades? Did I get the math right? The specific case in question was from 1997, and it was within the last year or two that the kit was finally tested?
This has been a fairly common problem in cities around the US in the past, though some have in more recent years placed a priority on catching up on the backlog. Not sure what the hang-up is; understaffed LE departments or labs? Shortage of funds? NM is a cash-strapped state, IDK...
A year or so ago, the state announced that State Police had completed testing of their backlog of rape kits. Albuquerque received a DOJ grant in December 2019 to complete testing of their rape kit backlog.
Actually, it seems from the article that it was more like two decades? Did I get the math right? The specific case in question was from 1997, and it was within the last year or two that the kit was finally tested?
This has been a fairly common problem in cities around the US in the past, though some have in more recent years placed a priority on catching up on the backlog. Not sure what the hang-up is; understaffed LE departments or labs? Shortage of funds? NM is a cash-strapped state, IDK...
Close to two decades, yes. I was stating it on the conservative side (but I didn't want to say "decades" since that would not have been accurate). For all I know there could have still been kits from before 1997, however.
From the article:
This is one way some predators and abusers disguise themselves. They do charity work, building a reputation for being a "'great guy", a "caring guy". They may present a very sympathetic persona toward friends and family members as a strategy for deflecting any rumors or accusations that eventually arise. They organize supporters in this informal way, who don't hesitate to step up to defend him, saying things along the lines of: "He's such a nice man! It couldn't be him who did those awful things they're accusing him of". They can be master manipulators, con artists of a sort.
True, or it could be a sign of a guilty conscience, an honest desire to atone for past sins. Someone with no remorse probably wouldn't go to all that trouble.
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