Juliette Simmons, victim of brutal rape, apparently receives little (if any) timely justice at the hands of Law Enforcement

Article in The Oregonian, Sunday, December 3, 2017:  A Neglected Victim, a Voice of Moral Outrage.

Based on what I’ve read, rape victim (Juliette Simmons) has been largely ignored for months by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Clackamas County District Attorney – who apparently can’t put together a forcible rape case without the DNA evidence.

Hopefully, The Oregonian article is not entirely accurate and/or complete.  The article was authored by the newspaper’s Editorial Board.  The Editorial Board was primarily, it would appear, trying to make the point that the Oregon State Police Lab is desperately understaffed, and that DNA tests often take months or even years to be completed.  Therefore, the article might be slanted in such a way to critique the inefficiency of the Lab – rather than evaluate or explain all aspects of the Simmons’ case.  Nonetheless, the article makes our county and state law enforcement look pretty bad – certainly gives them a ‘black eye.’

Ms. Simmons was reportedly ‘drugged, choked, raped and urinated on’ by someone she knows and who she immediately identified to law enforcement.  But it would appear that the Sheriff’s Office has done very little since the rape – which occurred many months back.  The Oregon State Police Laboratory is allegedly to blame due to their failure to conduct a timely DNA analysis.

I would like to remind everyone that it was not too many years back when crimes, particularly rape cases, were adequately investigated and prosecuted without DNA evidence; a technology that had not yet evolved.

Questions:

Has the suspect been arrested?  Apparently not.  Why not?

Was the suspect immediately interviewed / interrogated in a formal environment?  Did he deny the crime?  Did he implicate himself?  Did he deny having intercourse with the victim?  Was evidence (clothing, urine, etc.) collected from him and/or a search warrant issued without delay?  Was there not probable cause to charge him?

Were blood tests conducted on the rape victim to ascertain whether or not she had been drugged?

Did her medical exam reflect that she had been forcibly penetrated?

Were her clothes collected, analyzed and held as evidence in a future trial.

Did the suspect have a record of similar crimes?  And, is he currently dangerous to public?

Has the Sheriff’s Office kept the victim apprised on a regular basis of the case’s standing?  Doesn't sound like it.

DNA evidence is a wonderful tool for law enforcement, often making a somewhat sketchy case a ‘slam dunk.’ However, that does not mean that law enforcement doesn’t have to work the case, even potentially solve the case, without the DNA analysis (which, even with DNA, does not necessarily guarantee an automatic conviction.)

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office:  What do you have to say?  Will you let the article stand unchallenged?

As they say:  Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

True Nelson