Sexual assault close to home

In 2013, 65 girls and women older than 12 received forensic medical examinations for sexual assault, according to new data released by the Butte County Sexual Assault Team. Of those, 44 percent were under the age of 25.

Nearly two-thirds of the victims reported a lapse of consciousness, memory loss or both, either due to injury or drug or alcohol use. About one-third said they’d been forced to use alcohol or drugs.

Late last year, Butte joined a program called Rapid DNA Service (RADS). After any sexual-assault examination at a local hospital, swabs with DNA go directly to the California Department of Justice’s forensic lab.

Between Nov. 21, 2013—when Butte launched RADS—and Sept. 2, 2014, local hospitals submitted 44 rape kits for processing; 15 percent provided enough DNA to create suspect profiles in the Combined DNA Index System.