New Sexual Assault Team aims to better help victims

Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal announced the formation of a county-wide Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, on Thursday morning at IU’s Sample Gates.

College campuses are notorious for rapes and sexual assault, Gaal said. The response team will help victims through the trauma.

“This is exactly the type of community that needs it the most,” Gaal said.

It has taken three years for Gaal to get this service implemented.

Lack of political will in Monroe County has made it difficult, said former Monroe County council member Sophia Travis.

The roles of the parties involved will be determined by the situation.

For instance, victims do not have to report the crime to the police but can receive free hospital care through a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. An advocate will explain to victims their legal rights.

The new team formalizes existing services’ roles, said Bloomington Police Capt. Joe Qualters, who spoke at the press conference along with other advocates including IU Provost Karen Hanson.

In the past three years Middle Way House has averaged 70 sexual assault cases per year.

Numbers peak in April during the Little 500 bike race and when school ends and begins, Toby Strout, Middle Way House Executive Director, said.

There have already been 73 sexual assault cases reported to Middle Way House in 2009, but some of the assaults occurred years before.

During IU’s 2008-09 academic year there were 15 reported cases involving faculty and students, Strout said.

Middle Way House provides counseling and services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Strout said that for every reported rape, three to 10 go unreported.

Neighboring Owen and Greene Counties plan to model similar SART programs based on Monroe’s, according to a Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office press release.