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The first court hearing for a federal class-action lawsuit against the Austin Police Department, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and Travis Counrt District Attorney’s office gets underway on Monday morning.
The previously filed lawsuit notes that while more than 1,000 women report a sexual assault to Austin police each year, the number of cases actually taken to trial annually are in the single digits.
The lawsuit alleges that Travis County DA Margaret Moore has ratified the “discriminatory policies” publicly, making statements that acquaintance rapes are really more “traumatic occurrences” than criminal acts. The suit also accuses Moore of testing of the backlog of thousands of rape kits in Austin for “informational purposes” and not for prosecution, which the plaintiffs see as a confirmation that her office’s intent was not to seek justice for those victims.
The lawsuit also notes that while women make up 91 percent of sexual assault victims, the only case taken to trial in 2017 involved a male victim. In that instance, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office and the DA were aware of allegations by multiple women in previous years against the same perpetrator, but those cases were never prosecuted.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, claims that the dominant culture and ongoing and historical failures by local law enforcement to pursue sexual assault cases establishes a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of an estimated 6,000 sexual assault victims, while also violating their constitutional rights for equal protection.
“It is shocking that the vast majority of women who survive sexual assault are provided so little protection or recourse, and are essentially blamed for the refusal of law enforcement to seek justice in their cases,” says Jennifer Ecklund of Thompson & Knight and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Women go to authorities in order to seek justice and to protect other women, but the policies and practices of law enforcement instead re-traumatize survivors while allowing their attackers to walk free.”
Five additional plaintiffs have been added since the original filing, bringing the total named plaintiffs in the proposed class to eight.
The suit names former Austin police chief Art Acevedo, current Chief of Police Brian Manley, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, former Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg, and current Travis County DA Margaret Moore.
