After poring over hundreds of sexual assault cold case files, a Michigan State University assistant criminal justice professor said she’s found a pattern that belies stereotypes about sex offenders.
“The misconception about people who commit sex crimes is that they’re repeat sex offenders, with a focus on the sexual offense,” said Karen Holt of Michigan State’s School of Criminal Justice. “But what I’m seeing is that it’s more of a lifestyle of taking whatever they want from people.
“They might sexually assault someone, but they also might steal money, or take a car,” Holt said. “It’s lifestyle impulsivity, a feeling of entitlement to take from others by force, and not necessarily a sexual issue.”
Holt is working with Michigan State Police and law enforcement officials in Ingham County to study cases statewide that involved untested rape kits. Holt plans to present her findings at the Ingham County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Summit in June.
Holt has studied 700 case files that are part of more than 3,400 untested rape kits uncovered under the statewide Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which was launched in 2016 by Michigan State Police, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board.
SAKI grant funds were used to conduct a statewide inventory of unsubmitted kits. The funds also trained police and prosecutors, and assisted with victim services.
The statewide initiative was launched after more than 11,000 Wayne County untested rape kits were found in a Detroit police warehouse in 2009.
Holt hopes her research, which is financed by a portion of U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance funds that were awarded to Michigan State Police, will not only help close cold cases, but give criminal justice professionals a better understanding of why people commit sex offenses, and how to better handle cases once arrests are made.
“Going through all those case files, I was trying to figure out common themes,” Holt said. “What did the crimes look like? Were weapons used? Did the offender say things? Did the offender commit other crimes? I’ve also worked with different investigators, learning from them about their decision-making — how did they approach cases? How did they triage cases?”
The next leg of Holt’s research is set to begin as soon as she gets permission from the Michigan Department of Corrections to begin interviewing inmates whose DNA was found in the old rape kits, but whose crimes were committed before the statute of limitations expired.
In Michigan, there is no statute of limitation on first-degree criminal sexual conduct, while for second- and third-degree CSC involving minors, the statute expires 15 years from the date of the offense or until the victim’s 28th birthday, whichever is later. For second- and third-degree CSC involving adults, the statute expires 10 years from the date of the offense or until the victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later.
“I’m interested in learning the offenders’ thought processes, what it was like for them during the investigation, how do they think, what goes on in their brains, things like that,” Holt said. “Then, the investigators can go in and see if (the inmates) may have committed other crimes they don’t know about.
“Looking at these cold case sexual assaults, we’re obviously trying to focus on cases that happened in the past, but this research is also focusing on the future,” Holt said. “How can we all come to the table from different perspectives — researchers, law enforcement, prosecutors’ victims, advocates, and at some point, I’d like to bring rehabilitated perpetrators, too, to get their feedback on how they committed these crimes.
“The idea is to hold the people who committed these sex offenses accountable, and using the information we get to try to prevent them from happening in the future,” Holt said.
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