Item #3 March 2025- TCDA Adult Sexual Assault Report — original pdf

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OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY P.O. Box 1748, Austin, TX 78767 JOSÉ P. GARZA Telephone 512/854-9400 TRUDY STRASSBURGER DISTRICT ATTORNEY Telefax 512/854-4206 FIRST ASSISTANT Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report March 20251 Case Staffing Snapshot: 3/1/25 to 3/31/25 Cases Staffed Cases Not Filed by LEA Cases Declined by TCDA Cases Pending Further Investigation Cases Accepted Accepted Cases Previously Returned for Investigation APD Cases 8 3 0 4 1 0 Total 12 6 0 5 1 0 Case Prosecution Snapshot: 3/1/25 to 3/31/25 Cases Received for Prosecution Cases Rejected or Dismissed Cases Indicted Cases No Billed Cases Pled Cases Tried 15 12 15 0 5 2 Pending Cases By Year Received (as of 3/31/25) Year 2019 2020 2021 2022 # 2 7 9 27 Year 2023 2024 2025 # 43 105 45 1 The data summarized in this report was retrieved for analysis on April 14, 2025. Ronald Earle Building, 416 W. 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Cases Pled by Offense: 3/1/25 to 3/31/25† Indecent Assault Sexual Assault Sexual Coercion 3 1 2 Trial Outcomes: 3/1/25 to 3/31/25‡ SEXUAL ASSAULT (2 COUNTS) SEXUAL ASSAULT (1 COUNT) NOT GUILTY NOT GUILTY † In the five cases that pled, the defendant pled to two offenses in one case. ‡ In the two cases that were tried this month, the defendant was found not guilty on three counts. March 2025 Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report Page 2 of 4 About this Report The Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report endeavors to provide a monthly snapshot of adult sexual assault cases that are handled by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office (TCDA). For the purposes of this report, an adult sexual assault case can be any sexual assault case that is either staffed by TCDA’s Sexual Assault Unit before it is accepted for prosecution, or that is assigned to TCDA’s Sexual Assault Unit and is submitted, accepted, indicted, or otherwise prosecuted as one of the following offenses: Improper Sexual Activity with a Person in Custody or Under Supervision Improper Sexual Activity with a Committed Person Indecent Assault • Aggravated Kidnapping with Intent to Inflict Bodily Injury/Sexual Abuse • Aggravated Sexual Assault • Burglary of a Habitation with the Intent to Commit a Sexual Offense • • • • Failure to Comply/Duty to Register as a Sex Offender§ • Hindering the Apprehension/Prosecution of a Known Felon/Sex Offender** • Prohibited Sexual Conduct • Sex Trafficking of Persons • Sexual Assault • Sexual Exploitation by a Mental Health Services Provider • Sexual Coercion Please note that criminal case data compiled in this report is not longitudinal. For example, cases resolved during the month that is the subject of this report may have been referred to TCDA for prosecution in a previous month or year. Glossary of Terms Case Staffings occur when a detective with a local law enforcement agency asks a TCDA prosecutor to review a case that is under investigation. TCDA prosecutors are available to staff cases with detectives from any law enforcement agency in Travis County. After staffing a case, a case may get accepted, declined, or referred, or the prosecutor may encourage a case detective to continue their investigation. Law enforcement agencies are not required to staff a case with TCDA before arresting a suspect and filing a case for prosecution. Cases Staffed represent the total number of adult sexual assault cases reviewed by a TCDA prosecutor through the case staffing process during the reporting period. The same case may be staffed multiple times. Cases staffed during the reporting period may also have been staffed in a previous month. Cases Not Filed by LEA represents staffed cases that do not move forward because the detective has decided not to file the case with TCDA for prosecution. Law enforcement may choose not to file a case because the detective determines there is not probable cause or because a victim has requested that the case not proceed. TCDA may still § This offense is usually referred to TCDA’s Trial Court Division for prosecution but may be handled by TCDA’s Sexual Assault Unit if SAU requests for the case to be transferred. For example, the Sexual Assault Unit may request the transfer of a Failure to Comply/Duty to Register case if it relates to another pending sexual assault case that the unit is prosecuting. ** Cases prosecuted for this offense are also typically handled by TCDA’s Trial Court Division unless the Sexual Assault Unit requests that the case be transferred. Like Failure to Comply/Duty to Register cases, this transfer is usually only requested if the case is related to another matter that is pending in the Sexual Assault Unit. March 2025 Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report Page 3 of 4 choose to accept the case for prosecution through the “no complaint” process, although this happens very rarely. Cases Declined by TCDA represents staffed cases that do not move forward because a prosecutor determines there is not probable cause or that it will not be possible to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. If TCDA chooses to decline a case, a law enforcement may still “direct file” the case for prosecution. Cases Pending Further Investigation describes the number of cases staffed during the reporting period that are “pending further investigation”. At this stage, additional investigative steps are being taken to collect and review evidence. These steps may be necessary to determine whether there is probable cause to justify an arrest and/or to support the successful prosecution of the case in the future. Cases Accepted describes cases accepted for prosecution that were referred to TCDA through the case staffing process. This includes cases where law enforcement and TCDA both agree that prosecution is appropriate as well as cases accepted by TCDA as a “no complaint”. Cases Accepted Previously Returned for Investigation are cases accepted through the staffing process during this reporting period that had been staffed previously and marked “Pending Further Investigation.” Cases Received for Prosecution describes all cases referred to TCDA for prosecution during the reporting period. This includes cases that are accepted through the case staffing process, cases accepted as a “no complaint”, and cases that are directly filed by law enforcement and not previously staffed with a TCDA prosecutor. After a case is received by TCDA, it may take a few weeks before the case is input into TCDA’s case management system. Cases Rejected or Dismissed describes instances where TCDA has previously accepted a case yet decided during the reporting period to not proceed with its prosecution. If this decision happens before the case has been presented to a grand jury, TCDA considers the case “rejected”. If this decision happens after the case has been indicted, TCDA considers the case “dismissed”. This total does not include instances in which a case is “no billed” by a grand jury or dismissed based on a motion filed by a judge or the defendant’s attorney. Cases Indicted are cases presented to a grand jury during the reporting period where the grand jury has issued a “true bill”, agreeing that there is probable cause to support the offense(s) charged. A grand jury may indict on multiple counts under a single case. Cases No Billed are cases presented to a grand jury during the reporting period where the grand jury has issued a “no bill” also known as a “no true bill”. If a grand jury returns a no bill, the charges against the defendant are dismissed. Cases Pled are cases resolved through a plea agreement reached between the defense and the prosecution. When a person pleads guilty, they waive their right to a trial and, often, their right to appeal their conviction in the future. Cases Tried are cases that a TCDA prosecutor has litigated before a judge or jury that have concluded during the reporting period. Any trial that is ongoing at the end of this reporting period will not appear in this report. Pending Cases By Year Received reflects the number of cases received by TCDA for prosecution each year that remain pending as of the end of the reporting period. Pending cases do not include: (1) cases that have been disposed; (2) cases where the defendant is at large; and (3) cases where a defendant has failed to appear while on bond and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. March 2025 Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report Page 4 of 4 Cases Pled by Offense lists the offenses convicted during the reporting period pursuant to a plea agreement reached between the prosecution and the defense. A defendant may plead guilty to multiple offenses as part of a single case. Trial Outcomes lists the offense(s) charged in any trial that occurred during the reporting period and the outcome of that trial. Trials that have not concluded during this reporting period will be documented in a subsequent month’s report. March 2025 Adult Sexual Assault Monthly Report Page 5 of 4