THE SERIOUSNESS OF HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT 1

The Seriousness of Harassment and Sexual Assault

Lyndsey LeGrande

Salt Lake Community College

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Abstract

There are many concerns of sexual assault and harassment and how reported cases aren’t taken

seriously in the criminal justice system. Police officers have to balance already existing and

public safety crimes, while trying to decipher which cases are real issues. Victims struggle with

the fear of reporting assault and harassment, their personal safety being a risk due to insufficient

consequences, and are treated as the criminal in some cases. These findings show how they can

be a problem in today’s society.

In the media, we often hear of women reporting cases of harassment or sexual assault.

This issue isn’t new in today’s society, yet there isn’t a lot being done about it. Women come

forward to speak up about being mistreated in the workplace, raped, or sexually assaulted, yet

these cases aren’t priority majority of the time. When they are taken seriously, those accused of

the crime are let off easy, the woman is blamed, etc. but either way, we’re left with an

unresolved issue.

Lauren McClusky didn’t know her life would be put in danger when she decided to move

to Utah to attend the University of Utah. In fact, her life couldn’t have been better. She became

an accomplished runner on the university’s track team, and she was a hardworking student

majoring in communications. Fast forward to senior year, and she had a boyfriend. His name was

Melvin Rowland. They dated for a short time until her friend discovered the truth of this man.

Nearly everything about him was a lie; his age, name, and past was changed to keep McClusky

from finding out that he was a registered sex-offender, currently on parole, and was previously in
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prison for a total of eight years (Carlisle, Means, Tanner, 2018). As soon as she was told this

shocking information, she ended their relationship October 9, 2019, approximately a month after

they began dating (Sang, 2018).

Once the truth was out, McClusky’s life became nightmarish and complicated. She began

receiving suspicious texts from unknown numbers, and texts threatening to blackmail her. She

connected the dots and realized the texts were all sent from Rowland in an attempt to get her

away from her apartment. She became worried for her personal safety and reported of the

harassment to the police on. She got no response from them, so she contacted them again. Pat

Reavy of the Deseret News states that McClusky tried following up with the police numerous

times up until the 13th, but could see that the case hadn’t even appeared to be reviewed or

recorded. She became anxious, so in one final attempt, she contacted the dispatchers on October

19. She still heard nothingCJ (Reavy, 2018).

Three days later, McClusky was walking home from a night class, enjoying a

conversation with her mother on the phone, completely unaware of the fact that she was being

followed. In an instant, she was forcefully dragged to his car and shot multiple times. Rowland

shot himself later that night after the police were aware of the crime he had committed (Carlisle,

Means, Tanner, 2018).

This incident is among many others where a reported case of harassment wasn’t taken

seriously. If the police would have taken action immediately, Lauren McClusky’s life could have

been spared. The police could have looked up Rowland’s record, and known that he was on the

sex-offender registry, and had been in and out of prison for years. If they made this simple effort,

Rowland would be in prison for violating parole instead of lying on his deathbed.
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Perhaps the reason these types of cases aren’t a priority among other cases is because

there are false reports. Police don’t want to waste their time investigating a suspect when they

could be controlling already existing crime such as gang violence, robberies, and murders. The

criminal justice system is only so big, and can’t tackle every problem thrown at them. However,

harassment and sexual assault cases are often catalysts for these larger problems. If these “low

priority” cases were controlled sooner, there would be much less pain and havoc in the

community, and the victims feel safe again.

We see stories all over social media of women coming forward about their experience

with assault or harassment, and we also see a lot of men, both guilty and innocent, being accused

of doing so. According to Simon McCarthy-Jones, “Sexual assault is the most unreported crime

against the person. Over 80% of survivors never report their experiences to the police

(McCarthy-Jones, 2018).” This is a huge issue because there are so many people, especially in

women, who struggle with these issues. They may not report in fear of the situation getting

worse, losing privacy, or fear of getting the courage to talk about it. Because we hear so much

about people getting accused of sexual assault and harassment in the media, it can be difficult to

comprehend which cases are the truth. In reality, “false reports are rare, ranging from 2 to 10

percent of all reported sexual assaults. This figure comes from a ​commonly cited 2010 study​,

published in the peer-reviewed international journal ​Violence Against Women (​ Moon, 2018)”

Emily Moon says. Therefore, when such cases are reported, it’s important that they’re taken

seriously because there’s a really good chance that it’s the truth.

Sexual assault and harassment reports aren’t taken seriously due to the concerns of false

reports, however there are additional factors for this lack of concern as well. For instance, if
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these cases were addressed and perpetrators went to court, most wouldn’t go to prison. RAINN

shows that out every 1000 rapes, only 5 will go to jail (RAINN, N/A). This statistic is frightening

because the 995 people that got a pass could be serious criminals that continue repeating the

same crimes, or getting away with worse.

Another concern is that young people are frequently being treated like the criminals.

Haroon Siddique said, “children who seek help from criminal justice agencies are often not

believed, made to feel like criminals and accused of wasting police time...One described it as

being like a test subject, ‘a monkey in a cage to be prodded’, and another said she was ‘told it

was my fault and I was being stupid’ (Siddique, 2017).” It’s understandable that the criminal

justice system must take precautions and avoid bias, however children and young adults are very

sensitive, and should still be treated with care. If their teachers, parents, friends, etc. don’t

believe them, the should still know they can trust someone to listen to them. Through this,

they’re more likely to recover from the trauma.

Women and men like Lauren McClusky are often ignored when it comes to reporting

sexual harassment and assault. Their reports are ignored, or their the least of the priorities the

criminal justice system has to deal with on a daily basis. Many serious crimes are the result of

these cases that were brushed off because they weren’t worth putting work into with the chance

of them being a misjudgement or over exaggeration. There should be a new way of approaching

cases, so there is less bias, more investigation, and new ways of treating victims.
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Works Cited
Carlisle, N., Tanner, C., & Means, S. P. (n.d.). University of Utah student was being extorted

before her shooting death, police say. Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/10/25/utah-governor-calls/
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McCarthy-Jones, S. (2019, January 21). Survivors of sexual violence are let down by the

criminal justice system – here's what should happen next. Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://theconversation.com/survivors-of-sexual-violence-are-let-down-by-the-criminal-jus

tice-system-heres-what-should-happen-next-94138

Moon, E. (2018, October 05). False Reports of Sexual Assault Are Rare. But Why Is There

So Little Reliable Data About Them? Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://psmag.com/news/false-reports-of-sexual-assault-are-rare-but-why-is-there-so-little-

reliable-data-about-them

Reavy, P. (2018, December 20). Mom of murdered student blasts University of Utah police.

Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900047488/mom-of-slain-student-lauren-mccluskey-

blasts-university-of-utah-police.html

Sang, L. I. (n.d.). University of Utah student killed outside dorm identified, gunman found

dead. Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://www.foxnews.com/us/university-of-utah-student-21-killed-by-ex-boyfriend-was-on

-phone-with-parents-before-fatal-shooting

Siddique, H. (2017, February 22). Child victims of violent and sexual crimes 'not being taken

seriously'. Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/22/child-victims-of-violent-and-sexual-cri

mes-not-being-taken-seriously
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The Criminal Justice System: Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2019, from

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system