County Jail,
Thank you for being willing to talk about Martin Medrano and sexual
assaults in the Washington County Jail in a way that protects the
rights of the accused and balances the many competing interests. I
want to thank the jail staff for taking Medrano to the hospital after
Medrano said that he was sexually assaulted by another inmate. I am
glad that Dunbar properly reported the sexual assault and Medrano was
taken to counseling despite the lack of physical evidence of the rape.
Often sexual assault does not leave physical evidence - especially
since after someone is raped sometimes the first thing they do is try
to scrub themselves clean.
I can understand that as law enforcement, Dunbar is looking for a
consistent story from a credible source. A Spanish-speaking, male,
undocumented immigrant who has committed crimes himself is not the
easiest victim to work with - would a jury ever believe him? No one
wants to think that horrific sexual assaults happen here in Iowa. Of
course, that also makes Medrano an excellent target for a rapist to
sexually assault and get away with it.
Unfortunately rape is such a traumatic experience that it is common
for survivors to struggle to remember and verbalize what happened.
Scientists explain that under intense trauma our brain works
differently and does not form our usual orderly memories with accurate
times and words. Science has also shown that survivors of sexual
assault sometimes crave alcohol because the brain's hormones are
trying to rebalance. Healing from sexual assault is often a long
process in which survivors sometimes feel better, and then suffer from
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms again later.
My concern, as well as Medrano's concern, is that rape victims should be
believed even when they have a hard time describing what happened.
Many rape victims never report because they are concerned that they
will not be believed, and they know that they might be dragged
through the mud themselves. The accused rapist will claim it was
consensual activity, and that the victim is a liar. While it is
important to respect the accused as innocent until proven guilty, we
also need to remember that it is in all of our best interests if
rapists are brought to trial. That is why Congress created the u-visa
program, so that crimes can be successfully reported and prosecuted
even when the most vulnerable people are attacked. Statistically
rapists will continue assaulting people until they are caught and
stopped. Statistically, rape is much more often unreported than
falsely reported.
Sheriff Dunbar chose to not sign the u-visa and give Martin Medrano
five years of legal status in the United States. I feel
that the rape prosecution is more important than Medrano's
undocumented entry and working. Without the U-visa, it seems likely that this
alleged rapist will never be confronted. Fortunately we live in a democracy
where we can contact our elected leaders and express our opinions, and
of course eventually vote for people whose values reflect our own.
Sincerely,
Miriam Timmer-Hackert
Coralville, IA
319-331-8416
I wish there was an easy way for me to attach the graph on reporting
statistics found at RAINN,
http://www.rainn.org/get-
The statistics are:
Out of every 100 rapes:
46 get reported to police.
12 lead to an arrest.
9 get prosecuted.
5 lead to a felony conviction.
3 rapists will spend even a day in prison.
The other 97 rapists walk free.
Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey: 2006-2010
FBI, Uniform Crime Reports: 2006-2010
National Center for Policy Analysis, Crime and Punishment in America, 1999
Department of Justice, Felony Defendents in Large Urban Counties:
average of 2002-2006
