SMETHPORT – A new county Sexual Assault Response Team -ða group
of county employees focused on aiding victims of sexual assaults
and effectively prosecuting the offenders -ðhas been formed, the
McKean County District Attorney’s office announced Thursday.
A kick-off event launching the new team and providing
information about it is set for 4 p.m. April 12 in Human Resources
Room B at Bradford Regional Medical Center. All county service
providers and members of the public are invited to attend.
The prosecution of sexual assault cases is frequently difficult,
according to a release from the district attorney’s office.
Moreover, studies and experience show victims are afraid or
embarrassed to report assaults much of the time. Some feel the
justice system is inadequate and will not yield a conviction.
The county SART was formed to address those concerns, the
release said.
The district attorney’s office, The YWCA Victim’s Resource
Center, BRMC, McKean County Children and Youth Services, local law
enforcement and the Pennsylvania State Police have been working
cooperatively to form the SART.
“We started from scratch about a year-and-a-half ago,” District
Attorney John Pavlock said Thursday. He said the agencies looked at
models from all over the country, met with all the participants,
police officers, the resource center, the SANE nurses and provided
input to create the SART.
He explained the team is not a panel, as such, there are no
officers and members are not appointed or elected.
“The goal is to have everyone who is involved in sexual abuse
investigations and assistance to be on the same page,” Pavlock
said. Everyone who is a staff member or an employee of the
participating agencies is considered part of the SART, he said.
The goals of the SART is, according to the release, is to “put
everybody on the same page with capable resources and a
well-structured investigation with good communication.” The
“overriding goal,” the release said, “is the best possible
treatment and understanding toward victims and more prosecutions of
deserving defendants.”
Although only recently formed, the SART panel has already
prepared a detailed protocol for dealing with sexual assault cases
“in which an adult is the victim,” the release said. The new
protocol, which addresses both the victim’s needs and law
enforcement procedure, will be printed and provided to all local
law enforcement and victim service organizations.
The protocol for dealing with juvenile victims of sexual
assaults is still being developed, Pavlock said. “We recognize the
unique needs of those (juvenile) victims, so we are taking extra
caution in forming that protocol.” He said a formal statement
regarding that protocol will be released in the near future.
The need to develop a juvenile victim protocol is increasingly
important, as McKean County has the “unwanted distinction,” Pavlock
said, in recent years of having the highest rate of sex crimes
against minor per capita in the entire state.
The adult victim protocol also calls for the participation of a
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. The SANE receives special training
regarding the gathering of evidence that may later prove an assault
has actually occurred. Bradford Regional Medical Center has trained
10 SANEs at the hospital’s expense since the formation of the SART,
the release said.
“I am, personally, extremely grateful (to BRMC) for providing
the resources and taking the time to provide training (to the
SANEs),” Pavlock said.
He went on to say assistant district attorney Christa Schott
devoted a great deal of time and energy into developing the current
protocol.
“I’m very proud of her (Schott) for her efforts in doing that.
We’ve all put effort into this, but she has gone above and beyond
the call of duty with this issue,” he said.
All parties involved have “indicated a commitment to continue to
improve McKean County’s ability to address and prevent sexual
assaults,” the release said.
