OPINION: Justice for survivors of sexual assault in Montana

Prosecutors will tell you that sexual assault cases can be some of the most difficult to prosecute. Survivors will testify to the lasting physical and emotional scars from their assault. That’s why we at the Montana Department of Justice have worked to improve laws, ensure survivors are treated appropriately, bring perpetrators to justice, and help Montanans prevent such horrible crimes from happening.

Not long ago, I announced that Montana received nearly $3 million in federal grants that will allow local law enforcement agencies to submit old sexual assault evidence kits for testing. This came after I formed a task force to examine the issue and conduct a statewide census of unsubmitted kits. It was the first time in Montana’s history that the Attorney General’s Office had ever done this. We learned that there are approximately 1,400 kits stored in local law enforcement evidence lockers around the state, some dating back to 1995.

While there can be legitimate reasons why a kit wouldn’t be submitted for testing, we began with the goal of ensuring all kits that need testing are submitted. Not only will the grants allow law-enforcement agencies to test all past kits, but also create a tracking system so agencies and survivors can follow the process. The grants will fund a cold-case investigator and a statewide victim coordinator, as well as facilitate the development of formal procedures to ensure kits in need of testing are never again shelved.

That’s just one example of what my office has been doing to improve how Montana handles sexual assault cases.

In August I was delighted to announce that the Missoula County Attorney’s Office is in full compliance with our landmark 2014 agreement on improving prosecutions of sexual assault. I negotiated that agreement after intervening in the legal standoff between the U.S. Department of Justice and Missoula County Attorney’s Office.

Through the agreement, my office worked closely with the Missoula County Attorney to rethink and retool how cases are prosecuted and how survivors are treated. The result is a new framework that all prosecutors in Montana can utilize.

Sexual assault is a particularly heinous crime, and so it deserves a focused prosecutorial expertise. That’s why our agreement called for the Missoula County Attorney’s Office to create a special victims unit, and why I created the first-ever sexual assault prosecution unit in the Attorney General’s Office.

Recently, with my office’s assistance, a legislative committee advanced proposals bringing needed changes to how the state defines terms such as consent and incapacitation. This was the result of our work with Sen. Diane Sands during the 2015 session calling for a top-to-bottom review of Montana’s sexual assault laws.

We’ve also taken steps to prevent sexual assault crimes, particularly in enhancing the state’s Sexual or Violent Offender Registry as a tool for citizens to stay informed.

When I took office, 83 percent of registered sex offenders lacked a tier-level designation, depriving law-enforcement agencies of important tools for keeping track of offenders’ whereabouts. Through our legislative efforts and just plain hard work, we’ve brought that number down to 50 percent and it continues to fall.

To help local law-enforcement agencies keep track of offenders in their communities, in 2013 I launched multi-agency compliance check operations. My agents partner with local, state and federal officers and go into specific regions to track down non-compliant offenders. These operations have resulted in numerous arrests and offenders being brought into compliance with state registration laws.

Working with county attorneys, local law-enforcement officials, our federal law-enforcement partners, state legislators and others, we have improved Montana’s response to sexual assault crimes and strengthened tools for prevention. Our vigilance must never end, and so our efforts will go on. As your attorney general, I look forward to continuing this important work building a safer Montana.

Fox, a Helena Republican, is running for re-election as Montana’s attorney general.