Monthly check-in ticket for the second half of 2019.
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Sent monthly check-in email to Duluth.
I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out for our monthly check-in on your progress and to ask if there are any training and technical assistance needs that you have at this time. Sarah and Daniel, it was very nice meeting you both in person last week at the Grantees Meeting! I hope you both were able to get as much out of it as I did and look forward to hearing any feedback that you can provide.
As part of this check-in, I wanted to follow up with you regarding the following:
SAKI Grantees Meeting
Do you have any comments or feedback that you would like to provide?
Are there any topics that you would like to receive more information on?
Have you had any recent success stories that you would like to share with BJA or the SAKI TTA team? This could include any specific achievements, goals, milestones or challenges addressed that you would consider successes under the SAKI project as well as news stories on arrests or convictions.
BJA would like to know if the City of Duluth will be applying for a no-cost extension for your FY2016 award. Please let me know and I will relay this information to them.
Mary, were you able to connect with Julie Valentine? If not, let me know. I would be happy to set up the call for both of you.
Mary responded with the following:
1. SAKI Grantees Meeting
a. Do you have any comments or feedback that you would like to provide?
a. Are there any topics that you would like to receive more information on?
I will check back in with Dan and Sara about the grantees meeting and pass along any information to you.
1. Have you had any recent success stories that you would like to share with BJA or the SAKI TTA team? This could include any specific achievements, goals, milestones or challenges addressed that you would consider successes under the SAKI project as well as news stories on arrests or convictions.
I don't have any stories to share at this time. We do have a trial schedule for today. We had one at the end of last month that unfortunately resulted in an acquittal on all charges. We are hoping to get jury feedback on that case so that we understand why the jury decided to acquit and can address those elements in the future.
1. BJA would like to know if the City of Duluth will be applying for a no-cost extension for your FY2016 award. Please let me know and I will relay this information to them.
Yes, we received a reminder from Mila Hago. I'm going to meet with DPD's grant manager and the financial analyst at the City to decide whether or not we need the no-cost extension. We are hoping to meet early next week.
1. Mary, were you able to connect with Julie Valentine? If not, let me know. I would be happy to set up the call for both of you.
Yes, we were in contact, and because I was travelling last week, we haven't rescheduled the call, but I will this week after our trial wraps up.
Thank you! And let me know if you need any additional information. Best,
Mary
Mary also sent a Press release regarding a successful conviction from a jury trail and also let us know they may be talking with William Wells at Westat regarding some additional evaluation.
Lisa sent the monthly check-in email to Duluth.
Mary responded with the following:
There are some updates: (1) We learned on Friday that we were approved for a one-year no-cost extension for our FY2016 award. We will use the funds to continue to pay for two positions – designated Evidence Technician and .5 of a SANE Coordinator.
(2) Duluth PD’s Grant Manager Rich Jaworski has resigned effective August 9th. The job has not yet been posted, so we are working to distribute his duties between a few folks at DPD so that there isn’t any major disruption. Since I’m not city staff, I can help but will work closely with DPD personnel on any grant matters.
(3) There has been media inquiries about partially-tested kits, and we’ve been referring media to either the MN BCA Public Information Officer or Angela Williamson at the BJA.
(4) We have a cold case going to trial next week. It will be our third trial.
We were wondering if you would provide me with contact information for SAKI personnel at the Tulsa OK site. We have a cold case and we have reason to believe that both the victim and suspect now live in OK. Would you be willing to share the contact information for both an investigator and a victim advocate associated with the project?
I’ve been trying to put together a little cohort to go to Jacksonville, maybe 2-3 folks if that’s allowed. I hope to sort it out shortly.
Lisa responded with the following:
Thank you for all of the updates! Congratulations of receiving news of your approval for the on-year no-cost extension for your FY2016 award. This is exciting news! I am sorry to hear about the grant manager resigning; I hope you are able to fill the position soon. During the MN DPS Site visit last week we did discuss the media inquiries, and the MN BCA said the same, as well as directing folks to Angela. Congratulations on the third cold case going to trial! That is a major milestone.
I have reached out to the site liaison for the City of Tulsa and will get back with you as soon as possible.
I’ll be in contact soon! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions or need anything at all!
Lisa received Tulsa's information and sent it back to Mary on 8/15/19.
Lisa sent a monthly check-in email to Duluth:
I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out for our monthly check-in on your progress and to ask if there are any training and technical assistance needs that you have at this time. These check-ins are an effort to facilitate regular communication and make sure that your site is receiving the training and technical assistance you need.
Have you had any recent success stories that you would like to share with BJA or the SAKI TTA team? This could include any specific achievements, goals, milestones or challenges addressed that you would consider successes under the SAKI project as well as news stories on arrests or convictions.
I also wanted to let you know what I will be out of the office from 9/2 – 9/6 and that you can contact Crystal Day at cdaye@rti.org in my absence if you need anything.
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to request additional training or technical assistance, please let me know!
Response received from Mary:
Thanks for checking in. We have had a recent success at trial. In a 2008 SAKI cold case prosecution, the defendant was convicted of 3 counts of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct. The sentencing is scheduled for late October. We have sentencing in another conviction at trial set for November. I haven’t seen any press coverage of the trial, but I imagine that they may be some at the sentencing. I will send along any media coverage to you.
We did receive a 1-year no-cost extension for our FY2016 award, and the City is completing the new partner agreement to reflect that extension. The DPD is currently without a grant coordinator, but once a new person is in place, I can help get them up to speed on SAKI-related business.
We will work to close out our FY2015 award in early October.
That’s all I have for now. I hope that you are enjoying the last weeks of the summer. Let me know if you need any additional information. Best,
Sent monthly check-in email to Duluth.
Mary responded with the following:
We are doing well up here in Duluth MN. We received our FY2019 award, so we are so pleased to be funded through September 2022. It helps us to think through all the ways in which we need to make the project sustainable.
We are also working on closing out the FY2015 award this month. For the two convictions that we received through jury trial, we are still waiting on the sentencing hearings. Unfortunately, both have been continued several times.
The DPD has drafted a new Sexual Assault Investigation policy, and we are working on revisions. It is in line with the Model Policy released earlier this year by the MN POST Board in response to the Star Tribune’s Denied Justice series.
We are also working on arranging for three team members to attend the Jacksonville Assembly of Cities, and currently 5 DPD investigators are attending the MN Sex Crimes Investigators Annual Conference. Our partner, the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office, hosted a day-long Crime Victims Summit in September, and it was attended by law enforcement, prosecution, and advocates.
I did attend the most recent statewide SAKI MDT meeting, and we are looking to make sure that we are all on the same page with media requests and how we are educating the community on the issue of untested SAKs and the SAKI goals. They are taking the lead, and we hope to support their efforts.
Mary sent back the following response to Lisa's check-in email:
For the month of October, one of our biggest challenges was working with a Twin Cities-based media outlet on a series of stories that they are working on related to sexual assault with a specific focus on untested kits. It’s been tricky because they are interested in several cases which have not yet reached final adjudication and for which the victim-survivors have expressed concern about media coverage. There’s been a bit of a learning curve for our entire MDT about working with the media, and we’ve sought to have a better understanding of how they may use documents which become part of the public record once a suspect is charged. This will be an ongoing effort for us to keep victim-survivors informed about the possibility of media coverage and learn how best to educate our media contacts about some unintended consequences of their coverage.
We also are working to close out our initial FY2015 award. I submitted our final report at the end of October. I do have some concerns that some of the data may be incorrect because on the PMT, some numbers are cumulative and some are not. Also, at one point, I was told to only report quantitative data on the FY2015 award, but now that it is closed, I will need guidance on how best to report quantitative data on the FY2017 award PMT. Do you know who might be the best contact to review the FY2015 data for any errors and provide guidance on how to report quantitative data going forward?
Lisa responded to Mary and suggested setting up a call to discuss these items further with Crystal and Pattie. Lisa and Crystal held a call with Mary on 11/16 and talked about how Mary will reach out to Keeley for media-related questions, and how she can reach out directly Mila with questions regarding closing out the FY2015 award.
Lisa sent a monthly check-in email to Mary. Mary responded with the following:
Thanks for checking in. You’ve been very helpful with some recent requests.
I’ve gotten the PMT data from our FY2015 award so that I can review it. Mila was really helpful with that. I also appreciate that you passed along the contact information for folks working on the lawfully-owed DNA. I haven’t yet reached out to them.
One challenge (or bad outcome) is that at a recent sentencing hearing, a judge accepted a defense argument for a downward departure for an offender who was facing a lengthy prison sentence (180-216 months) for a conviction on 3 counts of 1st degree Aiding and Abetting Criminal Sexual Conduct. Instead of a prison sentence, he will do one year at a local correctional facility (NERC) and then serve the remainder of his time on probation. Part of the judge’s reasoning is that this case is from 2008 and she thinks that he has changed in the past ten years. We are reeling a bit because it is such a big divergence, and we worry that it will affect how this victim-survivor and other survivors feel about participating in the system if the sentences are so little.
Lisa and Pattie talked internally and Pattie recommended the following:
Thank you for providing this information and sharing this with me. I spoke with Pattie and Marya about this challenge, and we were all very disappointed to hear this. One of the solutions we discussed internally is to consider a messaging campaign, something that states, “this is still important and assure survivors we will continue to fight hard, and don’t let this one bad judge affect… we care, and we will keep fighting”. This messaging campaign could be social media, posters, or flyers. They could be disseminated through anyone who has contact with survivors, or through public speaking opportunities where the message that survivors of sexual assault are a priority and will be continued to be supported and justice pursued.
If you would like to discuss this further with one of our partners, Marya Simmons, who specializes in victim advocacy, her number is provided below. Unfortunately, due to the closing out of our current award, all communication needs to take place by COB Friday, December 6th. If your site feels that Marya is needed for support over the next few weeks, you are more than welcome to contact with her independent of SAKI TTA, and that would be arranged between your site and Marya. If this is something that can wait until after the holidays, SAKI TTA is hoping our budget will clear mid-January and that we can be back up and running in February.
Marya Simmons – 440-673-3909
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