Rape a crime of familiarity, Hillsborough sheriff's study shows

A Hillsborough County sheriff's review of nearly 500 sexual assault cases in 2008 has revealed three overriding themes:

• Most child victims were assaulted by relatives or someone personally known by the child.

• Most adult victims were assaulted by an acquaintance, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.

• Most rapes and sexual abuse cases occur in the homes of the attacker or the victim.

Sheriff's crime analysts looked at 471 sexual assault cases last year and issued their findings today.

Detectives last year investigated 125 cases involving juvenile victims and juvenile suspects. Out of those cases, only one involved a suspect who was a stranger, the study said.

Fifty cases involved suspects who were siblings or other family members, and 53 cases described the victims and suspects as acquaintances.

One case involved a babysitter, and eight suspects were listed as boyfriends. Nine of those 125 cases involved neighbors, the study said.

Of all the cases, 58 percent occurred at the residence of the suspect or the victim.

The study also examined 234 cases involving adult suspects and juvenile victims.

Only four cases involved suspects who were strangers to the victims, and 54 cases listed the suspect as a family member other than a parent or sibling. Forty-seven cases listed the suspect as a parent or stepparent.

The study said that two cases listed suspects as foster parents and seven cases listed the suspects as siblings. In 48 cases, the suspect was an acquaintance, and 14 cases identified the suspects as the boyfriends of mothers.

Four cases named suspects as adult babysitters; 24 were neighbors and five were teachers or school staff members, the study said.

Eighty-two percent of the assaults occurred at the residence of the suspect or the victim, the report said.

Maj. Rob Bullara, who oversees the sheriff's Child Protective Investigations Division, said the department is in the process of establishing a curriculum to introduce to middle school students possibly as early as the fall. The courses will teach them how to avoid becoming victims of sexual abuse or attack.

The county gets between 800 and 1,100 child protection hot line calls a month, he said, and as many as 10 percent involve sexual allegations.

"Most of the time," he said, "It's a caretaker."

In elementary schools, pupils are taught to watch out for strangers, he said. But most of the offenders are not strangers.

"We are working to get the information out that usually offenders are not strangers," he said. "Almost always the offender is someone who has access to them."

The curriculum is aimed at students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, he said.

"They are beginning to turn into adults, and we want to warn them about neighbors who are too friendly or a distant relative who touches them. We want to alert them to those situations."

Even in cases involving adult victims, he said, almost always the suspect is known by the victim.

"It's not the bad guy, a stranger, running around with a mask out there creating most of the numbers," Bullara said.

In cases that involved adult suspects and victims, analysts examined 112 cases and found that 14 of the suspects were complete strangers and 14 involved suspects who had just met their victims.

Seven met at bars or clubs, and four accepted rides with suspects. One met a suspect on the Internet. Forty-four listed the suspect as an acquaintance, and 19 victims called the suspects boyfriends or ex-boyfriends.

Five cases involved suspects who were husbands and three who were neighbors.

Sixty-six percent of the assaults occurred at the residence of the suspect or the victim, the study said.