A Wilmington Police corporal has been charged with raping and extorting a woman for sex, the department announced Tuesday, prompting questions about how to report being sexually assaulted by someone in a position of power and trust.

“It’s fairly common," said Tanisha Brown, the crisis services coordinator for ContactLifeline, Inc., a local nonprofit that helps the victims of such crimes.

She said the agency received two calls from people who had been victimized by police officers in January alone.

Between 2005-14, police officers in the U.S. were charged with forcible rape at least 461 times, according to research by Bowling Green State University.

BGSU's database includes a corporal from the Laurel Police Department who was charged with raping a 55-year-old woman in 2006. In 2011, after Kevin Hovatter had left the department, he was charged again with raping and extorting a woman while he was on duty in 2003 or 2004.

The database also includes a New Castle County police officer who was charged with forcibly fondling a woman in 2005, as well as a Harrington Police officer charged with fondling a child in 2009.

An Ocean View police officer was charged with statutory rape of a child in 2007, while a Wyoming Police sergeant was charged with soliciting sexual acts from a then 11-year-old girl in 2008.

The database only goes through 2014, so it doesn't include data on more recent crimes.

Philip Stinson, the associate professor who manages the site, said he couldn't find records of any more rape cases in Delaware between 2015 and 2019, however.

“It’s unfortunate," Brown said Tuesday. "Especially in my profession, we’ve dealt with things like this.”

Chilling effect

Brown said being assaulted by a police officer is frightening because it feels like there's nowhere to turn.

Sex workers especially are reluctant to report assaults because they don't want to get in trouble or fear they won't be taken seriously by police.

"The one thing all victims have in common is the fear of not being believed," Brown said. "That is what keeps a lot of people silent."

Police officers may also use their power to threaten their victims. Wilmington Cpl. Thomas Oliver Jr. instructed the victim to give him oral sex after they had a conversation about an active warrant for her arrest, according to court records.

"The victim stated she could not remember the exact words used by the officer," court documents said. "She felt it was obvious if she didn't comply she would be taken to jail."

Elizabeth McCourt, director of the YWCA Delaware's Sexual Assault Response Center, said it's not necessarily any more common for authority figures such as police officers, priests or teachers to commit sexual assault, though research by advocacy groups suggests perpetrators are more likely to target people they don't think will report what happened.

But it does tend to grab people's attention when it happens.

“Typically these are people of authority. They give us a feeling of safety or wellbeing, so to know that they are an abuser is shocking," McCourt said.

And it may make it harder to report. As it is, about 75 percent of victims do not tell anyone that they've been assaulted, she said.

If it's a police officer or a prominent figure, "it's kind of a natural chilling effect or deterrent," McCourt said.

Advocates available

McCourt and Brown want victims to know they can speak out if they so chose.

Both the YWCA and ContactLifeline have advocates who, if the victim wants, will accompany them to the hospital for a rape kit, will go with them to the police station to file a report and will accompany them to court if someone is charged in the assault.

They also have 24-hour hotlines, support groups, counselors and more. All their services are free and confidential.

ContactLifeline has an advocate who was a police officer for 20 years and worked at the Dover Police Department, which means she can deftly guide victims through what can be a very stressful process, Brown said.

“It’s a lot that they have to go through," Brown said. "The forensic examination is a lot, and you have cops that are there to interview you, so you are revictimized at each step.”

At YWCA's Sexual Assault Response Center, a team of 25 to 30 sexual assault advocates, or SARAs, are all specially trained to help.

“We like to put all the options on the table and allow (victims) to chose the ones that work for them the best," McCourt said. “It’s possible to report and do so in a safe manner and a trauma-informed manner that’s not likely to victimize you further.”

McCourt said it's important to have a third-party advocate or law enforcement group involved when the perpetrator belongs to the agency responsible for investigating the crime.

Assaults are usually investigated in the jurisdiction they were reported in, which is problematic if a police officer is responsible, she said.

The same thing applies if the perpetrator works at the hospital responsible for forensic testing.

Most rapes not reported

If victims don't want to report the assault to police, that's fine, too, McCourt and Brown said.

“Take it literally one day at a time," Brown said.

McCourt estimated that two-thirds of the Sexual Assault Response Center's clients choose not to report sexual assaults, in part because the legal system is slow and it's not a guarantee the perpetrator will be charged.

The vast majority of rapists walk free, according to RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. Out of every 1,000 rapes, 995 perpetrators are not incarcerated.

When victims do report sexual assault and nothing happens, they can feel revictimized, McCourt said.

Others can be tricked into thinking it was their own fault they were assaulted.

"They didn’t do anything wrong," Brown said. "A lot of times we blame the victims for their own rape. But it’s the perpetrator who committed this egregious act.”

McCourt said it can be hard to understand why someone wouldn't report a sexual assault. Just remember, the experience can be traumatizing, not to mention dehumanizing. Reliving it can be unhealthy for some victims.

“Justice means different things for different people," she said. “It’s very important that someone who has been disempowered by an act of sexual violence is empowered by making their own choices."

Get support after an assault

National Sexual Assault Hotline

24/7 Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 or 1-800-656-HOPE

Website (online chat available): rainn.org

Services available: You will be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area, such as ContactLifeline or the YWCA's Sexual Assault Response Center.

ContactLifeline

24/7 Hotline: 1-800-262-9800 or 302-761-9100

Deaf helpline: 302-761-9700

Website: contactlifeline.org

Services available: ContactLifeline provides crisis services for those processing suicidal thoughts, sexual assault counseling, advocacy services and more.

YWCA Sexual Assault Response Center

24/7 Hotline: 1-800-773-8570

Website: ywcade.org/what-we-do/sarc

Services available: Sexual Assault Response Advocates or SARAs are available to assist survivors in need of medical, police and legal accompaniment, supportive telephone counseling, aftercare follow-up services, as well as information and referral to vital community services.

Other useful services and hotlines —

Statewide

Adult Protective Services: 1-800-223-9074

Attorney General’s Victim/Witness Program: 1-800-870-1790

Delaware State Police Victim Services (24 hrs): 1-800-842-8461

Delaware Victim Center (24 hrs): 1-800-VICTIM-1

Department of Corrections: 302-739-5601

Division of Family Services: 1-800-292-9582

Mothers Against Drunk Driving: 1-877-630-6233

Prevent Child Abuse Delaware: 302-425-7490 or 1-866-925-7223

Survivors of Accident & Murder (SAM) Support Group: 302-654-6833

U.S. Atty. Victim/Witness Program: 302-573-6277

Victims’ Voices Heard: 302-697-7005

Victims' Compensation Assistance Program: 302-255-1770

New Castle County

Child Inc. Battered Women’s Program: 302-762-6110

DCJ Elderly Crime Victims Program: 302-658-7174 x12

Domestic Violence Advocacy Center: 302-255-0420

Newark PD Victim Services: 302-366-7110 x137

New Castle County PD Victim Services: 302-395-8135 or 302-395-8117

Wilmington PD Victim Services: 302-576-3622 or 302-576-3648



Kent County

Domestic Violence Advocacy Center: 302-672-1075

Dover PD Victim Services: 302-736-7134

People’s Place Battered Women’s Program: 302-422-8058



Sussex County

Abriendo Puertas: 302-855-9515

Domestic Violence Advocacy Center: 302-856-5843

Georgetown PD Victim Services: 302-856-6613

People’s Place Battered Women’s Program: 302-422-8058



Information/referrals

DE Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 1-800-701-0456

Domestic Violence Coordinating Council: 302-255-0405

Source: Delaware Victims' Rights Task Force, Delaware State Police

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Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.