Justice Elusive for Many Rape Victims

The FBI says in 2008 the number of reported forcible rapes was the lowest in 20 years in 2008. However, alongside that seemingly encouraging news is another stunning statistic.

CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian said on "The Early Show" nearly 90,000 women reported they were raped in the U.S. last year -- but there was only a 25 percent arrest rate.

A five-month CBS News investigation discovered why so few rapists are being brought to justice.

Keteyian said rape is "surprisingly easy" to get away with. He cited last year's arrest rate, which is a fraction of the 79 percent arrest rate for murder and the 51 percent rate for aggravated assault.

Sarah Tofte, a U.S. program researcher at Human Rights Watch, an independent organization working for human rights protections, told CBS News many rape victims have told her organization they doubt it was worth going to police following their rape.

CBS News met Valerie Neumann, who says she was raped on her 21st birthday.

Neumann said, "He stuck his hands down the sweatpants and was touching me, up, like my shirt, as well, and so I kept telling him 'No.'"

But Neumann did go to the police, fileed a report, and provided evidence for their rape kit. Still, almost three years later, the kit remains untested. The local prosecutor told CBS News he made a "judgment call" that the case was unwinnable in court.

The CBS News probe found a staggering number of rape kits -- that could contain incriminating DNA evidence -- have never been sent to crime labs for testing. CBS News found at least 20,000 untested kits: 5,600 in Detroit. 3,800 in Houston, 5,100 in San Antonio, and 1,100 in Albuquerque. Many of the kits found, Keteyian said, were untested for years.

Exclusive: Rape in America: Justice Denied

He added that at least 12 major American cities, including Anchorage, Baltimore, Birmingham, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Oakland, Phoenix, and San Diego said they have no idea how many of rape kits in storage are untested.

Police departments told CBS News rape kits don't get tested for three reasons: cost (kits cost up to $1,500 to test), a decision not to prosecute, and victims who recant or are unwilling to move forward with a case.

Psychologist David Lisak from the University of Massachusetts has spent 20 years studying the minds of rapists.

He said, "If, as a criminal justice system, we're going to essentially turn away from any victim who was drinking or any victim who was in some way vulnerable, we're essentially giving a free pass to sexual predators."

Another free pass CBS News discovered is that there are thousands more rape kits sitting in state crime labs waiting months and even years to be tested.

However, that isn't the case in New York City, where prosecutors now test every kit.

Why?

Mecki Prinz, director of the New York Medical Examiner's Office, said, "You never know what you're going to find."

Today, Keteyian reported, the city's arrest rate for rape is 70 percent -- nearly triple the national average.

Prinz said, "We feel it's very important. You are doing the victims a disservice by not testing their kits."

Neumann, whose rape kit was not tested, said on "The Early Show" money was the "big reason her rape kit was not tested. "They don't want to spend the money," she said.

She said she's also been told the sample size was too small, but funding was the major consideration.

Neumann said, "I think there's a big problem, and I think it needs to be resolved. I think there's a problem with the legal system."

Neumann, who was drinking at the time of her alleged attack, said she passed out after telling her attacker "No." Prosecutors, "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez pointed out, made the decision to not go to trial based on Neumann's memory, which they believe was impaired that night because she was drinking.

But Neumann says she'll never forget what happened that night. "I can replay it in my mind today," she said. "I don't think it's something you can forget."

As for the circumstances of her rape, Neumann said, "I don't think it's right. I think you should be able to drink. I don't think because you drink, it's a written invitation that someone can rape you."

She added that having the rape kit tested would give her closure, even if the case wasn't prosecuted.

Neumann said, "Just to know that I was telling the truth, (would give) some kind of justification in my mind."

However, Neumann says she'd still like to have her day in court.

"I'm willing to go through that," she said, referring to appearing in court. "If I don't win, then, OK, but at least I had my chance."

Neumann is now an advocate for rape and incest victims. She said she's working to bring awareness of these issues to the public.

"I'd love for something to change," she said. "And maybe it's too late to help my case, but if it can help someone else, then it's well worth it."

On Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department will release a report detailing extensive backlogs in forensic evidence, including tens of thousands of rape kits.

For more on the Justice Department's report and the CBS News exclusive investigation, watch the CBS Evening News.