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An examination of arrests and convictions for sex crimes in Chicago – NBC Chicago

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NBC 5 Investigates spent six months examining police records and court documents to find out how often sex-related allegations go uncharged, go to trial, or simply disappear.

We looked at all sex-related arrests by the Chicago Police Department from 2018 to 2023 and then compared each one with Cook County Criminal Court records. Our team read through every narrative in every trial – hundreds of accounts of sexual assault, rape, incest and other sex crimes.

In total, NBC 5 Investigates investigated more than 21,000 reported sex crimes over a six-year period and found that a small portion of them resulted in an arrest.

Of the few offenders who were convicted, nearly half left court without serving a prison sentence or pleaded guilty to charges that did not require registration as a sex offender.

BY THE NUMBERS

Rejected: Behind the NBC 5/Telemundo Chicago investigation

Over the course of a variety of stories covered by NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago’s investigative teams over the past few years, our reporters and producers noticed a recurring theme: Case after case of alleged sexual assault or abuse that never came to fruition arrest, was dismissed from court, or was convicted at trial for a conviction that had nothing to do with sex, such as assault or disorderly conduct, and that contained no indication that someone was originally charged with a sex crime. Read the full story here.



A six-month investigation found that four out of five people arrested in Chicago for sexual assault, rape or other sex crimes have sexual harassment charges dismissed. The results are troubling on a topic that is difficult to talk about, but important to learn about. Reporting by Bennett Haeberle of NBC 5 Investigates.

Rejected Part 1: Thousands of sexual assault cases die in Chicago’s justice system each year

Thousands of sexual assault cases were never arrested, never made it to court or were dismissed once they got there, a six-month investigation into sex crimes reported to police found. Read the whole story here.

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Additional posts
Photography and editing: DS Shin / NBC Chicago
Design and development: Annetta Stogniew & Nelson Hsu / NBC

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