Inside The News

The team of reporters behind the Star Tribune’s Denied Justice series spent how two years doing research, diligent digging through hundreds of rape stories. It was work that needed to be done to identify systematic problems in rape investigations across the state, and to find victims willing share their stories to help challenge the status quo. It was also work that deeply impacted  those who did it. In this episode, we look at how producing the series changed the reporters and editors who worked on it, and also led to important changes in how law enforcement in Minnesota will handle rape and sexual assault cases going forward.

In 2012, Justin Boardman, a police officer in Utah, attended a training class that led him to a disturbing realization: He had been closing rape cases without properly investigating them. The reason? He had failed to understand the psychological impact of trauma and how it affected the responses of victims he interviewed. Boardman was wracked with guilt over the past cases he feared he had mishandled, but he resisted the temptation to quit and instead teamed up with a nurse and a prosecutor to fundamentally change the way police investigated rape and sexual assault cases in the state.  

Emma Top was raped by her best friend, and the man was found guilty by a jury of felony sex assault. According to the Minnesota sentencing guidelines, he was supposed to serve four years in a state prison, but he was sentenced to a year in the county jail, and was out nine months for good behavior. Top felt betrayed by the justice system. A Star Tribune investigation found that lenient sentences for rape and sexual assault are commonplace in Minnesota, especially when the victim knows the rapist. This episode tells Emma's story, and looks at why convicted rapist get lighter sentences, often avoiding prison time all together.

Alesha Erickson says she was raped. The accused Aaron McCullough says it was a one-night stand gone wrong. Their story is different from 92 percent of others that hit the system because the case went to trial and a jury found McCullough guilty. This episode tells the story of this case, from the police report to the sentencing. 

This episode of the Inside the News / Investigating Rape podcast explores why is it so hard to prosecute rape in Minnesota. It tells the story of "Rabbit," a woman who reported to police that she was raped by a friend. Even when investigators taped a conversation with him admitting that he knew it was wrong and that she hadn't consent, prosecutors refused to pursue the case, and he the suspect was never charged. 

This episode focuses on the story of Joanna Howe. Her case shows some troubling trends with how police investigate rape cases when they involve alcohol. It also points to what advocates and prosecutors say are underlying problems with how the laws around sexual consent are written in Minnesota.  

A Star Tribune investigation found that in sex crimes investigations in Minnesota, there were a troubling amount of cases in which investigators never spoke with suspects or did a background check to learn their criminal history. That's what happened when Amber Mansfield reported her alleged rape, and she got so discouraged by the way police treated her that she dropped her case. But when the suspect struck again, she knew she needed to step forward. 

Brooke Morath was a 21-year -old University of Minnesota senior when she was raped near campus in March of 2015. At first, she thought she was in good hands when she met the lead investigator assigned to her case, but as the days ticked by she started to ask questions. This podcast is based on an investigative project by the Star Tribune — Justice Denied: When rape is reported in Minnesota and nothing happens. 

The Star Tribune and WCCO Radio explore an upcoming news series in the Star Tribune about investigating rape cases in Minnesota.