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Subscribe to RSSMISSOULA, Mont. – The U.S. Department of Justice unveiled a broad probe Tuesday into complaints that authorities were failing to aggressively investigate sexual assault reports in Missoula, citing more than 80 reported rapes there during the past three years.
The investigation includes a review of the handling of sexual assault and harassment reports at the University of Montana at Missoula, where at least 11 student-related sex assault cases have surfaced in recent months.
At least two members of the university's Big Sky Conference champion football team, the Grizzlies, have been accused of rape, leading to the recent dismissal of the football coach and the school's athletic director.
A central thrust of the federal investigation will focus on complaints that local law enforcement has failed to properly investigate and prosecute sexual assaults on women in Missoula due to gender discrimination, the justice department said.
"The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department and the county attorney's office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Full story at KECI, NBC Montana
Local authorities said the incidence of rape in Missoula, a western Montana city of 86,000 people, is on par with similarly sized college towns, and the county's chief prosecutor questioned the Justice Department's rationale for its inquiry.
The investigation comes in the midst of an election year in which women's issues have moved to the forefront as candidates seek to burnish their credentials among female voters.
The Justice Department probe will examine the inner workings of the university's public safety office, the Missoula Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney's Office.
Additionally, the department will review whether the university is complying with federal laws specifically barring sex discrimination, defined as including sexual assault and sexual harassment, in education programs, officials said.
Details of the investigation were announced at a news conference in Missoula, whose economy and identity are closely entwined with the state's flagship research institution.
"There are a lot of women in the community who have strong concerns about the manner in which sexual assaults have been handled," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir acknowledged his department had received roughly 80 rape reports in the past three years. But he said that on a per-capita basis, that figure was at or below the average level of reported rapes for U.S. college towns of similar size and makeup.
Muir, who said his department would cooperate with the inquiry, said he did not know how many of those reports had resulted in criminal charges being filed. Justice Department officials said they will be delving into that very question.
Missoula County's chief prosecutor, Fred Van Valkenburg, fiercely defended his office and the local police, calling the Justice Department probe an "overreach by the federal government."
"I have no reason to believe (police) violated anyone's rights," he said, adding that his office had no choice but to cooperate given "the heavy hand of a federal government that refuses to tell us what we supposedly have done wrong."
However, for Missoula business and university boosters, the investigation is an unwelcome development.
Administrators and business leaders say they worry about fallout from the Justice Department probe and six months of news about sex assault investigations tied to the university. From the fall of 2010 to fall of 2011, full-time student enrollment dropped by 2 percent.
NBC Montana and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Rape is flat out wrong! However, making a political issue of these rapes in Montana through DOJ is disgusting. If DOJ was truly interested in women's rights and the incidents of rape why is it that they waited until a few months before the election to do something about it. It must be the ability to get the headlines like this article and a number of TV shows and newspapers air without anything concrete ever happening.
Oh yeah, it's a political move to sway the billions of swing votes in f***ing Montana. Please. Were they supposed to wait until the rapes numbered a nice round "100"?
this isnt a montana issue on the issue of womens rights, this will be made a national issue affecting millions of vote across america in nov. its very political.
Your statement is just ignorant. It doesn't matter when a light is shone on crimes such as rape and the police force's inability to handle them. Repugs always want to cry foul instead of asking why the issue was never dealt with in the first place. They act like a murderer who wants sympathy because he/she got caught.
I cringed just a little when I read "a central thrust of the investigation" in a story about rapes. Editing anyone?
"Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir acknowledged his department had received roughly 80 rape reports in the past three years. But he said that on a per-capita basis, that figure was at or below the average level of reported rapes for U.S. college towns of similar size and makeup."
I'll bet the women of Missoula were relieved when they heard this. And what is the concern? Ahhhh yes, the heavy hand of the federal government...well of course....when you aren't doing anything and the government steps in to protect women, what other defense do you have?
This campus should be shut down completely never mind being investigated shut it down because there is something horrible going on.
Are the police out of their minds allowing to keep happening these are crimes that have to be investigated throughly there should be signs all over the place for girls to stay away from the school and never to go there because it is way to dangerous.
This is why I say over and over again rape is not considered a crime and should be changed to manslaughter and just maybe it will be investigated more.
The reason why it is manslaughter because once a person is raped that person dies and the new person immerges that is so totally different and has to be treated as such.
All rape victims out there such as myself know exactly what I am speaking about and if that were to happen you wouldn't believe how quickly there would be more investigating because police would be more willing to get a credit for finding the person who did this act to innocent women.
As I said this campus should be completely shut down and then and only then investigated because now it seems nobody cares enough to do so and that is beyond sad that nobody seems to care enough. The reason the shut down because that will hit the school in their pocket and the loss of money will make every bit of difference and that is a fact.
Where is mainstream media on this SILENT as usual.
May God give the girls that have been raped the strength to go through this really tough time now and for all time as I am certain he will!!!
Hysterical much?
Big Sky does not equal big minds---- Eventually both the school and police will pay dearly.----I hear class action being whispered in the wind, and yes folks, it IS deserved.
Why the cover-up? The probable answer is ironic, considering who is opening a probe. Answer: Black + Football. Conveniently, the only player facing formal criminal charges so far is white. This is why I’ve been saying that football, everything from the NFL down to Pee Wee League, needs to take a season off, while we do a collective catharsis of all the crimes that we have tolerated in the name of football, and to deny the figurative drug to our numerous drug addicts. On top of that, deep down in the noise floor in the hoopla about the non-existent contrived “war on women,” we have found out about all the covered up rapes on college campuses. Again, it’s either black, football/basketball, and usually both. The professional feminists are too scared to talk about race, though. countenance blog
Hey thats nothing compared to the DARK CITY CHICAGO where there are allegedly over 1500 rapes a year BUT the city of CHICAGO refuses to publish any RAPE REPORTS apparently it would DAMAGE the reputation of America's favorite bastard children and mascots of freedom which in CHICAGO is a PROTECT AT ANY COST directive
Recently the suspect in a rape on an "el" train was described as a hoodie and dark pants IN CHICAGO when they fail to decribe the SUSPECT but rather describe the CLOTHING we know what that means BLACK male(s) apparently women don't have the right to know who to be on the look-out against unless the person is WHITE I guess thats just anthor example of the "protected status" of the AFRIKAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY besides the other benefit of them not legally being charged with race and hate crimes when they most often are the violators in both.
when the whole Zimmerman/ Martin thing was being overblown and headlined it was interesting that none of the CHICAGO papers and MSNBC didn't even carry the story in a noticable way of the white guy and his girlfrienf that were carjacked,kidnapped and both were brutally raped over a several day period before being beaten to death,,, GUESS thats not NEWSWORTHY to certain MEDIA NAZIS. PROTECTIONISM andfear of REPRISAL from AMERICAS PROTECTED ANIMALS why they aren't the endangered ones civilization and white women are, THE jungle hasn't CHANGED just the VICTIMS have......but its OK because number one wants to make it ILLEGAL to report BAD THINGS about the "PROTECTED" by law people that are "disproportionately" arrested, WHY? because they are the "disproportionately" by far the committers of crime and NUMBER ONE says its better to harrass and interfer with arresting criminals because the LAW he had written protects these society career criminals,,, LETS DO AWAY WITH THESE LETHAL PROTECTIONIST LAWS that make LAW ENFORCEMENT AFRAID TO ARREST CRIMINALS JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE BLACK and that MAKE WOMEN afraid to report the CRIMES.... THIS IS WAY OUT-OF-HAND and POLITICIANS who make these protect the criminal racists laws are WAY-OUT-OF-LINE !!!!
Except, OF COURSE, you have no evidence proving that ANY of the rapes in this Montana college town were committed by African-Americans, let alone all 80.
You see, your problem is your math. You're not showing your work.
If, as you say, Black + Football = Rape then you have to show all the other factors you canceled out.
First off, how many blacks are in this Montana college? How about this Montana college town? How many whites? Are their more blacks than whites making it more likely that blacks committed these sexual assualts? Are blacks usually the majority population in Montana? Are blacks usually the majority population in a college setting? Are blacks usually the majority population in a college setting in Montana?
The University of Montana (in Missula) AVERAGES (according to its own figures) TEN African American students per year. So your assertion is that in a college population of 1400 white students and 10 black students that the reason why the only charges filed so far has been against a white guy is due to racism/coverup, because EVERYBODY KNOWS (aka "appeal to common knowlege") that blacks rape more than whites, especially when there's only 10 blacks to go around the whole campus.
So, rather than even face the greater likelihood that the sexual offense could stem from the greater 1400 white student population - because we know white men are so adverse to sexual assault as to make even the supposition silly - you choose to focus on the 10 or so black students (who probably each raped 10 students to get that number up to 80) to support your confirmation bias.
Nevermind the fact that the FBI for 2010 notes that of the 15,503 forcable rape arrests that year, 10,178 were white.
Naw, f#ck facts, right? 19th Century superstition and Reconstruction-era old wive tales is good enough allprezman's ignorant ass. The next thing he's gonna say is that sexism isn't real since it works on the same concept as racism, and we all know racism is BS, right? Or that the Native Americans stole this land from Europeans.
But then again, I've absolutely never heard of a drunken white frat boy ever taking any sexual advantage of any drunken women, so you're probably right.
IF there are ten blacks per year, then wouldn't that be 40 blacks on campus? Hmmmm? Just a thought, I know that my math is old fashioned, but hey, it's all I know.Oh, and what about that formula..Black + Football = Rape, why would you need the population of all the students on campus? Doesn't this formula distinctly show that only football players are involved? Isn't this indeed, the direct correlation being infered here? Why, then, would you need all the factors, they are not determinate. I guess you can't see that. You just want to try and cloud the issue. Other facts, the number of blacks in prison is over 65 %. I am not a cop or prosecutor, just someone who knows the truth. God loves you all, and I hope you willl repent and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ before it is too late. GOd bless you.
A) That was horribly racist.
B) This has nothing to do with the topic at hand as NO ONE has reported the race of the rapists... except this one.. http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/university-of-montana-football-player-jailed-on-rape-charge/article_91045390-392e-11e1-8fbd-001871e3ce6c.html?oCampaign=hottopics
He was white.
While all of this is going on I ask the question, what is the College Administration, Campus Security and local law enforcement doing to reign it in? Not to mention the local District Attorneys office and the colleges public safety office. If this is on par with other college towns of the same size then the Department of Justice needs to investigate a lot more than just this college.
You can bet if it was Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir's daughter or any of the elected officials the DOJ would not have been called in. If it was my daughter somebody will feel my wrath in some way shape or form!!
Being a Montana native, and knowing the Missoula culture quite well, I firmly believe this to be a case of morning after regrets.
Missoula is a college party town, it also has the reputation of being the San Francisco of Montana. There is a proliferation of college girls who you might find trying to earn a little extra party money on the side who are listed on Backpage and Craigslist. I would bet the ranch that the large majority of these "rapes" are in reality girls who wake up and look at the fat, old, bald guy next to them and realize the fifty bucks wasn't enough money to sell their pride for and then cry, "Rape!"
Too bad the DOJ isn't as concerned with the murders and drug trafficking on the southern border!this is nothing except political grandstanding.
Put down the jug of moonshine !!!!!
Rape is rape. That's it. If the woman said no, then it is rape.
The fact that our culture allows for people who believe that people call "morning-after regrets" rape is horrendous and part of the reason that I am sure that these 80 rapes are a low estimate for what actually happened.
Apparantly you do not know the culture quite well. These incidents did not happen 15 to 20 years ago. One may want to ask themselves will UNLV has the same kinds of problems.
what zieglo and Chris said. Blame the victims much?
Bubbaism at its finist !
"Administrators and business leaders say they worry about fallout from the justice department probe and six months of news about sex assault investigations tied to the university. From the fall of 2010 to fall of 2011, full-time student enrollment dropped by two percent."
Awww, the university and BUSINESS leaders are worried because of a TWO percent drop in enrollment. Their poor wallets are suffering while dozens of women are being RAPED....perhaps they need to re-examine their priorities....greedy bastages...
Why do you assume its all women? This article leaves much to be assumed. Pushing emotional issues with no real data is wrong.
"The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department and the county attorney's office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing," Holder said.
It could also be said that "The allegations that the Department of Justice, the Border Patrol and the President failed to adequately address Fast and Furious are very disturbing," Some of the guns they allowed to cross the border into Mexico were found at the murder scene of a border patrol agent.
The DOJ had better clean-up it's own act before investigating someone else.
Where's the relevance to this article? The article talks about rape and idiots like you talk about guns.
The relevance is that the DOJ is investigating Montana, and yet does nothing to clean-up it's own act.
Also, calling me an "idiot" just shows that you are a liberal who must resort to name-calling when discussing a subject. Questioning the relevance of the comment was a good thing. Name-calling wasn't.
Whoops....another hard --.
Go Cats!
Hate to say it, because I dislike liberals, but ignoring the violence against women like this does make it look like yet another front on the war against women.
Where does it say all victims were women? This story leaves assumptions out there on everything. Biased people, people who don't think they are responsible for their actions...regardless of party, are sad manipulating people.
RAPE is Despicable
For some reason, when I read that, I hear it in my head in Daffy Duck's voice.
pagan .. you quack me up.. lol
As someone who has lived there this comes as no surprise. Law enforcement leaves very much to be desired. I think that all of that snow and isolation dulls the people's senses as to what's right or wrong.
"As someone who has lived there", it looks like the snow and isolation dulled your mind.
Rapes don't occur in Montana, only "surprise sex".
Actually, 80 rapes is a misleading number. In Montana, they also include sheep in that number.
hahahahahaha yor Bhaad joe
tytyty 4 this article! I had the misfortune of living in Missoula for 15 months.We were from California and we were literally run off the road because we had California plates on our car. People in Montana HATE outsiders. Any girl not born and bred in this state will be in absolute danger, alone, in this city. The prejudices here run deep and go beyond outsiders and women. We ate at a chic restaurant in town with our obviously Autistic son and we were glared at by another patron though out our meal. Afterward when we went to our car to leave he pulled up behind us blocking us in for 15 minutes - he stood behind my car glaring at me - daring me if u will to get out - I finally went in the restaurant and called the police. When he knew I had done this he parked his car and went back in the restaurant and sat at his table. When the police arrived they interviewed us, the other patron and the restaurant owner. They said the restaurant owner saw nothing and said this man was a good patron so no report would be filed and nothing could be done. This is "classic Missoula" - it was a nightmare living there. Yes Montana is beautiful - but the people are very ugly.
I live in a small town a few hours away from Missoula, and I would never act like that. Jerks are jerks everywhere-Montana doesn't have a monopoly on them. That being said, a lot of the anxiety over people moving here. A few years ago, my husband's boss had moved here from California, bought a huge house on a mountain, and did nothing but complain about the wildlife eating her flowers and the fact that there was no shopping.
Don't tar all of us by the same brush, and most of us won't judge you. :)
This story says little and leaves wide open gaps into exactly what went on. Go do some reporting and come back with the story, or leave emotional charged issues out of your headlines until you make the effort. If 80 people were raped it needs to be known. And why have the Feds not arrested the investigating officers for something?
I've know women who have raped, who got men drunk hoping to sleep with them. If this is the rape were talking about we should also talk about why people get drunk in the presence of people and don't think they should be responsible for their actions. Heck, I don't drink and I had a woman try to get me drunk (she drunk the bottle and a half of wine) and asked me to kiss her. After we'd been making out she got made and told me I was taking advantage of her. It took her months to apologize and admit she did it trying to sleep with me.
Get the facts, or don't report. I hope someone sues news companies who don't and win so large that they can buy the news company. No more wars, no more lies. Honor and respect or we sue!
Yep. The jocks bring in money to the "institution of higher learning". So sweep their crimes under the rug and to hell with their victims. Another case of priorities being set according to what produces financial gain and imagined prestige. Then these clowns, who also get grades and degrees handed to them for nothing go out and get management jobs in the business world where they are totally incompetent because of the myth that "people look up to them" because they were "athletes". (The old "team player" routine.) Especially if they have learned to say stuff like "it's in the ballpark", or "going the extra yard". Rape is rape. Assault is assault. If my daughter is ever raped, there won't be enough left of the perp to send to jail.
If the county attorney and police are doing a good job the investigation will show that and if not it will show that. It appears it is the publicity surrounding the rapes that bother local officials not the rapes themselves. Missoula does have a culture of protecting their out of state athletes, I am from Montana and it has gone on a long time. If this wasn't true then why did they fire the coach and AD.
To suggest this is political is stupid, Montana is and will always be a red state but it is not some hillbilly state as some have said, they just need to start kicking some butt. As state support for schools lessens it is the football programs that are expected to generate more and more money and as they do there importance grows and they become a power on to themselves.
This is just right wing racism.
Left wing logic.
Why doesn't the DOJ investigate the failure of the US Government to do its Constitution duty of securing the borders. Failure to do so has allowed illegal workers to steal money from legal workers. The failure also has allowed illegal drugs to flood the country.
Note to Self: Colleges you do not want your daughter to attend: University of Montana!!!