— from Sheriff Ron Krebs —
I wish to take a minute to respond to a recent article that was posted in the Island Guardian and the San Juan Islander. While I cannot comment on the specifics of these cases as they are active investigations, I do want to set the record straight. We take every case very seriously and sexual assault is no different. The San Juan County Prosecutor’s Office would not make a final decision regarding the charging of a sexual assault until witnesses are interviewed, evidence is obtained and the investigation has been completed. Again we take all sexual assaults very seriously.
It is extremely irresponsible and damaging to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to print inaccurate or wrong information that may lead them to believe that the Sheriff’s Office does not care about them or their cases, especially with everything going on in the news today. Stories such as this can prevent sexual assault victims from coming forward and reporting the crime.
It is our responsibility to investigate all crimes thoroughly before presenting them to the Prosecutor’s Office in order to ensure the successful prosecution of a criminal suspect.
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