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34 Law & Psychol. Rev. 91 (2010)
Rape as a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering Activity

handle is hein.journals/lpsyr34 and id is 93 raw text is: RAPE AS A VIOLENT CRIME IN AID OF RACKETEERING ACTIVITY Christopher C. Kendall I. INTRODUCTION The United States Sentencing Commission's 1995 description of rape' as a growing problem was an understatement.2 The numbers are shock- ing. For instance, [i]n 1993, 100,200 forcible rapes were attempted and 40,730 were completed.' This figure includes only reported rapes, and due to massive underreporting, the number of rapes in 1991 is estimated at 173,000-62% greater than the number reported.4 From 1981 to 1991, the United States experienced a 28% increase in reported rapes-more than double the 11.9% growth in the nation's population.5 These numbers remain high. The Department of Justice found that in 2008 there were 203,830 victims of rape or sexual assault over the age of twelve-roughly one sexual assault every three minutes.' While the incidence of sexual assault has fallen steadily since 1973, the overall numbers remain stagger- ing.7 Statistics indicate that most rapists are never punished for their crimes . Only 10% of rapes are reported to the police, and only 20% of those reported perpetrators are convicted of sexual assault.' Doing the math, that means that only 2% of all rapists are punished, while 98% go * Associate, O'Melveny & Myers; J.D., 2010, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; B.A., 2007, Stanford University. I would like to thank Professor Heidi Rummel for her guidance and support throughout the writing of this article. I would also like to thank my mom, dad, Alexander, Elizabeth, and Martini for all of their support. 1. The author notes that rape and sexual assault may be defined and punished differently across jurisdictions. However, for purposes of this article, these terms are used interchangeably unless stated otherwise. 2. See U.S. SENTENCING COMM'N, REPORT TO CONGRESS: ANALYSIS OF PENALTIES FOR FEDERAL RAPE CASES 2 (1995). 3. Id. at 2-3. 4. Id. at 3. 5. Id. 6. MICHAEL R. RAND, U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE, CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION, 2008, at 1 (2009); Rape, Abuse & Incest Nat'I Network, How Often Does Sexual Assault Occur?, http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/frequency-of-sexual-assault (last visited Nov. 23, 2010). 7. See U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE, VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS, 1993-2005 (2006) (finding that the number of victimizations per 1,000 people age twelve and over has steadily decreased since 1973). 8. LEE MADIGAN & NANCY C. GAMBLE, THE SECOND RAPE: SOCIETY'S CONTINUED BETRAYAL OF THE VICTIM 7 (1991). 9. Id.