US report sharply critical of Missoula prosecutors

MISSOULA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it found disturbing problems in the way the Missoula County Attorney's Office prosecutes sexual assault cases.

Prosecutors are not adequately trained for sexual assault cases, they give those cases low priority and they often treat victims disrespectfully, the department said as it released a 20-page report after a nearly two-year inquiry.

County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg disputed the allegations, telling the Missoulian (http://tinyurl.com/l39373u ) they were "half-truths, mistruths and maybe even outright lies."

"These are things I have never even heard of," he said. "It is impossible to believe these things are true. This is not how the Missoula County Attorney's Office conducts itself."

The Justice Department opened an investigation in May 2012 into Van Valkenburg's office, the Missoula Police Department and the University of Montana Office of Public Safety amid allegations they failed to protect sexual assault victims.

The police and university investigations were resolved last year, and Michael Cotter, the U.S. attorney for Montana, said they have improved their responses to sexual assault and strengthened public confidence in local police.

Van Valkenburg has resisted the investigation, asking a federal judge this week if the Justice Department had the authority to look into his office.

He said Friday the county will press its legal challenge. He accused the Justice Department of trying to manipulate news coverage by releasing the report late on a Friday afternoon without addressing the objections the county raised in federal court.

The Justice Department report said there was a "disturbing pattern" of deficiencies in the way Missoula prosecutors handle sexual assault cases.

Prosecutors said "terrible things" to victims of sexual assault and told a mother whose 5-year-old daughter had been assaulted by an adolescent that "boys will be boys," the report said.

When prosecutors told another woman they would not file charges after she reported a sexual assault, they told her "all you want is revenge," according to the report.

A deputy county attorney quoted religious passages to one woman who reported a sexual assault, which the woman interpreted as critical of her, the report said.

Another woman said she was so frustrated by her treatment "that she 'would never suggest' that another woman pursue a sexual assault prosecution in Missoula," the report said.