The Seal Beach Police Department and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating a rape that may have occurred on the city’s Main Street.
The victim was a female sailor and the suspect was a civilian, according to a spokesman for the Seal Beach Naval Weapons station.
Sgt. Steve Bowles, public information officer for the SBPD, confirmed the rape investigation on Thursday, April 29.
According to the police dispatch log, the crime was reported at 10:15 a.m., Wednesday, April 13. However, the log said the crime occurred the previous night at an unknown location on Main Street.
Bowles said he couldn’t go into details about the case because it was an on-going investigation. He said the case obviously included Navy personnel.
The incident reportedly took place in the city of Seal Beach, which is why the two agencies are working together on the sexual assault investigation.
Greg Smith, public affairs officer for the Seal Beach Naval Weapons station, said the suspect in the case was a civilian. The victim was a female sailor who was serving aboard a guided missle destroyer that was docked in Seal Beach in mid-April for a munitions operation.
About rape statistics
Rape is seldom reported in the city of Seal Beach. Bowles told the Sun that four rapes were reported in the city in 2010 and two were reported in 2009.
Those figures do not include prosecutions. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office determines which cases are prosecuted.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, nationwide 60 percent of rapes are not reported to the police.
However, that figure may be dated. It is based on the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2005 National Crime Victimization Study. The study covered a five-year period.
Also according to RAINN, if the rape is reported there is a 50.8 percent chance an arrest will be made and an 80 percent chance that a suspect will be prosecuted.
About NCIS
Most of the general public knows about the Naval Criminal Investigative Service from the CBS television series NCIS.
“As the felony investigative arm of the Department of the Navy, NCIS civilian special agents have investigative responsibility within the (Department of the Navy) for all crimes punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice by confinement of more than one year,” according to the NCIS Web site.
“Types of crimes investigated by NCIS include rape, child physical and sexual abuse, burglary and robbery, theft of government and personal property, and homicide,” the Web site said.
“NCIS is a predominantly civilian agency, with civilian leadership reporting directly to the Secretary of the Navy,” the Web site said.
