Increase In Reported Rapes In 70th But Victims Know Their Attackers, Says NYPD

As the overall reduction of crime continues across the 70th Precinct, the exception to the rule in 2016 has been rape and other sex crimes.

Reported rapes in the 70th Precinct have more than doubled, from 8 to 17, according to mid-year statistics provided by the NYPD; however, in 16 of the 17 cases reported in 2016, the victim knew her or his attacker, an NYPD spokeswoman said yesterday.

The number of rapes reported across New York City has increased by about 7 percent so far this year.

Virtually all of the rapes reported to the 70th Precinct in 2016 have been acquaintance rapes said Sophia Mason, an NYPD spokeswoman. The attackers could have been co-workers, neighbors or friends, she observed.

Two of the cases reported this year occurred prior to 2016 but the victims are stepping forward now, Mason added. Four of the seventeen attacks were attempted rapes, Compstat data shows.

Misdemeanor sex crimes reported to the 70th Precinct have seen a 41 percent increase — 17 incidents by mid-2015 compared to 24 in mid-2016. The NYPD did not say how many of the victims knew their attackers in these cases.

However, the long term trend in the 70th appears to be a steady decline in reported sexual violence — there were 111 rapes reported in 1993, compared to 64 in 2001, and 18 last year.