The Capital-Journal One of every three domestic violence or sexual assault cases filed in Shawnee County during the first six months of this year has been pleaded down to a lesser offense. But county prosecutors say those numbers aren't out of the ordinary or alarming. Every case has to be accepted on the basis of whether we can prove it. If not, we're wasting everyone's time. District Attorney Joan Hamilton, who is seeking re-election to a third term, has come under fire recently from providers of services to sexual assault and domestic violence victims.
Providers claim the D.A.'s office too often fails to prosecute or is too lenient with offenders.
And in 23 of the cases, defendants were allowed to plead to a lesser felony charge. The remaining six cases were recommended for diversion, a program in which the charges are eventually cleared from the offender's record if no further crimes are committed within a designated period. The Domestic Violence Project is funded through federal grant money, which is allocated to agencies across the state by the Kansas attorney general's office. Since Jan. 1, Lovin has been collecting information on every incident of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking reported to the Topeka Police Department. As of June 30, police had investigated and forwarded 1,071 cases, including 30 rape investigations, to Hamilton's office.