Rape is the least investigated violent crime in America

WASHINGTON (SBG) - A rape occurs every 98 seconds. And less than one percent will result in a felony conviction. Rape is the least-investigated violent crime in America.

Mike and Cindy Rondini were devastated when their daughter Megan called from college. She’d been raped. But the worst came months later when Megan took her own life.

"The bottom fell out. I don't know what hell’s like, but it's pretty damn close to that."

The Rondini's believe Megan’s case wasn’t thoroughly investigated because the alleged assailant claimed the sex was consensual.

In our nationwide investigation, we discovered a shocking number of police departments dismissed hundreds or even thousands of rape claims as unfounded in spite of DNA evidence and injuries.

Brandon Stahl was part of a team at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that examined about 1500 closed cases from a two-year period spread across 20 cities in Minnesota.

"Evidence wasn't being collected. Witnesses who could provide valuable information in the case, they weren't being interviewed. Often these cases weren't even assigned an investigator."

The numbers were staggering. No investigator in 25% of cases. A third of the victims never interviewed. And most cases never sent to prosecutors.

The findings in Minnesota echoed what we discovered after analyzing local law enforcement and FBI crime data nationwide. Rape claims were often dismissed as untrue.

Nearly forty percent of the police departments we examined closed half or more of their rape cases in 2016 and 2017 without charging anyone.

Not all cases can be prosecuted. However, the victims we interviewed and the medical records and data we examined suggest there is a troubling trend in this country when it comes to rape cases.

This is why Megan’s parents say they're speaking out. They want other victims to get the thorough investigation they believe their daughter never got.

"She didn't want other people to be treated like this. She didn't want this to go into the circle file and disappear."