Each year the Sexual Assault Unit handles over five hundred felony sexual assault cases and over one hundred and fifty felony violations of the sex registration laws. Many of the cases prosecuted by the Unit carry potential life sentences mandated by the "One Strike" laws that apply to aggravated circumstances such as multiple victims, kidnapping and burglary.
Victims of sexual assault are guaranteed anonymity throughout the court process and victim’s address is protected by state law from disclosure, California Penal Code Sections 293 and 293.5. The Sexual Assault Unit also obtains search warrants of defendants’ blood to test for HIV on behalf of sexual assault victims where there is probable cause to believe that there was an exchange of bodily fluids, California Penal Code Section 1524.1. The local health department will inform the victim of the result in a medically confidential manner and provide professional counseling, California Penal Code Section 1524.1(f)(g)(h).
The Unit with the assistance of a paralegal also obtains DNA samples from all felony sex offenders for inclusion in the State of California Database pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 295 et. seq. The County of Santa Clara has achieved a compliance rate for DNA sampling in excess of ninety-nine percent.
In appropriate cases the Sexual Assault Team can present the testimony of a child witness and disabled victims via closed circuit television equipment obtained pursuant to a federal grant.
