A Shoddy Investigation?

New London may be a city but it is a city small in size where generations of the same families have lived for years, many are related by blood or marriage, friends are easily made and secrets are hard to keep.

So it was on the morning of July 20 that many New Londoners awoke to talk of a violent sexual assault that occurred in a downtown New London alley.

When no news of any sexual assault was forthcoming from the New London Police Department, rumors and accusations of a coverup and mayoral interference spread quickly culminating in a statement by Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard that "Detectives from the New London Police Department have closed the investigation into the purported sexual assault that took place on 7/20/13 in the downtown area. Following several weeks of active investigation into the allegation, investigators have concluded that the facts and circumstances initially reported to police by the victim turned out to be an untrue accusation."

Whale Tales questions the integrity and earnestness of the investigation.

Based on information provided to Whale Tales by reliable sources, the following is what Whale Tales believes to be an accurate account of the event and subsequent investigation.
*Early in the morning of July 20, reports of a brutal sexual assault came into the New London Police Department.
*Following police procedure, Captain Steven Crowley, head of the NLPD Investigative Division was called and informed of the complaint.
*Crowley, familiar with the name of the complainant, determined that his presence was not required and directed that the victim be driven home.
*Confused and disoriented, the victim complied.
*At this point, the victim had not been taken to the hospital nor provided with a Rape Crisis Counselor.
*A family member of the victim, outraged by what was perceived as a lack of action on the part of New London Police, contacted CT State Police.
*A Rape Crisis Counselor was provided for the victim by a member of an outside authority.
*No information regarding the sexual assault or any investigation of such was provided to the public until news of the crime began to appear in Facebook and blogs.

At the time of the first public release of information, Deputy Chief Reichard said that police had a suspect in the case and that DNA samples might help them make an arrest but now says the victim has recanted her story and the case is closed.

We believe that an injustice has been done to both the victim and the public and that an investigation by an outside agency into the handling of this case by all involved should be called for.