Making the decision to report sexual assault or sexual abuse to a police department is tough. There are many factors to be considered and it can be overwhelming. This page will give you some of the basic information about choices you can make. For more information about these options or if you have other questions please call our 24-hour Hotline at 1-800-871-7741.

If you were just assaulted:

Any police officer or District Attorney will tell you that the sooner you report sexual assault or sexual abuse the better.

The benefits of reporting sexually violent crimes right away is that there is often more and better evidence which can be used against the offender in court.

The drawback is that you may not feel emotionally and physically ready to being involved with the police immediately after an assault.

Many survivors of sexual violence believe that what happened to them was their fault. SACC would like to take this opportunity to remind you…

It wasn’t your fault!

When reporting sexual assault or sexual abuse you have two options:

Informational Report

Report with intent to prosecute

An Informational Report allows a survivor to provide a police department with information about sexual assault or sexual abuse. This type of report is kept on file and can be opened at a later date if the survivor is interested in pursuing a prosecution.

A Report With Intention to Prosecute is when a survivor tells everything they know with relation to the sexual assault or sexual abuse to a police officer or detective. This report is followed up by additional interviews with potential witnesses, the offender (if known) and anyone else the police department thinks can provide information. Once the investigation is finished the report with all the information from the detective/police officer is sent to the District Attorney’s office.

Once the report is in the D.A.’s office, the attorney(s) reviews the information, asks for further information if needed, and decides whether or not to take the case to a Grand Jury.

Once a case reaches the D.A.’s office the system becomes even more complicated and we encourage you to get support from SACC.

This process take a LONG TIME! Survivors should expect it to take anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years from the time they report the crime to the police until trial or a plea agreement is reached. The SART Coordinator and the SACC 24-hour Hotline can be with you through all of this! You don’t have to go through this alone!

If your assault or abuse was a long time ago…

In Maine there are certain limitations to how long a survivor has to report a sexual assault and sexual abuse. The laws regulating these limitations (called Statute of Limitations) are often changing. For the most up to date information call your local police department, District Attorney’s office or the Sexual Assault Crisis Center.