Police Department

The Sexual Assault Unit is within the Family Justice Bureau of the Fresno Police Department and is dedicated to helping sexual assault victims.

The Sexual Assault Unit fulfills three functions:

• investigate current and past incidents of sexual assaults or attempted assaults,
• investigate criminal acts involving sexual deviance (e.g. child pornography), and
• monitor registered sex offenders pursuant to California Penal Code § 290.

The Mission of the Sexual Assault Unit is:

• to effectively and efficiently investigate allegations of sexual assault,
• to conduct all investigations in a fair and unbiased manner,
• to reduce the number of sexual assaults that occur within the City of Fresno through criminal prosecution and proactive enforcement.

All reports of sexual assault are reviewed by a Unit supervisor. The case is then assigned to a detective for follow-up investigation. Sexual assault detectives investigate a wide range of sex crime allegations involving adults and children. Detectives interact and collaborate with medical personnel, prosecutors, child services, and a number of licensing and child/victim advocacy organizations

How To Report An Incident Or Follow Up On An Existing Case

Reporting

• Call 911 when an emergency response is needed
• Call (559) 621-7000 when a situation is not an emergency (e.g. delayed reporting)
• Reports can be made via your child’s school to a School Resource Officer (assigned to both Fresno Unified Middle and High Schools)

Follow Up Inquiries

• If your case is already assigned to a detective, please contact that detective directly.
• Contact a Sexual Assault Unit supervisor at (559) 621-2447 or (559) 621-2492.
• If you reported your case over two (2) years ago, please call the “Cold Case Unit” hotline at (559) 621-2483.

Each year thousands suffer some type of sexual abuse. Who is the typical offender? In the vast majority of sexual assault cases, the offender is known to the victim. Specifically for child victims, the offender is known either to the child and/or child’s family (up to 90% of all cases, per the State of California Department of Justice).

The sexual assault abuser is often:

• a family member of the victim
• a friend of the family of the victim
• a romantic partner, friend, or acquaintance of the victim

Awareness and education will not only further protect the children of Fresno, but it also averts sex offenses from ever occurring.

Seek help immediately!

Call 911 for medical assistance or go to a hospital emergency room in the event of injuries. When a sexual assault has just occurred, important things to remember is that the victim should not:

• wash, bathe, or douche until they have been to the hospital and contacted the police.
• change clothes,
  • if the victim has changed clothes, keep the clothes worn during or post assault to be collected as potential evidence.
• if social media, texting, or emails played a role in communicating with the offender, do not delete these contact(s).

Law enforcement officers and medical professionals are aware and empathetic to the emotional impact experienced by sexual assault victims. It may be difficult for victims to confide in strangers about what has happened. Every effort is made to have family members, friends, clergy or anyone the victim may want present to provide support during this difficult time.

Fresno County Victim Services
(559) 600-2822

Valley Children’s Hospital, Child Advocacy Clinic
(559) 256-5760

Family Healing Center
(559) 840-1012

Rape Counseling Services of Fresno
(559) 222-7273

Centro La Familia
(877) 294-3772

The Fresno Police Department Chaplaincy, Resiliency Center
(559) 621-2120

Community Regional Medical Center
(559) 459-6000

Fresno County District Attorney’s Office
(559) 600-5197

Fresno County Department of Social Services
(559) 600-8320