Davis County victim advocate details heavy caseload, case examples and resource gaps

Davis County victim advocate Christina Peri Rock told the Davis County Commission during a work session April 15 that advocates in the county’s attorney’s office handle a heavy caseload and provide sustained support to victims through investigation, hearings and, when necessary, trial.

Peri Rock, who represents the Davis County Attorney’s Office, opened by warning that bureau data and arrest-based counts understate the number of people who need help and said victims often confront a slow, unpredictable legal process. “It’s hard to feel like there’s justice for victims,” she said, describing the office’s role as helping victims feel “seen” and supported rather than treated as a checklist of procedures.

Peri Rock presented arrest-based crime counts from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) for 2024 and partial 2025 reporting and noted that BCI’s grouping of offense types sometimes differs from how prosecutors categorize cases. She said the county’s prosecution team pursues difficult sex-abuse and domestic-violence prosecutions that other jurisdictions sometimes decline to take to trial.

Peri Rock summarized three recent case series to illustrate the length and intensity of victim advocacy work. In the case she called the “Hammer” case, the alleged assault occurred Oct. 17, 2023; the matter was investigated and filed about five months later, went to a four-day jury trial in late January and ended in an acquittal. The victim in that case—Peri Rock said—has two terminal illnesses and required extensive support: Peri Rock logged 81 emails, more than 40 telephone calls and more than 15 in-person meetings related to that single matter. Peri Rock said the office used an 11/2002 victim statement option to limit trauma from live courtroom testimony.

A separate domestic-violence matter Peri Rock described involved repeated assaults, threats and protective-order violations; the defendant was sentenced in February 2024, released around May 2024, and later charged again after alleged continued threats and contact. Peri Rock said the file for that survivor has generated more than 483 emails and more than 40 calls. She said prosecutors filed witness-tampering and protective-order violation charges in the later matter.

Peri Rock also described the Justin King case, an aggravated burglary that she characterized as a mental-health break by a contractor known to the victims. She said the contractor’s business continued to pay the contractor more than $300,000 while he was incarcerated for the offense. That case resulted in a guilty plea and a jail sentence; Peri Rock said the defendant will remain in custody for roughly nine more months. Peri Rock recorded roughly 153 emails and several in-person contacts for that file.

Peri Rock said Davis County’s model provides an advocate to every victim who requests one, including victims of nonviolent crimes such as theft and fraud. She said the Davis County Attorney’s Office currently employs five victim advocates and that each advocate handles roughly 500 cases in Davis County, describing the workload as “a lot.”

She also discussed supports for staff who see graphic evidence and threatening communications, calling attention to the risk of vicarious trauma. Peri Rock said coping strategies in her office include peer debriefing, short walks during the day and mutual support among advocates. She described employee access to counseling as limited by changes in insurance coverage: Peri Rock said PEHP no longer covers some therapy for crime-related trauma and that the availability of crime-victim reparations has declined in recent grant cycles. Peri Rock noted federal funding streams such as VAWA and VOCA affect local resources and said Davis County has increased restitution efforts and staffing to recover funds for victims.

Commissioners and staff thanked Peri Rock for the presentation; no formal actions were taken during the work session. Peri Rock concluded by reiterating that much of her work—safety planning, enrollment in confidential-address programs and help with civil matters—continues after criminal case resolutions.

Peri Rock said the examples she gave were intended to illustrate why ongoing victim advocacy is resource intensive and why sustained funding and staff support matter for both victims and the staff who serve them.