Sexual-assault response team reports nearly 4,000 cases over two years; recommends standardizing hospital, law-enforcement protocols

Audrey O'Rearse, SART coordinator for Bexar County, presented the SART biennial report and said "Bexar County experiences higher rates of sexual assault than other Texas counties at about 78.6 offenses per 10,000 residents." She reported 3,999 cases were reported to law enforcement in the two-year reporting period and 829 survivors went to hospitals for forensic exams and advocacy services.

O'Rearse outlined prosecution metrics (364 cases reviewed for prosecution outcomes, 284 convictions across the two years) and described SART's case-review process, which requires victim consent and interdisciplinary participation from advocates, forensic nurses, law enforcement and the district attorney’s office. Key recommendations included expanding trauma-informed training, standardizing response protocols with hospitals and law enforcement, strengthening interagency collaboration, and increasing public awareness and survivor access to services.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about classification of aggravated and super-aggravated assaults and about where forensic exams are provided; presenters said survivors can go to any emergency department in Bexar County and that forensic-exam capacity now covers more than 40 hospitals due to Texas F& E expansion. The court voted to accept the report by motion.