Fundraiser seeks to support sexual assault victims via Ring

Sexual assault victims face struggles that include a lost sense of security at home and even in a safe haven. There’s fear the attacker will learn where they live.

Even after arrests, people facing charges often are released without bond, pending trial, said Brad Humphrey, a detective in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Sexual Assault Unit.

For Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, the SCSO unit has organized a GoFundMe donation drive into early May to buy at least 10 Ring doorbell cameras for victims to use for home security.

The cameras then will be donated to the Lutheran Community Services sexual assault advocacy program, where LCS advocates anonymously will give them to the sexual assault victims they’re serving.

“It gives victims of sexual assault an opportunity to feel secure in what should be our most secure place, which is our homes,” Humphrey said.

“In a lot of cases I’ve investigated, the victims have told me that they would benefit from some kind of surveillance system on their house. They’re feeling pretty vulnerable about the potential of being revictimized, especially if the person is not in custody or has been released from custody.”

The LCS program has sexual assault advocates available 24 hours a day seven days a week to respond to the hospital immediately after such crimes, Humphrey said.

“They also assist us on our cases and act as an advocacy platform for the victim for everything from police interviews to the investigation and all the way through the criminal justice process. They also are good at providing resources beyond the criminal justice system.”

The GoFundMe donations will be submitted to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Chaplaincy Service’s 501©(3) fund. That office will assist in purchasing. Ring offers a doorbell camera for 24-hour audio and visual surveillance. The camera needs a Wi-Fi signal and doesn’t require a doorbell. For fundraiser questions, call Humphrey at (509) 477-3028.