Idaho Sheriff Criticized for Calling Most Rape Claims False

An Idaho sheriff is under fire for objecting to new state legislation about processing rape kits by saying that most rape claims are false.

“The majority of our rapes—not to say that we don’t have rapes, we do—but the majority of our rapes that are called in, are actually consensual sex,” Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland told Idaho Falls TV station KIDK , according to the New York Daily News.

The new legislation will standardize the collection and tracking of evidence from rape kits. While women can ask that their kit not be processed, law enforcement cannot decline to process kits without approval from a county prosecutor. This marks a departure from current protocol, which allows law enforcement to make the decision. Rowland said “They need to let us decide if we’re going to send the kit and when we send the kits in.”

Women lawmakers in the state called the legislation an important measure to ensure that victims are taken seriously and rapists are caught.

[NYDN]