Survivor of Wilmington attack calls for police accountability

Earlier this summer, Cassie Payton contacted WPD to report her attackers after a violent assault. It took two and a half weeks for the WPD detective assigned to her case to examine the crime scene for evidence.

Payton’s detective called her the perfect victim, she said, because of her cooperation during the case and the courage she showed during the investigation of her own attack.

But unfortunately, police ultimately found nothing substantive to bring charges against her attackers, and her case was ultimately closed after a prosecutor declined to pursue the case due to the lack of evidence, Payton told WHQR.

Payton said the department has given many reasons why it took so long to gather all possible evidence. However, Payton is calling on the department to reform the way they respond to sexual assault through her. Change.org petitionwhich has attracted more than 1,000 signatures to date.

Payton spoke with the detective assigned to her case to find out what had delayed evidence collection.

“I asked him if there are mandatory timelines for evidence gathering because I wanted to know if our growth area is policy change or accountability. Unfortunately, in this circumstance, both,” she told WHQR.

Payton’s petition calls on WPD to make three systemic changes to improve its response to sexual assault:

1. Mandatory timelines for evidence collection: Require that crime scenes in sexual assault cases be investigated within 48 hours of reporting and that identifiable perpetrators be contacted with the same urgency.

2. Victim-oriented training: Implement mandatory trauma-informed training for all officers handling sexual assault cases to ensure the physical and emotional safety of survivors.

3. Accountability measures: Establish transparent procedures for investigating departmental delays in sexual assault cases.

WPD’s Public Information Officer Greg Willett wrote in an email that the department does not comment on sexual assault cases and cannot comment on the petition itself.

Now, Payton is encouraging others to join her in a peaceful protest at Wilmington Police Headquarters, located at 615 Bess St., on Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m.