Speaking of…  Immigration and sexual assault. Of not only women, but also children. This is a topic which is very difficult for me to objective about. And to write about. But, it’s an issue which must be addressed. It has turned out to be broader than I anticipated, so it will be broken into two parts. This is part one of two.

First, let’s be clear about what I’m talking about. Rape - forced, unwanted sexual intercourse. “The legal term rape has traditionally referred to forced vaginal penetration of a woman by a male assailant. Many states have now abandoned this concept in favor of the gender-neutral term sexual assault. The legal definition of criminal sexual assault is any genital, oral, or anal penetration by a part of the accused's body or by an object, using force or without the victim's consent.” (Medem: Medical Library: Definitions of Sexual Assault)

Although the definition of rape was just broadened by the Maryland Court of Appeals to include defining rape if a man ignores a woman's calls to stop, even if she had previously consented to sex (Definition of Rape Widened), this is not what I am referring to. I am speaking to violent sexual assaults.

Rape is not about sex, it is about power. And, regardless of what they say, or the woman feels, the culpability lies solely with the rapist(s), not the victim. This is critical to understand. When it comes to children, they often also feel they are somehow to blame. But, they’re not. The responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator(s). The issues and motivations regarding rape and child sexual assault may be quite different. But, in all cases, it has to do with power. The power of the assailant(s) and the powerlessness of the victim.

According to author, teacher and profiler Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, PhD  who has researched violent crimes for more than twenty years, “…rapists are typically out of control in their lives. They are frustrated and want to lash out to regain a sense of control of themselves and their lives. They may not be able to control anything else, but they can control their victims.”  (Javno)

Rape is one of the most brutal crimes there are – there is not only the physical assault, there is the mental assault. The victim learns in one fell swoop one of the cruelest truths there are – she is not in control of her body, nor can she control what happens to it. Many feel a sense of guilt, feeling they brought it upon themselves. Without exception, the effects are damaging and long-lasting.

I began this piece intending to focus on immigration and rape within the United States - the number of immigrants and illegal aliens linked to it. In recent years there have been a number of reports on this issue. Obviously, not enough though.

However, as I began researching, the truth was unavoidable: worldwide, the statistics on rape are staggering, and have risen dramatically, most often in proportion to immigration. Due to political correctness and concerns that one group or another may be discriminated against, however, this is often not reported.

While the increase in the number of rapes is felt by some to be an increase in the reporting of them, in the United States it is estimated that one either one in three or one in four women have been raped. In the Unites States it is believed that less than 30% of sexual assaults are actually reported. Sexual assaults on children under 12 are not included in those figures. If fact, they are not included in the sexual assault figures at all. They fall under the purview of child abuse. So, the figures are actually quite a bit higher, if one factors these into them.

The stories are as numerous as they are appalling. In  Illegal aliens linked to gang-rape wave by Chelsea Schilling, she states, “A wave of illegal-immigrant gang rapes is sweeping the U.S. while public officials and law-enforcement authorities fear drawing the link…”

Schurman-Kauflin said, “It is as if there is a fear that if this is honestly discussed, people will hate all illegal immigrants. So there is silence. … But in being silent about the rapes and murders, it is as if the victims never even existed." While she is speaking about the United States, this phenomenon is occurring worldwide.

Initiated due to her concerns about the issue, and for which she was neither commissioned nor paid (including the subsequent article), Schurman-Kauflin embarked on a one-year in-depth study of 1,500 cases of illegal immigrants who committed sex crimes in the U.S. She estimated there are approximately 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders currently in the United States, with an average of four victims each. The 1,500 offenders studied had a total of 5,999 victims.

 While the offenders were located in 36 states, the majority were in states with the highest numbers of illegal immigrants: “California had the most offenders, followed by Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, New York and Florida.” She estimated “93 sex offenders and 12 serial sexual offenders come across U.S. borders illegally every day.” Only 2 percent of the offenders in her study had no history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.

Schurman-Kauflin stated, "This places the estimate for victimization numbers around 960,000 for the 88 months examined in this study."

The 1,500 cases reviewed were broken down by child molestations (35 percent); rapes (24 percent); and sexual homicides and serial murders (41 percent).

In 82 percent of the cases, she noted, the victims were known to their attackers. "In those instances, the illegal immigrants typically gained access to the victims after having worked as a day laborer at or near the victims' homes."

The highest number of sex offenders came from Mexico. “El Salvador was the original home to the next highest number. Other countries… included Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Vietnam.”

At this point, I can’t account for the lack of perpetrators from the Middle East in Schurman-Kauflin’s study. Perhaps it is due to the fact that many are here legally, which would not have fallen under the purview of study, although it has been clearly documented that some Middle Eastern individuals have posed as Mexicans to cross the Southern U.S. border. There is compelling evidence, however, of the rise in Muslim sexual assaults directed towards Western women.

In a separate study, Schurman-Kauflin also found terrorists using the identity of different nationalities. “One glaring security problem was Puerto Rico. With birthright citizenship, Puerto Ricans can come to the mainland any time they want. Fraudulent documents are a huge industry there as illegals and terror operatives look to enter the island illegally, obtain fake paperwork, and then simply come to the mainland.” (Recruiting in the West: The Lure of Radical Islamic Terror)

In the study on illegal immigrants and sex crimes, nearly 63 percent of the offenders had been deported on another offense prior to the sex crime, and there was an average of three years of committing crimes such as DUI, assault or drug related offenses prior to being apprehended for a sexual offense or murder.

79 percent of the offenders had been in the U.S. for more than one year before being arrested for a sex crime, and only about 25 percent were found to have been stable within a community. In 31 percent of the crimes, the offenders entered into the communities where they offended within two months of the commission of their sex offenses.

Schurman-Kauflin concluded that illegal immigrants gradually commit worse crimes and are continually released back into society or deported. "Those who were deported simply returned illegally again," she says. She pointed out "There is a clear pattern of criminal escalation."

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC , “…believes the number of gang rapes is increasing as the population of illegal aliens in the U.S. increases…Many illegal aliens have a rape and pillage mentality toward America."

For example, law enforcement has been tracking a highly organized and well-funded Central American gang, MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, which is now found in at least 33 states across the U.S. MS-13 is well known for it’s excessive brutality.

According to Gheen, they ask “…their male initiates to gang rape American women to become an official member of the gang…Gang rape is a form of terrorism. It has been used throughout history as a weapon of terror…Most Americans do not see the war that is already upon us in our communities and neighborhoods."

Gheen is not talking about global jihad. He is not talking about a unified cohesive effort to destroy the Western world. But, even if it is not a centralized effort, a cohesive effort, the result is the same. A man killed when robbed, or killed for his ideology has the same ultimate end – the man is equally dead. While groups like MS-13 have a common philosophy and goal, I find it difficult to believe all illegals do. Unlike the common religious and political ideology one sees with jihadists, however, their behavior regarding certain issues is startlingly similar.

And, that is what many do not realize – that a war is being waged. Right here in the good old USA. Some examples:

• · Massachusetts - Three MS-13 gang members were charged in the brutal rapes of two deaf girls, one 14, the other 17, in a park. One victim, who also suffered from cerebral palsy, was pushed out of her wheelchair before being raped repeatedly. 2002

• Huntersville, N.C.-  A 37-year-old North Carolina woman was gang raped by at least seven illegal aliens. October 2004

•   Immokalee, Fla. - 14 field laborers, ranging in age from 18 to 56, broke into an 18-year-old woman's home, dragged her across the street and then took turns raping her. The victim said the men choked and hit her until she became unconscious. When she awoke, a man poured alcohol in her mouth. Oct. 4, 2005

• ST. Paul, Minn. - Rage Ibrahim, 25, a Somali immigrant beat and sexually assaulted a woman for nearly 90 minutes. The surveillance video clearly showed at least 10 Somali men and women watching as the woman was assaulted. Ibrahim was charged with several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Police were shocked by the behavior of the bystanders. August 2007

• Maricopa County, AZ - Santana Batiz Aceves, 39, a twice-deported illegal migrant, was arrested of sexually assaulting five girls and attacking another in the crime spree that spanned 18 months. Aceves, who has a history of drug charges, was booked on suspicion of 25 felonies, including kidnapping, child molestation, sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, aggravated assault, burglary and trespassing. All of the victims have been girls between the ages of 12 and 15. January 12, 2008

• · Tellico Plains, TN. - Francisco Barbosa, 35, who also goes by Francisco Sanchez, kicked in a 92-year-old woman's door in March and raped her. His truck was found in Texas. He's believed to be in Mexico. 12 May, 2008

Several of the cases illustrate some of the problems law enforcement has when dealing with illegal immigrants. Monroe County Sheriff Bill Bivens said the task of identifying a suspect is just half the battle, finding him is often much more difficult. It’s not uncommon for “folks that have got two or three different IDs. Determining who they are and things like that is a problem…it's more difficult to apprehend someone you don't have a previous record on. They may have been deported, may have come back. They get back quicker a lot of times than we can get them deported it seems like."

An additional problem is communication between immigration and local law enforcement isn’t always optimal and a known illegal may be charged and released on bond because the local law enforcement didn’t know they were illegal. By the same token, there have been times when an illegal is caught, but immigration isn’t aware he is a suspect in a crime. Bivens said, "It's difficult to get things done, a lot of times. I mean it's not like you can call just because you've got someone that's illegal and they're going to come and get them. It doesn't always happen that way."

LAPD Assistant Chief George Gascon said their officers are prohibited “…from inquiring into a person's immigration status, or working with federal authorities to enforce immigration matters when no other crime is present…Our officers understand that they should arrest and report to federal authorities individuals suspected of having been previously convicted of serious offenses, who were deported and are now back preying on our communities." (Aliens among us?) Similar policies are in place in other large urban areas such as Houston, New York, Tucson and Miami-Dade.

The evidence is indisputable – not only are large numbers of illegals perpetrating vicious crimes, if they are deported, they come back again – often to perpetrate more crime. Recall, only 2 percent of the offenders in Schurman-Kauflin’s study had no history of previous criminal behavior. Whether that was in their country of origin or here, I do not know. But, it really doesn’t make a difference. They had engaged in criminal behavior, and not only continued that upon entrance to the U.S., but also most often escalated their crimes. And, polices intended not to “discriminate” are unwittingly aiding them in their illegal actions. In the process, women and children are falling prey to criminals who have no ties to the United States other than what they can illegally gain from it.

Can we really afford to continue to allow this?