LAFF 2011: SEX CRIMES UNIT

Natasha Alexenko in Sex Crimes Unit.

Victimized and victorious 

By John Esther

Two days and one day before the HBO premiere on June 20, the Los Angeles Film Film Festival screens Sex Crimes Unit, an insightful yet flawed look at a group of dedicated city employees working to bring rapists and other sexually violent perpetrators to justice. 

Before the Sex Crimes Protection Unit was formed in 1974 by Manhattan District Attorney and father of five daughters, Robert M. Morgenthau, victims of rape had very little legal recourse. Marital rape was not considered a crime (and good luck with prosecuting acquaintance rape or date rape cases). It was subject to statues of limitations. And more importantly, it was, and still is to a considerable degree, a victim-precipitated crime. In other words, a woman had it coming to her -- even if she was married, at home, sober, in bed asleep and the assailant broke into the house and sexually violated her. (Some of the reasoning behind this latter part, especially when it came to women holding this point of view, are some of the more interesting moments in the documentary.)

Today, sexually-violent crimes still persist but now there are 53 people handling sex crimes in Manhattan. Not only do they go after fresh cases, thanks to the removal of the statue of limitations on rape, they go after cold cases such as Natasha Alexenko. 

On the eve of her first anniversary in her New York apartment, Alexenko was raped at gunpoint in her apartment hallway by Victor Rondon (a particularly cowardly young man who has no idea what it takes to be a man in any legitimate or dignified sense.)

As Sex Crimes Unit follows new cases, as well as Alexenko's, we get a sense of not only the challenges incurred getting justice but also the victimization and victories between the time of the assault and actual sentencing. 

However, on a couple of occasions, the documentary takes a bit of an ironic tone, as it feeds right into those who are prone to be dismissive of women crying rape. The Zambrano case discussed early in the film is one example. Based on the information provided in documentary, it seems any decent defendant attorney should have been able to fight that one. In another scene a DA has a talk with a group of medical examiners that borderlines on coaching a witness -- albeit before the fact(s). 

And what about those times when the DA fails to prosecute a guilty defendant? The documentary leaves the impression that the accused, at least those who are arraigned (40 percent of rapes go unreported), will be sent to prison for a very long time. 

Yet despite these editorial/directorial flaws, Sex Crime Unit is an inspirational piece of filmmaking about a group of individuals addressing a prevalent problem in American society.