A survivor of an assault in Wilmington is starting a petition to hold police accountable

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

Detective Payton called her the perfect victim, she said, because of her cooperation throughout the case and the decisiveness she showed during the investigation of her own assault.

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

Payton said the department has given many reasons why it has taken so long to gather all possible evidence, however, Payton is calling on the department to reform the way they respond to sexual assaults involving her. Change.org petitionwhich has so far collected over 1,000 signatures.

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

“I asked him if there was a mandatory timeframe for collecting evidence because I needed to know whether our growth area was policy change or accountability. Unfortunately, in this situation, it’s both,” she told WHQR.

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

1. Mandatory time frames for collecting evidence: Requiring that crime scenes in sexual assault cases be investigated within 48 hours of reporting and that identifiable perpetrators be contacted with equal urgency.

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

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

WPD 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.