USAO Recognizes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week April 6-12, 2025

CLEVELAND – National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is April 6-12, 2025. The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) is commemorating this important awareness week by highlighting those who have been impacted by crime.

In a September 2024 report, the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs released data from their National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), that indicated that in 2023, the rate of nonfatal violent victimization in the United States was 22.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons ages 12 or older, which was similar to the 2022 rate of 23.5 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons ages 12 or older. Violent victimization includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault.

The USAO has a special unit dedicated to ensuring that the victims of federal crimes are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect throughout their involvement with the federal criminal justice system. A team of dedicated Victim Assistance Specialists work with those who are recognized as crime victims and make sure that they are notified about case-related matters. Victims are provided with an opportunity to be heard and receive the services and protections provided by federal law. In particular, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Victim Specialists in the Northern District of Ohio take special care to protect the most vulnerable among us, our senior citizens and our children..

“Our district has a deep commitment to victims from all populations, including our seniors and children.  Criminals prey on these populations because they are, or appear to be the most vulnerable among us,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “Our office’s dedicated team of prosecutors serves to bring justice to victims of all federal crimes. We realize that the work we do to hold criminals accountable is of vital importance to those that have suffered at their hands.  Whether it’s achieving a sense of safety in their home, their community, or on the internet, our work is an important first step to their healing.  That’s why most of us signed up for this job.”

The DOJ’s Elder Justice Initiative combats elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and other scams that target our nation’s senior citizens. Elder fraud schemes take a variety of forms that range from small-scale identity thefts to mass mail fraud schemes that steal money and other assets from thousands of elderly victims. Annually, these fraud schemes bilk seniors out of billions of dollars throughout the country. In recent years, USAO cases related to elder fraud involved more than 360 victims from across the country including seven in the Northern District of Ohio.

Project Safe Childhood is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious. The danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute and possess child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as child pornography, is equally dramatic and disturbing as it creates a permanent record of the child’s victimization. In 2024, District cases included nearly 30 identified victims under the age of 18 that were discovered during federal investigations. However, because perpetrators share files digitally across the country, the number of CSAM victims can number into the hundreds in some cases.”

To learn more about how to support all victims of crime, visit the Office for Victims of Crime’s website at ovc.ojp.gov.

About the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to nearly six million people. The office operates from its main headquarters in Cleveland, with additional branches in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District and oversees the prosecution of federal crimes and protect victims’ rights.