‘Nobody Believed Me’: How Rape Cases Get Dropped

While the Me Too movement led to greater awareness about the prevalence of rape, prosecutors in New York City still struggle to prove sexual assault accusations.

Cammy Duong woke up in a Manhattan hotel room in July 2017 and, dazed, called a friend she was supposed to meet later that morning: “I think I was raped,” she said, crying. The police investigation lasted months. But when the case reached the Manhattan district attorney’s office, prosecutors quickly declined to bring charges, records show. It would be seven more months before Ms. Duong got an explanation. “I remember leaving and crying and feeling helpless,” said Ms. Duong, now 32. “I felt like nobody believed me.”