NC Abuse Disparities
Illustration by Mariano Santillan / Carolina Public Press

Welcome to The Kicker from Carolina Public Press, a North Carolina news show bringing you conversations with journalists, sources and newsmakers from across the state.

In this episode, Carolina Public Press’s managing editor Frank Taylor talks with CPP lead investigative reporter Kate Martin about Seeking Conviction: Justice elusive for NC sexual assault survivors, a multi-part investigative reporting project that CPP led in collaboration with 10 other news media partners across the state. Seeking Conviction is a data-driven investigation looking at sexual assault prosecutions statewide and in individual jurisdictions.

As Taylor and Martin describe in this episode of The Kicker, the data-driven project used information collected by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. Carolina Public Press analyzed 4 1/2 years of this data for sexual assault defendants whose cases both began and ended between Jan. 1, 2014, and June 30, 2018. CPP news staff teamed up with 10 other news organizations across North Carolina to discuss findings with sexual assault survivors, law enforcement, rape crisis counselors, prosecutors, medical professionals and state officials.

The result was Seeking Conviction, a series released by all partners between March 18 and March 21, 2019. The Seeking Conviction partnership included The Fayetteville Observer; The (Durham) Herald-Sun, the Hickory Daily Record, The (Raleigh) News & Observer, the (Greensboro) News & Record, North Carolina Health News, the Winston-Salem Journal, WLOS News 13, WRAL-TV and WUNC North Carolina Public Radio.


About The Kicker

The Kicker is a production of Carolina Public Press. It also airs weekly at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on WPVM radio 103.7 FM in Asheville. Send an email to thekicker@carolinapublicpress.org if you would like to contact the staff of Carolina Public Press about The Kicker.

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Frank Taylor is editor in chief of Carolina Public Press. Contact him at ftaylor@carolinapublicpress.org.

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