New study says rape cases on the rise in Utah

New data released from the Utah Department of Public Safety shows the number of rape cases is on the rise in Utah.

Teenagers make up the largest demographic arrested for the crime. Incidents of rape rose 4.49 percent in 2018.

Teenagers ages 15-19 accounted for a majority of the arrests According to Mara Haight, Executive Director of the Rape Recovery Center.

“Specifically seeing more arrests with the younger age group I think indicates that there has been a lot of work done on the juvenile justice end,” Haight says the increase in numbers doesn’t necessarily indicate more victims, rather, it shows an influx of people reporting, which in turn is leading to more arrests.