Victims are main priority for Iowa City sex assault detective

IOWA CITY — A co-worker describes Jenny Clarahan as being a “calm, controlled presence” while working some of the most challenging cases over the last 18 years as a sexual assault investigator.

Others describe her as “humble” and “super diligent.”

Iowa City police Capt. Denise Brotherton said the police detective does her work for the victims and doesn’t get “wrapped up” in what happens to the suspect because in many of these cases, there may not be enough evidence to make an arrest or — even if the suspect is charged — there could be an acquittal at trial.

“She’s grounded,” Brotherton said. “She knows the reality of the job. It can be a compassion fatigue job, but she is a cool character. I’m the one who is emotional.”

Brotherton and Clarahan both were hired in 1995 and went through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Johnston. They were roommates, along with only two other female recruits. The female officers in Iowa City has slightly increased, but the numbers remain low with just 11 women out of 78 officers.

Brotherton was the first female supervisor and now captain of the department, and Clarahan is the first officer with the job title of sexual assault detective, which was created in 2021 — but she was working sex crimes long before receiving the title. Both have been with the department for 28 years.

“When I became a detective, there was one other female. But for the majority of the time I have been the only female,“ Clarahan said. “I didn’t see it as a challenge. Everyone has things that they are better at regardless of male/female.”

Career path

Clarahan was an intern at the Coralville Police Department when she was attending the University of Iowa, majoring in sociology with a minor in psychology, and taking criminology courses. After doing ride-alongs with Coralville officers, she decided law enforcement was her career path. She was hired in 1995 by Iowa City police and then went to the police academy.

In 1999, she was selected to do a rotation as a detective and discovered investigative work was her passion. In Iowa City, all officers rotate in and out of investigations. Clarahan said they do this so those who have worked in investigations can share their knowledge with others when back on patrol.

Over time, Clarahan started being assigned more sex crimes and began building relationships with prosecutors who could rely on her to gather enough evidence for a guilty verdict or plea.

Clarahan said she is now on her third five-year rotation back in investigations, working a cumulative 18 years as a detective and most of that time she handled sexual assault cases.

In 2021, the department created a sexual assault detective position, which is now her title until her next rotation in 2025. There are too many sex crimes for her to handle alone, and other investigators also take some but usually ask her to consult on those. She averages 20 open sex assault cases at a time, along with eight to 10 other investigations.

Clarahan also teaches different trainings, some through the Iowa Sex Crimes Investigators Association, which is a training and networking organization for law enforcement, sexual assault nurse examiners, victim advocates, social services and corrections. She has served on the board for 12 years and has been the board chair for three years.

What drives her

It’s always about the victim and holding the abuser accountable, Clarahan said. The best part of her job is when the pieces come together to make a solid case and the victim gets justice. The worst part is believing the suspect did the crime but not obtaining the evidence needed to make an arrest.

It’s always her hope to get victims to a trial or resolution, where they finally get a voice in the process and at sentencing can provide a statement in open court about how they were harmed.

“I’m always open with them about it not being a fast process,” Clarahan said. “It’s a wait for DNA, about six weeks. Being straight with them helps build that rapport and trust. It can take time to learn what happened — more than the first interview. We usually give them a few days. They need time to process.”

  Buy Photo

Clarahan said she would never push a victim to provide more details until she is ready, unless a threat to public safety is involved.

The majority of the sex abuse cases aren’t a “whodunit.” Most can identify the suspect.

The whodunits are challenging and frustrating. Clarahan has had a few of those. A recent case, which involved a stranger who broke in and threatened to kill the victim, was challenging because there wasn’t enough of a DNA profile to lead to a match. But months later, the same suspect’s DNA was entered into the CODIS database following a different crime — which was then matched to Clarahan’s sex assault case.

She had a similar situation with another case when a woman was sexually assaulted by a stranger in downtown Iowa City. It took about two years until Clarahan discovered a phone number of a suspect in another case that lead back to the suspect in the sexual assault.

“Jenny is a great combination of being a tenacious investigator but also caring and approachable with victims and their families,” said Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith, who has prosecuted cases that Clarahan handled. “The victims and survivors she works with trust her with the most painful details of their lives.”

Zimmermann Smith said Clarahan will stay on a case even it if takes a year, and makes a point to learn the case inside and out. If she doesn’t know everything about it, she’s not afraid to ask for help.

Clarahan has been honored for her work on a large Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids child and adult sex trafficking case in 2019 that went through federal court. She was part of an Iowa City Trafficking Task Force that included local, state and federal agencies to search through hundreds of phone records and online ads, and conduct numerous interviews with victims and witnesses.

Four Eastern Iowa men pleaded and one was convicted by a jury in that case. The sentences for the five men ranged from five years to 22 years in federal prison.

In April, Clarahan was recognized by her colleagues and received the Richard “Lee” Dick Award for her “tireless work for victims of sexual assault.” The annual award is given to an officer in recognition of outstanding sustained efforts over the last year that positively impacted the community.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com