Congressman Tom Emmer’s Cosponsored Abby Honold Act Signed Into Law

(KNSI) — A bill inspired by a former University of Minnesota student and cosponsored by a central Minnesota congressman was signed into federal law this week.

The Abby Honold Act creates a two-year test program for training police in trauma-informed investigations into sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. The Department of Justice is now required to award grants to law enforcement agencies and provide trauma-informed training on investigative techniques to improve how law enforcement officials communicate with victims to avoid retraumatization. The law was born out of Honold’s seriously negative dealings with a Minneapolis Police Department investigator after she was violently raped by a fellow student in 2014.

Honold immediately reported her rape but said that the Minneapolis police investigator assigned to handle her case treated her disrespectfully. It wasn’t until an investigator from the University of Minnesota Police Department took up her case and found other evidence – including at least three other victims from the same attacker – that it went anywhere. Honold also praised the nurse who conducted her rape exam and asked specific trauma-informed questions to help her remember particular details about the assault.

Daniel Drill-Mellum pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2016. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

The bill had numerous cosponsors. Among them were Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer, who stated after the signing, “Sexual assault is a life-shattering event, the trauma of which can be compounded by improper care. The Abby Honold Act will equip first responders with valuable healing tools and give a voice to survivors.”

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