How NOT to Investigate A Rape Case

    AUGUSTA COUNTY, VA, April 18, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The corruption, cover up and lies within the Augusta County Sheriff's Office and the local political arena and judicial system are almost too egregious to believe. Heidi Campbell is one victim and survivor among several others who were denied justice due to police in-action, which led to a mass cover-up of her case by not only the hospital in which the assault took place but all the way to the Commonwealth Attorney's Office. It seems to be a commonplace solution to sweep certain crimes under the rug if there was a chance the reports could tarnish the reputation of suspects who are of certain social status, the county itself or increase the crime statistics leading to falsely reporting the actual crime taking place in this jurisdiction. This is a factual story of narcissism, chauvinism, violence and greed due to certain relationships within the county benefiting from each monetarily.

The facts of Heidi's case are not complicated and if her case had been investigated properly her attacker, Brian K. Sykes, formerly employed at what is now Augusta Health, would have faced charges along with his day in court; however, the initial failure of law enforcement in conjunction with the Commonwealth Attorney's Office, led to no indictment by the Grand Jury. Law Enforcement failed purposely to collect and preserve evidence from her attack, including the mishandling of her rape kit which according to them was ultimately lost. How can this possibly happen? Without question, this is gross negligence, denial of human liberty, and overall a sick, twisted game by the Augusta County governing bodies.

The following is a small part of Heidi's horrific ordeal; Heidi was brutally assaulted and raped while under Sykes care at Augusta Health formerly known as Augusta Medical Center. The day of the attack, Sykes, who had been attending to Heidi failed/refused to follow proper protocol and have a female nurse with him at all times, while in the room with a female patient. This allowed him the freedom of doing whatever he wanted to Heidi and who knows how many other female patients were victims that day or during the time he was employed at the facility. After the attack, Heidi remained in the hospital and Sykes continued his shift as if it were a normal day. Heidi reported him right at shifts end, to both hospital staff and law enforcement, by next morning meeting with the lead investigator yielded forcible sodomy and battery charges of which he stated, there was a "plethora of DNA evidence, and video surveillance," none of this would come to fruition.

Detectives assigned to the case, purportedly did not collect said evidence, mishandled, falsely reported, and deliberately destroyed evidence. Heidi alleges this was to protect the reputation of the hospital owner, the staff, and to what was a fairly recently opened facility in the area. Ultimately, due to this lack of investigational integrity, Heidi's case was presented to the Grand Jury under false notion, false testimony, as NOT a True Bill via lack of evidence.

"The atrocities my client had to endure at the hands of Augusta County law enforcement should never be permitted to happen to anyone, ever again," said Amina Matheny-Willard, Attorney, Amina Law. There was evidence, there was plenty of evidence, this county, its citizens deserve to have and be able to expect investigational integrity. There is none in this county. This botched situation unquestionably for anyone looking from the outside in would be completely dumbfounded as to why something so horrible can occur without consequence.

A couple of additional notes. While the court recognized her filing against Brian K. Sykes, the hospital caretaker that assaulted her in her room May 22, 2007, this is one of many cases in Augusta County Virginia, involving a mass cover up and nepotism runs far and deep in the area. Fortunately, Heidi Campbell has documented every aspect of this horrible ordeal with a goal to help others and she is available to share all documented facts, via interviews and more. This case is pressing forward thanks to Amina Law and was filed again on 3/10/23 with the defendant being served on 3/31/23. In the meantime, she was recently awarded the Virginia CIT 2022 Peer of the Year award recognizing her involvement with the CIT as a valued member of Blue Ridge Crisis Intervention Team where she has shared her story with 37 different classes.

"I am hoping this story will be a huge wake-up call to all Virginians- old, young, male, female, no matter their life circumstances or disabilities. I truly believe that nobody deserves this, and they certainly deserve better quality law enforcement," said Heidi Campbell, victim advocate and sexual assault survivor. "Re-victimization and re-traumatization to save the reputation of a facility should not have a place in any community. It has taken me 15 years to fight this far. I will go 15 years more if I have to, to make sure this never happens to anyone else."

About Amina Law

With over 20 years of experience, Amina Matheny-Willard is "The People's Attorney" practicing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her mission is to right the wrong surrounding injustice in the criminal system and the school education system.
For more information, please visit: https://aminalaw.com/.

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