Linda Fairstein Joins K2 Intelligence as Senior Advisor and Leader of K2's New Sexual Misconduct Consulting Group

NEW YORK, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Jules B. Kroll, Chairman of K2 Intelligence, announced today that Linda Fairstein, the pioneering former Chief of the New York County District Attorney's Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, is joining the firm as a Senior Advisor and leader of the firm's new Sexual Misconduct Consulting Group.

K2's Sexual Misconduct Consulting Group is a multi-disciplinary team that will provide expert services to assist colleges, universities, and secondary schools in preventing and responding to sexual abuse. In addition to conducting specialized independent investigations, the new practice group will focus on consulting with schools to ensure that they have the appropriate policies, procedures, and resources in place to protect their students from all forms of sexual violence.

"There is an epidemic of sexual assault and misconduct taking place in America's schools," says Linda Fairstein, the best-selling author. "By some estimates, 420,000 sexual assaults occur on campus every year – but only about 4,000 are reported.  Of the 13 million women currently in college, as many as three million will be victimized during the course of their college careers.  These numbers are staggering, as is the trauma that the victims will continue to suffer long after graduation."

"As we've seen recently at Penn State, Syracuse, and New York's prestigious secondary school, Horace Mann, academic institutions often don't know what to do when confronted with the issue of sexual misconduct," explained Fairstein. "Also, as we have long known, men and boys are frequently victims of the same types of abuse. With my years of experience in combatting every variety of sexual violence – and the resources and credibility of K2 – I know that we can help schools protect their students."

"Linda Fairstein is the most respected and experienced investigator and prosecutor of sex crimes in the United States," said K2's Chairman Jules B. Kroll. "I believe she is the ideal person to lead K2's efforts to provide private sector solutions to this very serious public policy problem."

K2's Sexual Misconduct Consulting Group brings together a diverse group of professionals with expertise in sex crimes investigation and prosecution, on-campus investigations, academic policy analysis, data analytics, physical security, and other relevant disciplines.  The Group will assist secondary schools, colleges, and universities by offering the following services:

• Analysis of policies and procedures regarding sexual assault and misconduct, including compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Review of the adequacy of resources and training relating to sexual misconduct.
• Benchmarking of policies and procedures against best practices at similarly situated institutions.
• Analysis of policies and procedures governing interactions between faculty and students and between students and other students, including electronic communications and social media.
• Formulation and implementation of new "best-in-breed" policies, procedures, and training programs.
• Discreet and independent investigations of sexual misconduct involving students, faculty, coaches, and other individuals associated with a school.  

"Colleges and secondary schools face unique risks – and stringent regulatory requirements – when it comes to sexual misconduct," said Jeremy M. Kroll, K2's CEO and President. "With Linda at the helm of our new practice group, we can help academic institutions protect their students, their reputations, and their funding by ensuring that they have the right policies, procedures, and resources in place."

From 1972 through 2002, Fairstein served in the office of the New York County District Attorney, where she was Chief of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit. For 26 years, she was responsible for creating many transformative investigative and prosecutorial techniques. Fairstein was one of the first prosecutors in America to work with DNA. She introduced the use of John Doe DNA indictments; created the first "cold case DNA unit"; and drafted legislation for a variety of laws which have protected victims and leveled the playing field in the courtroom. She has received numerous awards for her legal work and advocacy, including the Federal Bar Council's Emory Buckner Award for Public Service, the UJA Federation's Proskauer Award, Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Award, and the 2010 New York Women's Agenda Lifetime Achievement Award for her domestic violence work.

Fairstein is the author of an internationally best-selling series of crime novels. Fairstein is also the author of a non-fiction work, Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape (William Morrow & Co., 1993), which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She is a regular contributor on criminal justice issues to television, magazines, and journals.

About K2
K2 Intelligence was founded in 2009, Jules B. Kroll is the Chairman and Jeremy M. Kroll is CEO and President. K2 Intelligence provides specialized investigative and integrity monitoring solutions to corporations, sovereign nations and individuals. With deep expertise in corruption and fraud investigation, transactional risk assessment, due diligence, anti-money laundering and asset recovery, K2 helps clients navigate today's increasingly complex global business environment. K2's Thacher Associates division is the pioneer in the field of integrity monitoring and the benchmark firm in the construction industry. www.k2intelligence.com

SOURCE K2 Intelligence