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Note: Cumulative performance metrics are updated quarterly based on state and local level reports.
DNA testing leads to conviction of Kalamazoo man for 2005 sexual assault
Ken Delaney, wtvbam.com, Nov 27, 2024
"A Kalamazoo man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, with the conviction coming 19 years after the assault.
39-year-old Shawn Darnell Robinson Hopkins was found guilty Tuesday in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court of two counts of first degree criminal sexual assault causing personal injury, and now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Hopkins was charged through the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which was established in 2017 to address previously untested sexual assault kits. "
Genealogy Links Suspect to 1986, 1992 Sexual Assaults of Children (Unsire if a SAKI funded success, but wanted to include it)
forensicmag.com, Nov 7, 2024
"In hopes of finding new leads, Quezada worked with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). They submitted more evidence to the Arizona DPS’s Crime Lab for additional analysis through the Maricopa County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
However, after two years—despite reinterviewing the victims, reexamining evidence, and chasing every possible lead—the case remained unsolved. That’s when detectives decided to go the genetic genealogy route.
They got a hit, and finally the decades-long quest for answers ended with a name: David Roy Munt. In present time, detectives tracked Munt down to Longview, Texas—only about 30 miles from Henderson, where the second sexual assault occurred in 1992."
Man sentenced to life in prison for 1989 cold case murder in Dallas County
David Goins, NBCDFW.com, Nov 7, 2024
"A Dallas County jury sentenced a man to life in prison without the chance of parole Thursday in a first-of-its-kind murder trial based on forensic genetic genealogy technology.
David Rojas, 55, was charged with capital murder for the January 1989 sexual assault and killing of Mary Hague Kelly in her West Oak Cliff home."
SAKI is enhancing the criminal justice response to sexual assault and ensuring justice for victims. SAKI funding will not only help link victims to advocates and needed services, but also help jurisdictions implement best practices and comprehensive reform to help bring perpetrators to justice and increase safety in communities by preventing future sexual assaults.
Sign up for upcoming webinars or watch webinars from the SAKI archive. Presentations feature practitioners and experts with years of experience in current and cold case sexual assault. The webinars cover investigations, forensic testing, prosecution strategies, victim notification, the neurobiology of trauma, offender research, and more
Choose from five E-Learning Curricula that provide guidance on issues related to unsubmitted sexual assault kits. The courses walk learners through the importance of SAK testing, the effects of trauma, creating a testing plan, victim notification, cold case investigation and prosecution. Individual modules allow learners to complete trainings at their own pace.
Explore hands-on resources tailored for practitioners working to improve their community's response to sexual assault. The SAKI Toolkit contains topics centered around skill development and covers the key categories of sexual assault response. Explore resources, save tools to a customizable Briefcase, or create resource sets to share with others.
SAKI is committed to helping survivors of sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, support is available through the resources provided by our partners.
Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative aims to create a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to sexual assault cases. Through this program, funding is provided to support multidisciplinary community response teams engaged in the comprehensive reform of jurisdictions approaches to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits.