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Note: Cumulative performance metrics are updated quarterly based on state and local level reports.
17 years later, DNA leads to second arrest in reported sexual assault of Utah teen
— Jordan Miller, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov 16, 2023
"Seventeen years after a girl told police she was kidnapped and raped, a second suspect has been charged in the alleged attack — thanks to advancement in DNA technology that ultimately produced a match, Salt Lake County prosecutors say.
Twelve years would pass before the sexual assault kit was tested in 2018 through the national Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. A match soon came back for Frank P. Benavidez, who had pleaded guilty to murder in late 2009 and remains incarcerated in Utah, according to the documents."
Serial rapist caught after more than 20 years
— Christine Fonville, The Champion Newspaper, Nov 10, 2023
"Through the work of the Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (GASAKI) Task Force, which was formed in 2018 and created in partnership with the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) as part of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar federal grant, the cold case was finally solved, stated officials.
“The GASAKI Task Force addresses the downstream investigations and prosecutions of cold case sexual assaults that have resulted from testing of previously untested sexual assault kits or any cold case sexual assault,” stated a press release from the GASAKI Task Force."
Man charged with 1998 rape in Raleigh after long-delayed test of DNA evidence
— WRAL News, Nov 7, 2023
"Evidence against King surfaced in September as part North Carolina's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
In 2019, the state received $2 million in funding to test previously un-submitted sexual assault kits, investigate and prosecute the associated cases.
Few sexual assault kits remain untested in NC, data shows. "This is an initiative that started in 2019 [and] thousands of kits have been tested across the state," said Wake County's District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. "It's unfortunate it's been that long to be able to bring these cases.""
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.
