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SAKI awarded the City of Durham a $1-million grant in FY2019, which has been used to reduce the number of unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs) by implementing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary plan to inventory, test, and track these SAKs to final adjudication. The City of Durham also plans to improve investigation, victim engagement, and prosecution of cold case sexual assaults by utilizing their multidisciplinary team and hiring a bilingual victim advocate as well as a Special Victims Unit prosecutor.
In FY2020, the City of Durham received an additional $518,667 in SAKI funding to continue work from their initial SAKI award. The City of Durham continues to investigate and prosecute previously unsubmitted SAKs and strengthen their comprehensive victim-centered approach. The latest funding will also be utilized to (1) contract with private laboratories to conduct additional DNA testing when needed and (2) fund a crime analyst specialist position to prepare case materials and upload cases into the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program database. The City of Durham will also use SAKI funding for Forensic Genetic Genealogy to advance investigations.
For more information on the specific SAKI awards for this site, see the table below.
| Year | Amount | Purpose Area |
|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | $1,000,000 | Investigation and Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults |
| FY2020 | $518,667 | Investigation and Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults |
Please direct all media inquiries to:
Man pleads guilty to pair of 2015 sexual assaults at Duke hospital and Durham trail
— Tyler Dukes, News & Observer, Oct 26, 2021
A Durham County court sentenced a man to up to 24 years in prison Monday for a pair of 2015 sexual assaults solved as investigators continue to work through a backlog of untested rape kits.
Man faces at least 24 years in prison after pleading guilty in 3 Durham rape cases
— Avi Bajpai, The News & Observer, Aug 19, 2021
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty Wednesday in three rape cases dating back to 2010, and faces a sentence of at least 24 years, the Durham County District Attorney’s office said Thursday.
Durham man pleads to sexually assaulting 14-year-old in 2009
— WRAL, Jun 9, 2021
Man sentenced to a minimum of 15 years thanks to the Durham SAKI program and testing previously unsubmitted SAKs.
Man pleads guilty to 2010 rape in Durham, marking 1st conviction from new initiative
— CBS 17 Digital Desk, May 25, 2021
A man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to raping a woman in Durham in 2010. The conviction was the first resulting from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative involving Durham police and the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, a news release said.
How Durham is making new arrests in old rape cases
— ASHAD HAJELA, News and Observer, Apr 15, 2021
Durham PD makes two arrests based on CODIS hits resulting from testing previously unsubmitted SAKs.
New Durham police unit aims to clear backlog of unsolved sex assaults
— Sarah Krueger, WRAL, Feb 18, 2020
"We’re here for the survivors of all these cases," he said. "Even though it may be 20, 30 years ago, we’re still going to keep working them."
Police charge man in 2015 sex assault on Durham trail, investigate recent assault on second trail
— Sarah Krueger, WRAL, Jan 31, 2020
Police said Thursday that they have made an arrest in a sexual assault more than four years ago in the Ellerbe Creek Trail in Durham.
Durham gets $1 million to help with sexual assault cold cases
— ABC 11, Nov 5, 2019
Durham is getting a million-dollar federal grant to help clear the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. Durham is going to have two investigators working on cases. There will be an in-house victim's advocate as well as a dedicated prosecutor who can help with building a case if a victim feels ready to press charges.
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.
