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Displaying News and Event Items: 141 - 150 of 806.
Former Fabius Township Supervisor Heads to Trial on Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Case
— Michigan.gov, Nov 30, 2022
"The former Fabius Township Supervisor accused of sexual assault has been bound over to circuit court on multiple felony criminal sexual conduct charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting announced today.
Kenneth Dwayne Linn, 57, of Three Rivers, is charged with four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, which is punishable by up to life in prison. Judge Tiffany Ankley of the 8th District Court heard more than five hours of testimony from multiple people including the victim and a witness who was with the victim prior to the sexual assault."
Omaha Police report 45% decrease in number of untested sexual assault kits compared to 2021
— KETV 7, Nov 29, 2022
"In a letter to Nebraska lawmakers, Omaha's Police Chief Todd Schmaderer reports a 45% drop in the number of untested sexual assault kits compared to last year.
The chief says he hopes to see that number continue to drop as advocates applaud the progress. Investigators say they have made progress in testing sexual assault kits.
"We had so many untested kits, and we didn't want that," said Chief Schmaderer."
State working to process backlog of untested rape kits
— wavy.com, Nov 23, 2022
"Nearly four years after the backlog of sexual assault kits were discovered in North Carolina, the attorney general says progress is being made in testing them.
Approximately 16,000 kits were discovered at the time. Now in 2022, efforts have been made to tackle the issue. Since 2019, 12,000 of the kits have been tested."
DA Quinn’s untested rape kit initiative leads to arrest in 1994 Bristol County rape case
— Fall River Reporter, Nov 17, 2022
"Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn’s Untested Rape Kit Initiative has resulted in another arrest connected to a decades old case involving a previously untested rape kit.
48-year-old Eduardo Mendez was apprehended Tuesday night in New York City on an arrest warrant issued by BCDAO for the 1994 violent rape of a woman in Attleboro."
Testing complete on 11K+ rape kits found in Wayne County from 1984-2009
— WXYZ Detroit, Nov 16, 2022
"The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said 11,000 rape kits that were discovered in 2009 have finally been tested.
“It takes a tremendous amount of strength and courage for survivors to revisit the events of a sexual assault,” said Worthy. “We understand their decision to come forward is not an easy one but want to reassure them that they are not forgotten and their cases still very much matter. We have now reached a point where we need to reach thousands of survivors to make certain they get answers.”
Jefferson County has cleared half of huge rape kit backlog
— WVTM 13, Nov 10, 2022
"Big things are happening in a small room on the 16th floor of a Birmingham office building.
A trio of investigators is quickly eliminating a formerly 4,000 untested rape kit backlog.
"It makes me feel great. I think that is a huge success not only for us, but for our survivors," Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Investigator Justin Bowlin said.
Their hard work has helped identify 74 serial offenders."
Washington state auditor reports progress made on backlog of sexual assault kits
— King 5, Nov 2, 2022
"KING 5 checked with Washington State Patrol (WSP) and it said there are 4,543 new and old kits that are pending, with 60% of those historical kits which were collected before July 24, 2015.
“It’s wonderful to know that these people who went in and got the rape kit done that the evidence they collected from their bodies from that crimes scene that we're actually testing it,” said Griffin."
Maricopa County gets $3M grant to help solve cold cases
— Daily Independent, Oct 28, 2022
"Maricopa County received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice for DNA testing on cold cases and collecting evidence through sexual assault kits.
The county approved $500,000 in grant funding from the Office of Justice Funding for the use of prosecuting cold cases with DNA. The funding will be used to investigate and bring cold case violent crimes for prosecution and closure."
