News

How Forensic Genealogy Solved a 1997 Cold Case Rape
— Tierna Unruh-Enos, ABQ.news, Dec 21, 2021

FGG leads to arrest of suspect in a sexual assault that occurred in 1997. Police have linked this suspect to at least seven other sexual assault cold cases in NE and SE Albuquerque from 1990 to 1994.

Warrant: Man arrested 16 years after woman reported sexual battery
— Brie Isom, News4Jax, Dec 17, 2021

A man is facing a sexual battery charge more than 16 years after a woman reported it to police thanks to testing previously untested DNA evidence

Governor: Backlog cleared of sexual assault kit tests in Alaska
— KINY Radio, Dec 12, 2021

Governor Dunleavy announced that the backlog of untested sexual assault examination kits, which began compiling in the mid-1990s, has been cleared.

Man found guilty of raping a teenager 18 years ago, due to a retest of the victim's rape kit
— Emily Ashcraft, KSL.com, Dec 11, 2021

Man was found guilty of a 2003 rape of a minor on Thursday after a two-day jury trial and a jury deliberation that was shorter than two hours thanks to DNA evidence tested by Utah SAKI.

Advocates hopeful newly signed laws will prevent future backlogs of sexual assault kits
— Chris Mueller, Post Crescent, Dec 9, 2021

Two pieces of legislation signed into law this week give sexual assault survivors greater access to information and clear expectations about how evidence will be handled in their cases, advocates say.

Akron man sentenced to life in prison for raping woman in 2019; initiative led to arrest
— Beacon Journal Staff, Dec 9, 2021

Testing of a previously unsubmitted SAKI by Akron’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative leads to an Akron man was sentenced to life in prison this week for raping a woman in 2019.

CMPD: ‘Myers Park rapist’ identified, tied to 15 sexual assaults in 1990s
— Brad Dickerson and Caroline Hicks , WBTV, Dec 6, 2021

FGG leads to identification of suspect in 15 sexual assaults mainly of minors in Charlotte, NC. Suspect died in 2008.

Attorney General’s task force recommends reforms to improve state’s response to sexual assault
— Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Dec 1, 2021

Today the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) Advisory Group convened by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office released a report recommending reforms that will improve the state’s response to sexual assault.

New Details Released in Unsolved Samuel Little Murders
— Texas Department of Public Safety, Dec 1, 2021

The Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program and the United States Department of Justice are releasing new details in more than a dozen unsolved murders committed by serial killer Samuel ?Little, AKA Samuel ?McDowell, in hopes of bringing closure to these cases.

Kalamazoo SAKI team secures another conviction, prison sentence
— Will Kriss, WTVB, Nov 24, 2021

A Kalamazoo man convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) will spend more than two decades in prison thanks to Kalamazoo SAKI team. “I continue to be proud of the work being done in Kalamazoo and around the state to secure justice for survivors who long thought they would never see their abuser held accountable,” AG Dana Nessel said. “We know there’s a pattern in these cases: people who commit sexual offenses will continue to offend until they are stopped and held accountable by the court system. Our SAKI teams are doing just that.”