News

Casual chat between prosecutors triggers indictment for a 1975 New Orleans rape
— Orleans Parish DA's Office, Oct 8, 2020

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office on Thursday (Oct. 8) secured an indictment against a man linked by DNA results to the 1975 sexual assault of a Tulane University student who was raped at gunpoint in her Uptown New Orleans apartment. The 45-year old case was cracked open based on conversations between Cuyahoga County SAKI site and Orleans Parish SAKI site during the 2019 Assembly of Cities.

Man charged with sexually assaulting teenage girl in Holt in 2005
— Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal, Oct 7, 2020

DNA evidence leads to arrest in sexual assault case from 2005.

Michigan man charged with 2010 sexual assault
— WILK, Sep 30, 2020

DNA from a previously unsubmitted SAK leads to arrest in case from 2010.

OPD: Man arrested cold case homicide investigation
— Jacy Lewis, MRT, Sep 30, 2020

Forensic Genetic Genealogy leads to arrest of man in sexual assault and murder from 1982.

Matthew McIntosh Pleads Guilty After Sexual Assault Kits Link Him To 2 Attacks
— Jennifer Mayerle, 4 WCCO, Sep 29, 2020

“There’s nothing more important to be able to achieve justice in those cases that are both the most serious, and those where the system has stumbled and has failed victims in the past,” Stumme said. Man pleads guilty to 2 sexual assualt cases resulting from testing previously unsubmitted SAKs in Duluth, MN.

Springfield Police Department sends additional 50 sexual assault kits for testing through SAFE Kits Initiative
— KY3, Aug 29, 2020

As part of this initiative, SPD has been able to send 112 SAKs to BODE for testing, reducing the number of backlogged SAKs held by SPD to 119. This effort comes as a result of a project created by the Attorney General’s SAFE Kit Initiative working group, to address the backlog of 6,968 sexual assault kits inventoried in the State of Missouri.

Man sentenced to jail, probation for 2016 sex assault
— West Hawaii Today, Aug 28, 2020

A 55-year-old Mountain View resident was sentenced to 18 months in jail and five years probation in connection with a sex assault that occurred in 2016. “This case serves as an example of the value of the SAKI project. Sniffen committed his offense when the victim was unconscious and unable to describe what happened or who the perpetrator was. The SAKI project developed evidence to identify Sniffen as the perpetrator. The plea agreement was the result of victim-centered, trauma-informed, multidisciplinary team effort in a case that likely would not have been prosecuted in years past,” the press release reads.

Va. Attorney General Mark Herring: first conviction announced from working through rape kit backlog
— 13 News Now, Aug 27, 2020

First conviction in VA from testing backlogged PERKs. Attorney General Herring stated “Testing these kits and entering the DNA into the national database help law enforcement identify suspects, link crimes committed by unknown or known suspects, make our communities safer, and hold individuals who commit these heinous crimes accountable."

AG Kaul & WCASA Promote Sexual Assault Service Providers in Rural Wisconsin
— Wisconsin Department of Justice, Aug 19, 2020

“Particularly during this challenging time, connecting with survivors is so important. Too often, survivors of sexual abuse don’t know where they can access support. These billboards across the state let survivors know there are people out there who will be by their side,” said Pennie Meyers, Executive Director of WCASA.

Utah's rape kit testing backlog is gone; good news for victims, police and prosecutors
— Mark Shenefelt , Standard Examiner, Aug 18, 2020

Utah’s backlog of rape kit testing has been eliminated.