News

Arrest Made in Cold Case Rapes: School Bus Driver Linked to Decades-Old Crimes
— ABQ RAW Staff, Jul 27, 2023

"In a significant development, agents from the Bernalillo County District Attorney's office have arrested a 61-year-old school bus driver named Ralph Anthony Martinez in connection with four cold case rapes that occurred in Northeast Albuquerque during the 1980s and 1990s. The arrest came after a meticulous forensic genetic genealogy DNA investigation conducted by the District Attorney's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Team (SAKI)."

BCA finishes testing on previously unsubmitted rape kits from 2015 backlog
— CBS Minnesota, Jul 27, 2023

"The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it has caught up on a years-long backlog of rape kits. In 2015, law enforcement agencies were asked to account for all untested kits and send them to the BCA for testing. Of the backlogged kits tested, approximately 130 new suspects were identified according to the BCA."

Alaska's Sexual Assault Kit Tracking Software goes live statewide
— KINY Radio, Jul 26, 2023

"The Alaska Department of Public Safety’s Sex Assault Kit Tracking System recently went live statewide enabling survivors of sexual assault to track the status of their kit securely online. Victims now have access to a portal for the tracking system which allows them to track the progress of their kit in the least invasive and traumatic way."

Spokane Police Department opens thousands of cold sexual assault cases in statewide initiative
— Fox 28 Spokane, Jul 18, 2023

"To date, the department has tested 1382 out of 1404 sexual assault kits, with 23 yet to be tested. As a result of this initiative, the Spokane Police Department identified four criminal defendants and six criminal charges were filed. Sgt. Storment added that although these were not the numbers the department was hoping for, the work being done behind the scenes is important."

Spokane Police Department opens thousands of cold sexual assault cases in statewide initiative
— Fox 28 Spokane, Jul 18, 2023

"To date, the department has tested 1382 out of 1404 sexual assault kits, with 23 yet to be tested. As a result of this initiative, the Spokane Police Department identified four criminal defendants and six criminal charges were filed. Sgt. Storment added that although these were not the numbers the department was hoping for, the work being done behind the scenes is important."

Utah State football player arrested after DNA processed from 10-month-old rape kit
— KJZZ.com, KUTV, Jul 11, 2023

"Police on Monday arrested a Utah State University football player in connection to an undercover drug distribution investigation in April a rape investigation that began in September 2022. Utah in 2020 was the eighth state to completely clear its rape kit backlog following a 2017 law that mandated a time frame for all kits to be tested, setting aside $1.6 million that yera to get the job done - an amount that forensic scientists said wasn't enough to keep up with the new kits, according to a 2022 report from the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services."

Boston serial rape suspect faces new charges of rape and assault
— NBC News, Jun 28, 2023

"The New Jersey lawyer accused of a series of sexual assaults in Boston more than a decade ago was indicted Tuesday on new charges of rape and assault, authorities said. Matthew Nilo, 35, was indicted on seven additional counts — of rape, aggravated rape, assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery — related to a series of attacks that authorities say occurred from January 2007 to July 2008, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a news release."

Boston serial rape suspect faces new charges of rape and assault
— NBC News, Jun 28, 2023

"The New Jersey lawyer accused of a series of sexual assaults in Boston more than a decade ago was indicted Tuesday on new charges of rape and assault, authorities said. Matthew Nilo, 35, was indicted on seven additional counts — of rape, aggravated rape, assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery — related to a series of attacks that authorities say occurred from January 2007 to July 2008, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a news release."

Finding answers for rape survivors: Initiative targets decades-old assault-kit backlog
— www.simivalleyacorn.com, Jun 24, 2023

"For Senior Deputy District Attorney Brent Nibecker, analyzing every one of Ventura County’s backlogged sexual assault kits is the right thing to do. With that in mind, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s forensic services bureau recently submitted the first 100 of an estimated 3,000 backlogged kits to a lab for analysis. The Ventura County sexual assault kit initiative, funded by a $2.5-million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, is a multi-agency effort to submit all untested kits for DNA testing, investigate unsolved cases and prosecute offenders. June 1 marked the launch of the project’s website, vcsaki.com, where the community can track the county’s progress."

Durham police charge man with rape and kidnapping reported nearly 33 years ago
— The News and Observer, Jun 23, 2023

Nearly 33 years after a woman told police that a man kidnapped and sexually assaulted her, Durham police have charged a man with rape. Samuel Harris, 56, was arrested last week on two counts of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sex offense, the Durham Police Department reported in a news release Thursday. Police said his DNA matched evidence collected in a rape kit from August 1, 1990.