News

First batch of untested rape kits from around the state could be tested mid-2017
— Holly Michels, Billings Gazette, Nov 20, 2016

Montana expects to submit a batch of 1,400 untested sexual assault kit for testing as early as spring 2017. A unique challenge in Montana, as well as other states with American Indian tribal reservations, is involving the tribes in the SAK testing and submission process. To learn more about Montana’s efforts, read the full article.

Man sentenced after cold case rape kits ID him in multiple attacks
— Dominic Adams, MLive, Oct 27, 2016

After receiving federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement personnel in Flint, Michigan were able to test a backlog of untested SAKs. As a result of this cold case investigation, a man accused of sexually assaulting three girls was identified and sentenced to 25 years in prison. To learn more, read the full article.

How 110 untested rape kits could expose Chesterfield sexual predators
— CBS 6. October, 19, 2016. By Claudia Rupcich and Sandra Jones, Oct 19, 2016

Over 100 previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits in Chesterfield, Virginia have been sent for forensic testing as a part of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring's efforts to end the backlog of untested sexual assault kits in Virginia. Virginia received funding for forensic testing in 2015 from the New York County District Attorney's office and received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Sexual Assault Kit Initiative this year. Read the article and watch the video to learn how Chesterfield County anticipates testing will make their community safer.

Testing backlogged rape kits yields 200 indictments
— WMC Action News 5, Oct 19, 2016

Two hundred criminals were indicted after Memphis, Tennessee law enforcement personnel tested more than half of their rape kits. In late 2014, the Memphis Police Department discovered thousands of untested rape kits in a storage facility. Currently, 56% of the kits have been tested and resulted in 200 indictments, of which 133 have named suspects and 67 have DNA matches. Read the full article to learn more.

Committed to clearing untested rape kit backlog
— Office of the Governor Doug Ducey, Oct 17, 2016

Governor Doug Ducey established a task force in January 2016, known as Executive Order 2016-02, dedicated to inventorying Arizona’s untested rape kits, making recommendations about testing the kits, and creating policies to ensure the kits are tracked more efficiently in the future. He recently received a report from the task force outlining a plan to address the injustice of the untested rape kits, and suggested that all local jurisdictions adopt a test-all approach as well as contract with a vendor to establish a state-wide evidence tracking system.

Partnership works to fulfill sexual assault kit initiative
— Joe Thornton, The Herald-Dispatch, Oct 16, 2016

After receiving $1 million in funding from the federal government in 2015, West Virginia completed an inventory of nearly 1,000 sexual assault kits, began testing them, developed a tracking system, and created a group of skilled individuals to brainstorm how to prevent a SAK backlog in the future. A partnership between SAKI and the District Attorney of New York allows West Virginia to move forward with a victim-centered approach. To learn more, read the full article.

Flint gets more funding to tackle backlog of untested rape kits
— ABC12, Oct 13, 2016

Flint, Michigan has received additional funding to fully address the backlog of sexual assault kits in its departments. The total resources for testing now include $2.1 million. This process is critical for testing and solving cold cases. To learn more, read the full article.

Michigan State Police gets federal grants to review rape kits
— Brad Devereaux, MLive, Oct 13, 2016

Recent federal funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance will allow the Michigan State Police Forensic Science Division to conduct inventorying and testing of backlogged rape kits, as well as conduct investigations stemming from the rape kit testing. To learn more, read the full article.

Justice for survivors of sexual assault in Montana
— Tim Fox, Independent Record, Oct 11, 2016

Montana has received nearly $3 million in federal funding to inventory and submit backlogged for processing. Currently, there are approximately 1,400 SAKS stored in Montana law enforcement evidence lockers dating back to 1995. The grant will allow law enforcement to test all SAKs and develop a tracking system so victims and agencies can follow the inventorying, testing, and investigation process. To learn more about the work being done to combat sexual assault in Montana, read the full article.

Dallas County awarded $1,000,000 federal grant for sexual assault kit testing
— U.S. Attorney’s Office, Oct 6, 2016

Dallas County, Texas has been awarded $1 million in grant funding to support a community-based approach to inventory and test backlogged, unsubmitted sexual assault kits. The funding also allows agencies to hire and assign personnel to investigate cold cases based on the results of testing the kits.