USA Today Media Network found thousands of sexual assault kits remain untested across the country.
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A Colorado Bureau of Investigation report, obtained by 7NEWS Investigators, shows that a backlog of 3,542 total kits all been tested.
Minneapolis is just one example of a nationwide problem. State Rep. Tina Orwall, the sponsor of HB 1068, signed by Inslee in May, said to leave kits untested sends a disheartening message to rape victims.
Tanner says she’s seen law enforcement strive to do better over the years and with advancement in the medical field, is encouraged that sexual assaults are being taken seriously.
Just one break can dole out justice exponentially.
The City of Houston recently cleared its backlog of 6,000 untested rape kits – some had been there for 30 years.
No more than eight of those kits have been submitted for DNA testing.
The Fort Myers Police Department declined an interview request on how they handle rape kits, but a spokesman said there is not a backlog because the department doesn’t have to pay for analysis.
The news agency, in conjunction with other Gannett newspapers and TEGNA TV stations, conducted what it called “the most detailed nationwide inventory of untested rape kits ever”. Detectives reviewed 10 years of data, developing a system to determine whether a kit was not tested – and why.
Adrianne Fields remembers when she was attacked.
Ten years ago Carrie was raped and stabbed by a stranger near St. Anthony Main. We wanted to know why.
“It’s your worst nightmare”, Carrie said.
The state lab has its own tracking system that doesn’t necessarily align with those of Des Moines or the almost 400 other law enforcement agencies in the state.
Carrie’s attacker left behind a DNA profile. The kits can also lead to new DNA matches in the criminal database and the identification of serial rapists.
“There’s a lot of parts to counting”, Minneapolis Police Commander Bruce Folkens said.
“If I was the victim of a rape, and I went through a three- to four- hour, sometimes 8-hour, evidence exam and my body was treated like a crime, I should be able to have my rape kit analyzed”, Spriggs said.
“The police department has a strong interest in knowing what we’ve got and what we don’t have”, Folkens said.
Another untested sexual assault kit held by the Jackson Police Department is from a 2005 case in which a woman was found underneath a vehicle, and indicated to police in two separate interviews that she had been raped after using drugs with a man in a hotel, according to police reports.
In Arizona, Mesa tests all kits, but Phoenix and Scottsdale, among other cities, do not.
“These are sensitive cases by nature”, said Coston.
Statewide, the Iowa DCI lab reported that it tested DNA kits from 1,739 sexual assault cases between 2010 and 2014.
With the help of a federal cold case grant, Minneapolis together with the Hennepin County Attorney’s office reviewed hundreds of rape cases in 2009.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Wendy Reyes said that as of July 15, the department has 31 untested rape kits in its property room.
However, because of a coding error, Des Moines couldn’t provide accurate yearly data on those sex kits, Huberty said.
“The very least we can do is test that kit”.
A bill that would have required police departments to audit their kits and submit the results to the state didn’t make it out of an Iowa House subcommittee. One was listed as a partial exam, but it is now unknown how many of these kits have been sent for testing. “During the ’80s, they weren’t doing DNA testing then, so that’s what we’re working towards now is to get the kits tested with the technology that we have today”.
Meads said they have gotten some hits off of the old kits, and having all kits tested has stopped some offenders from striking again. The national set of protocols for processing DNA evidence still has not been developed.
“The actual existence of the suspect’s DNA may not be a question”, said Commander Brian Podany with the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s not a “save all” but it certainly opens up some cases we were at a dead end at”, said Meads.
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Normally, when BPD acquires a sexual assault kit belonging to another agency, an investigator will send a letter to the victim explaining how to contact the appropriate agency and what steps are needed to further the investigation.
