America tested 100,000 forgotten rape kits. But justice remains elusive.
With untested rape kits accumulating nationwide, the Department of Justice sought to drive change and secure convictions. Years later, a YSL News investigation reveals many of the same issues persist.
On two summer nights a year apart, two women exited bars in downtown Austin, Texas. Before reaching home safely, both were victims of rape.
One woman recognized her attacker, an acquaintance who noticed she was drunk and offered her a ride on his bicycle, before assaulting her while she was half-conscious.
The other woman was assaulted by strangers who restrained her arms and legs during the attack, as she reported to the police.
Neither case resulted in an arrest.
Years later, in 2021, Austin police discovered compelling new evidence: DNA found on one woman’s jeans matched DNA taken from a swab of the other woman’s neck. This indicated that both women had been attacked by the same individual—a serial rapist.
This breakthrough was precisely what authorities hoped would result from their commitment to test sexual assault evidence that had long been neglected and remained in law enforcement storage. Since 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice has allocated nearly $350 million in grants to 90 local and state agencies via the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Officials promised that this funding would facilitate the prosecution of offenders and provide victims with overdue answers.
However, a YSL News investigation discovered that many cases continue to hit the same roadblocks faced when victims first reported their assaults: untested kits, inadequate or rushed reviews by law enforcement and prosecutors, and a lack of communication to victims about the status of the evidence collected from their bodies. According to the Justice Department, the initiative has led to the testing of 100,000 kits and about 1,500 convictions to date—almost half of which came from just two agencies, with other agencies showing disappointing results.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, a backlog of around 2,300 kits resulted in 14 convictions.
Mobile, Alabama, faced a backlog of about 1,100 kits, resulting in the convictions of eight men.
Austin, meanwhile, wrestled with a backlog exceeding 4,400 kits, achieving only one conviction.
After matching the two Austin investigations through DNA, a detective reviewed the cases. They claimed to have reached out to the woman who had reported being assaulted by a stranger, but she chose not to engage with them, and her case was once again closed. Authorities did not inform her that a man linked to her case might be a serial rapist.
In the other case, police mishandled their new review and took no action.
Krystal Allison, the woman who filed that report, was unaware that her acquaintance was connected to another rape case until YSL News reached out to her this summer.
“That seriously sent chills down my spine,” Allison expressed, her voice trembling. “Nobody has contacted me. I have no information on this.”
Across America, untested rape kits have accumulated over several decades.
Each box, roughly the size of a hardcover book, contained evidence collected from reported sexual assault survivors—dry swabs of bodily fluids, hair strands, and debris gathered from under fingernails. Most of this evidence was gathered during lengthy medical examinations but remained unprocessed for DNA testing. These kits cluttered storerooms, serving as stark reminders of law enforcement’s failure to support victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
Testing these kits was intended to be a crucial step in addressing this injustice. Unfortunately, in some areas that received federal grants, even this was not executed.
At least a dozen recipients of these grants found ways to avoid testing, resulting in kits remaining unprocessed yet again.
In a California county, officials proudly announced they had eliminated their backlog of sexual assault kits, but this was only achieved after classifying over half of these kits as not eligible for testing.
In numerous instances, officials have merely forwarded the kits to a laboratory, evaluated the findings, and then closed the cases again. In Maryland, a state report highlighted that some police departments have exhibited a “significant reluctance” to revive investigations, even openly stating that they ignore DNA match results.
Moreover, some officials seem to have largely given up on informing victims about the status of their rape kits or offering apologies for the delays in testing. One police department in Kansas has attempted to reach out to only 17 victims out of approximately 1,100 sexual assault kits. An official from that agency indicated that there have been cases where DNA testing has revealed suspects’ identities for the first time, but the victims have not been made aware because officials doubt the cases can lead to prosecutions.
Noël Busch-Armendariz, a professor and researcher from the University of Texas at Austin who has spoken with women about their backlogged kits, expressed disappointment that victims continue to be overlooked.
“Survivors of sexual assault often feel betrayed by the silence surrounding what occurred to them,” she noted.
Officials from the Department of Justice, who manage the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, declined to participate in an interview.
In a statement, spokesperson Katherine Brown emphasized that the program has played a pivotal role in aiding agencies nationwide in processing untested kits, while also pointing out that local laws and regulations significantly affect subsequent actions. Angela Williamson, who has led the federal initiative since it began, acknowledged in a separate statement that success rates tend to vary based on local commitment levels.
Williamson claimed that the program has fostered a “critical cultural shift” regarding the necessity of testing evidence from sexual assaults. Besides striving to achieve justice in backlogged cases, the initiative aims to reform how the criminal justice system addresses sexual violence. Recipients of funding have also utilized their resources to enhance DNA collection methods, train police and prosecutors, and modernize the way survivors and their families are treated.
Williamson remarked that it is premature to measure the program’s effectiveness based on the number of convicted rapists since it may take several years for cases to progress from testing to possible convictions. Agency officials indicated that DNA matches can surface long after a kit is analyzed as more DNA profiles are added to the national database.
Williamson made a similar point – suggesting it’s still too early for an evaluation – when The Atlantic previously reported on the program’s lackluster outcomes five years back.
However, the program’s data management is so deficient that in certain regions, the federal government lacks clarity on the number of rapists convicted – and this information might never be available.
Federal performance records are filled with inaccuracies, misleading statistics, and gaps, and officials were found to have overstated conviction numbers by 20% on their website until YSL News exposed the error. At least ten grant locations informed YSL News that they have not been consistently tracking vital metrics such as the number of victims contacted or convictions obtained. A 2022 audit conducted by the agency’s Office of the Inspector General revealed that Department of Justice grant personnel failed to pinpoint “problematic and struggling grantees,” and that three out of five reviewed sites couldn’t provide documentation to substantiate the figures they reported to the government.
In light of the federal data shortfalls, YSL News reached out to grant sites that received financing from fiscal years 2015 to 2022 to verify crucial metrics regarding kits sent for testing, cases prosecuted, and victims reached out to. The investigation focused on 14 sites with the most complete data from the early years of the program, allowing ample time for testing, investigating, and prosecuting.
Two locations – the prosecutor’s offices in Cleveland and Detroit – stood out, achieving a combined total of over 600 convictions. The remaining 12 reported just 123 convictions, averaging fewer than one conviction for every 175 kits sent for testing. If they had matched Cleveland’s success in investigating and prosecuting cases, YSL News estimated they collectively could have secured at least 1,450 additional convictions.
Almost a decade ago, the YSL News Network conducted a comprehensive assessment of untested rape kits across the nation. Reporters uncovered at least 70,000 kits across more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies, a staggering figure that constituted only a small percentage of the country’s police departments.
Following up on this work, YSL News reporters spent the last 18 months investigating the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, conducting interviews and communications with over 150 law enforcement officials, advocates, victims, and others involved in backlog-clearing efforts. Reporters also submitted more than 250 public records requests, reviewed police reports from over 350 cases with untested kits, and consulted 10 experts acquainted with sexual assault investigations and prosecutions to evaluate a selection of cases.
Often, these cases involved women who were particularly at risk of being victimized.
Many were living on the streets, dealing with substance abuse issues, struggling with mental health problems, or simply out socializing with friends. Some experienced skepticism from law enforcement from the onset of their calls for help; for instance, a Florida woman was labeled a “potential victim” by a sheriff’s deputy a staggering 45 times in a single incident report.
The majority of victims were acquainted with their attackers. Investigations frequently reached a deadlock at “he said, she said” situations – where one party claimed consent was given while the other asserted it was rape, with investigators conducting minimal or no effort to uncover the truth.
While the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is designed to challenge long-standing misconceptions about victims perpetuated by the criminal justice system, those biases continue to persist.
A Florida prosecutor dismissed a case after a kit was tested, citing the victim’s use of pain medication as a reason it affected her “cognitive abilities.” A police department in Minnesota chose not to test a kit because the juvenile victim was deemed “uncooperative” in their earlier investigation, despite records indicating the girl expressed concerns about possibly being raped while unconscious at a party and asked, “What if it was my fault?” A detective in Wisconsin took no action to revisit a rape case, simply noting that the suspect had claimed the sex was consensual, even though he had previously been convicted of raping another person.
Ashley Nix serves as a sex crimes prosecutor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, actively initiating charges in various cases stemming from the city’s rape kit backlog. Among the victims, one was a sex worker, another had tragically passed away after reporting her assault 12 years ago, which means Nix must pursue legal action without her testimony. A third victim, whose case was initially dismissed by Nix’s predecessor, had an intellectual disability.
Nix expressed her frustration, stating, “These excuses about complex cases and difficult victims … it’s nonsense. Predators intentionally target those whom they believe won’t be believed.”
Krystal Allison reported to the Austin police that she had been raped by someone she knew. She described feeling intoxicated to the point where she couldn’t resist when he offered to assist her after she lost her friend on Austin’s lively Sixth Street. She recalls fragmented memories: falling off his bike, being in his bed, and struggling against him during the assault.
The following morning, Allison learned from the man’s roommate that she had been carried to his apartment the previous night. She immediately sought medical help, underwent a sexual assault examination, and filed a police report.
Unfortunately, her police report became detrimental to her quest for justice, as the officer inaccurately noted that Allison and her assailant engaged in “consensual sex.”
Years later, after the assault kit was finally analyzed and linked to another reported rape, that misguided assumption transformed into accepted fact, perpetually echoed in the system. Had they examined Allison’s file carefully, they would have uncovered numerous signs suggesting her experience was indeed one of rape, not consent.
In a recent interview with YSL News, officials from the Austin police admitted to missteps in Allison’s case, acknowledging that even if they desired to, it’s too late to make amends due to the expiration of the statute of limitations last year.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who participated in the case review, conceded, “Unfortunately, we dropped the ball on that one.”
YSL News respects the privacy of sexual assault victims and does not disclose their identities without consent. Allison and several other victims consented to the use of their names and images.
Upon learning from a reporter that the statute of limitations had expired on her case, Allison struggled to find the right words. Over the eleven years since she reported the rape, this now 40-year-old mother had held on to the hope that her rapist would be caught. She remembers asking police if her case could be reopened if the perpetrator attacked again after they initially closed the case due to insufficient evidence. They assured her it could be.
“I truly believed that eventually, he would be caught. You cannot escape something like that forever,” she stated. “You just can’t.”
So far, he has indeed managed to evade justice.
Lt. Chris Leleux, who leads the sex crimes investigations in the Austin Police Department, expressed disappointment that so few cases from the city’s backlog have ended in convictions. He pointed out that while officials may vow to test old rape kits as a solution, they often underestimate the complexities involved. He remarked, “These cases are returning to a flawed system.”
Wider implications of unresolved rape cases
When law enforcement and prosecutors fail to hold sexual offenders accountable, more individuals become victims. They face additional threats such as rape, kidnapping, stalking, harassment, assault, and even homicide.
Research indicates that rapists frequently commit multiple offenses. With only about one-third of sexual assaults reported to authorities, as studies suggest, the importance of solving these cases is incredibly high.
YSL News analyzed the criminal records of over 250 men identified as suspects in rape cases that had not undergone initial testing of kits.
Their criminal backgrounds revealed a pattern of not only further sexual offenses but also a range of violent crimes, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault, and child abuse. Approximately 10% have faced charges related to domestic violence.
A man from Florida faced multiple convictions for domestic battery, including an incident where he assaulted a woman after she declined to have sex with him. A man in Wisconsin attacked a woman by slashing her tires and choking her, also assaulting a friend who intervened. Meanwhile, a Minnesota man was mandated to register as a sex offender after inappropriately touching a young girl in a store.
All three of these individuals were also suspects in rape cases tied to the backlog of untested kits. However, none were arrested based on those allegations.
The same applies to Mark Burruss.
In 2013, Amber, a woman in Wisconsin, reported to the police that she had consensually met two men online but that the encounter escalated into violence and both men raped her. A month later, she chose not to pursue charges, and her rape kit was subsequently shelved.
It wasn’t until three years later, as part of Wisconsin’s grant program, that the kit was tested, revealing DNA connected to Burruss, who had since been reported for two sexual assaults against minors, with the earliest complaint dating back to 1995.
During a detective’s interview, he claimed the sexual encounter with Amber was “rough” but fully consensual. Amber insisted it wasn’t consensual and informed detectives that she had intended to pursue the case this time, clarifying that her previous withdrawal was due to pressure from her boyfriend.
However, in 2018, a prosecutor decided against filing charges, citing “credibility concerns” regarding Amber, since she initially did not disclose the circumstances of meeting the men online and had previously expressed a desire to drop the case.
Two weeks later, Burruss molested a 13-year-old girl, touching her breasts and vagina through her clothing. The girl quickly contacted a family member, expressing her fear by saying, “I don’t feel safe.”
Burruss was convicted for this incident and served a two-year prison sentence. He is now facing trial for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl in 2016, after the earlier case was reported but prior to the kit’s testing. He did not respond to a request for comment through his lawyer.
Amber, who requested to be identified only by her first name for privacy reasons, shared that when she first reported her rape, a police officer informed her that since she had met the men online and consented to sex, it was as though she “gave them permission to do whatever they wanted.”
Unaware that Burruss had already been convicted in a different sexual assault case when prosecutors overlooked her case in 2018, Amber felt it was evident that “he had done this before – and it wouldn’t be the last time.”
Nationwide Kit Backlog Sparks Reform Efforts
In 2009, a staff member of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy discovered a shocking number of 11,000 untested rape kits in a Detroit police evidence facility. Worthy’s reaction was one of outrage.
Other U.S. cities soon discovered similar situations, leading to widespread awareness of the problem.
The number of these untested kits has been estimated by some studies to be between 300,000 and 400,000, commonly referred to as the “rape kit backlog.” However, the term “backlog” can be misleading; it suggests these kits were pending testing, while in reality, they were forgotten. Some kits were damaged by mold and floods, and others were so poorly labeled that they had to be cataloged manually.
As public outrage grew with media coverage of unsolved rapes tied to untested kits, the Joyful Heart Foundation, launched by “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” actress Mariska Hargitay, made eliminating the backlog its primary focus in 2010. That same year, congressional hearings were held, featuring survivors and advocates questioning how such a situation had developed.
Subsequent research indicated that decisions regarding which cases to test were often made at the discretion of individual detectives. Unfortunately, many of those detectives were skeptical of victims’ claims. Additionally, advancements in DNA technology and limited laboratory resources led to arbitrary exclusions, such as not testing cases where the suspect’s identity was known.
As cities like Detroit began testing their accumulated kits, the folly of the previous mindset became clear, as DNA matches revealed connections to other cases.
Many men who had attacked strangers had also assaulted acquaintances, resulting in the identification of serial rapists who had previously escaped justice. In other instances, suspects who had claimed that consent was given were now confronted with multiple allegations, altering the conversation from “he said, she said” to “he said, she said, she said, she said.”
In 2015, Joe Biden, who was the vice president at the time, announced the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.
“When we solve these cases, we get rapists off the streets,” he stated. “For most survivors, knowing their attackers face justice provides peace of mind and closure. The funding we’re announcing today for reducing the national backlog of rape kits will bring that closure and safety to victims and enhance community security.”
Since then, federal grants have been awarded to 90 local and state agencies, and a private nonprofit has been engaged to offer training and support. Experts from various sectors of the criminal justice and advocacy communities are now available to assist local teams and have developed training resources to guide their work.
However, the guidance provided remains optional, and some teams have chosen not to follow it.
Rebecca Campbell, a professor at Michigan State University involved in the training initiative, expressed concerns over the variable outcomes observed across different teams. In certain areas, local team members have shown resistance to the notion that kits should be tested.
“There exists a mindset of skepticism regarding the project,” Campbell noted. “Some actively oppose the initiative because they don’t perceive it as a problem.”
Conversely, in other locations, officials are fully committed to the cause. Nevertheless, they often face challenges like burnout and inadequate resources.
David Thomas, a consultant for law enforcement and a former program manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, has participated in the training efforts as well. He emphasized that underperforming agencies must be held accountable, starting with thorough examinations of all cases by local law enforcement. This accountability should also extend to the Department of Justice, which should consider withholding grant funds from non-compliant agencies.
“We talk about the need to hold perpetrators responsible,” he stated. “Agencies not fulfilling their commitment should be equally held accountable.”
A notable success in this initiative has been in Wayne County, where all the kits found by Worthy’s staff in 2009 have been processed, resulting in over 5,400 investigations and 257 convictions so far, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Worthy, who endured rape during her law school years, was determined to ensure that all cases be resolved promptly once she learned about the kits, aiming to prevent another backlog from forming. She sought to transform the culture that had allowed the storage of rape kits in decaying warehouses like discarded items.
Other city officials expressed apprehension regarding the costs involved, particularly as Detroit filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history four years later.
Over the years, Worthy has managed to piece together
To tackle the backlog, funds were essential, with efforts even reaching out for private donations starting as low as $5. Nonprofit organizations contributed to fundraising efforts, while the Detroit Crime Commission worked out lower testing fees with private laboratories. Additionally, her office secured a grant from the National Institute of Justice, along with multiple grants from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative amounting to $9.5 million. The Michigan State Legislature provided funding, and the county boosted Worthy’s budget to aid the initiative.
Worthy expressed that the journey to this point has been “long and complicated.” She is particularly disappointed by any agency that views merely testing their kits as a true marker of success.
“I can’t say you did nothing. But if you didn’t take any action towards bringing these offenders, these rapists, to justice, then you didn’t really achieve anything,” she stated. “These rapists continue to pose a threat.”
Campbell, a researcher who has collaborated with the Detroit team, mentioned that they have established a benchmark that other sites should aspire to achieve.
“If you can accomplish this under what I would argue are some of the toughest circumstances in the United States,” she noted, “then it is indeed possible.”
Despite advancements in DNA technology, law enforcement efforts lag behind
In 2022, a state prosecutor in Jacksonville, Florida, revisited a rape case from 2010. Even with new DNA evidence, the prosecutor concluded there was no “reasonable probability of conviction.” The victim had taken a pain pill prior to the assault, which affected her memory. There were no witnesses to back her story, and she had willingly entered the suspect’s hotel room the morning after the alleged rape.
This scenario would be challenging to present to a jury.
However, if one considers these facts from a different perspective, it could tell a different story.
The suspect had seen the woman take the medication, so he might have anticipated that she would be in a vulnerable state when he later entered her room. Moreover, it’s common for many sexual assaults to occur without witnesses. The woman had confided in a friend about the incident, who still remembered their conversation years later.
Furthermore, while she did visit the man’s hotel room the day after the assault, it was there that she discreetly obtained his name from a prescription pill bottle, thus identifying her attacker for authorities.
Experts who reviewed the case for YSL News argued that over time, the case gained new strengths. During a follow-up interview with a detective, the woman expressed how the assault haunted her, highlighting the lasting trauma she experienced; this could resonate with jurors. When questioned, the suspect denied any sexual encounter with her, despite his DNA being found in her sexual assault kit, thus raising credibility issues.
“What more do you want?” questioned Elizabeth Donegan, a retired senior sergeant from the Austin Police Department and an expert on sexual assault investigations. “This, to me, is a straightforward case to pursue. It’s very clear-cut. You have a prosecutor who seems unversed in the nuances of sexual assault.”
A thorough assessment of cases from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reveals the considerable challenges faced by backlogged kits in leading to arrests, let alone convictions. Nationwide, the odds often require near-perfect conditions: a law enforcement agency with the necessary resources, training, and motivation to rejuvenate old cases, along with a prosecutor who is skilled and willing to take a suspect to trial. The absence of one key factor can derail the entire case.
Some investigations fail to advance for reasons beyond the control of police or prosecutors. After testing, about half of backlogged rape kits yield usable DNA profiles, and only half of those result in a DNA match. A match could lead to an unknown perpetrator from another case, giving police a lead but leaving them without a name. Statutes of limitations might have expired, or a suspect could no longer be alive.
Authorities often find that individuals contacted after years post-testing may no longer wish to pursue their cases. This cessation of investigation can be interpreted in two ways: respecting the victim’s choice or indicating that the police didn’t do enough to establish trust.
However, YSL News discovered that law enforcement often performs only a superficial review of cases after DNA testing, leaning on conclusions from earlier investigations. Lisae C. Jordan, executive director and counsel at the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, remarked that some agencies perceive the state’s backlog project as “questioning” their initial decision not to test the kits.
Prosecutors have also been hesitant to revisit investigations. Katie Whisman, a previous employee at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in charge of tackling the state’s backlog issues, recalled one local prosecutor telling police that reopening investigations was a waste of time, asserting that the office had already dismissed the cases and would not reconsider them.
When asked why few cases advance, law enforcement officials often provide vague responses. In Charlotte, North Carolina, records indicate that authorities identified suspects in multiple cases where women reported being raped by unknown armed attackers; one case involved a woman who claimed she was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for five days. These cases, however, were closed without resulting in arrests. Michael Stolp from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office informed YSL News that after police and prosecutorial reviews, the “consensus … was that an arrest and prosecution was not appropriate based on the available evidence.” He did not offer further details on the evidence considered, nor did he respond to repeated inquiries about whether the victims were informed of the test results.
In Jacksonville, the prosecutor’s and sheriff’s offices have received nearly $10 million in federal funding since fiscal year 2015.
However, investigative efforts there have been prolonged over the years, often featuring significant gaps in activity, as shown by a review of more than 100 files. One woman, who had obtained her attacker’s name from a prescription bottle in his hotel room, learned in 2017 that her rape kit had been evaluated. Records indicate that she did not receive any updates from a detective for nearly two years. By then, her case had been reassigned to a different investigator. After this new detective forwarded the case to state prosecutors in 2019, it took an additional 2½ years before the office decided against pressing charges.
“I never realized there could be another way for the system to inflict trauma on victims,” stated Kelsey McKay, a former prosecutor who launched a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing how criminal justice professionals engage with sexual assault survivors. “If they’ve made it this far, there’s a glimmer of hope. Yet, as seen in these cases, even with DNA evidence, we still struggle to believe them.”
McKay, who reviewed several cases upon YSL News’s request, emphasized that since most victims know their assailants, and cases often revolve around consent, the focus of police and prosecutors frequently shifts to the credibility of the victim rather than the suspect’s.
She acknowledged that even highly skilled prosecutors face a formidable task convincing a jury that might not fully grasp the intricacies of sexual violence. Nonetheless, she advocated for a more proactive stance from prosecutors
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Taking on this challenge includes helping jurors understand that predators often target vulnerable women, knowing they’re less likely to be believed.
She stated that not pursuing these cases only reinforces the perpetrators’ beliefs.
McKay, along with five other experts who examined the Jacksonville hotel case for YSL News, believed that the prosecutor’s office had grounds to file charges.
“If we don’t act on cases like this, what kind of cases can we take with vulnerable victims?” she questioned.
In Jacksonville, prosecutors have initiated charges on cases related to the backlog involving women who were homeless, intoxicated, or using drugs. However, almost all such cases had an additional factor: the victim reported that she did not know her attacker. Out of 29 suspects charged by this office, 80% were accused of assaulting strangers, often women they abducted at gunpoint or knife-point, or with whom they had only minimal prior interaction.
Numerous studies have found that in nearly all rape incidents, victims are familiar with their attackers.
According to the Jacksonville prosecutor’s office, they haven’t filed any cases where the suspect and victim had an intimate relationship. The reports reviewed by YSL News indicated that detectives often showed little interest in investigating these cases after the kits were analyzed, frequently closing them with the same note: “A review of the case showed this was the same suspect mentioned in the original investigation. Case remains Exceptionally Cleared.”
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Robert Freitas, part of the cold case unit that handled investigations related to backlogged kits, told YSL News that many of the cases remained hard to prove because it often came down to the suspect’s word against the victim’s.
“We’re not just going to make an arrest for the sake of it,” he mentioned. “It’s unfortunate at times. Although we may find a match, the state’s attorney has a stringent burden of proof.”
David Chapman, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office Fourth Circuit in Florida, informed YSL News that there haven’t been any charges in backlog cases related to domestic violence because the suspects were already known to law enforcement during the initial investigation. He explained that the federal initiative’s primary goal is to prosecute previously unknown offenders, despite training on how to handle cases involving partners and known individuals.
He also noted that when evaluating sexual assault cases from the backlog, his office considers the possibility that defendants could argue their right to a fair process was compromised regarding the delay in charges. Other elements that may be considered by defense attorneys, such as if a victim was engaging in sex work or using illegal substances, could also lead the defense to suggest motivations for deceit.
Chapman summarized how the office evaluates various cases mentioned by YSL News. He highlighted one critical factor: the criminal histories of both the suspect and the victim.
“They are labeling an entire group of women as unrapable,” said Campbell, the professor involved in the grant’s training program. “That is utterly unacceptable.”
In another instance from Jacksonville’s backlog, an 18-year-old woman in 2012 reported to the sheriff’s office that she was raped by a man she only knew as “Charlie Fresh.”
This woman, Elizabeth Levy, recounted to YSL News her experience: the deputy who took her statement laughed as she tried to remember the details while under the influence of crack cocaine.
Levy had gone to a motel near the interstate to obtain drugs. She alleged that Charlie offered her a place to stay in his room, provided her cocaine, refused to let her leave, threatened her, and then raped her. After reporting the incident to the sheriff’s office, she ceased responding to calls from deputies.
Her sexual assault kit was processed in 2017 and matched to Charlie Pressley, a Florida man who had recently faced felony drug charges and, according to law enforcement records, had been accused of sexual assault twice before. In one of those incidents, he was charged and pled to a lesser offense.
Despite knowing she could be portrayed negatively during a criminal trial—seen as untrustworthy and unsympathetic for going to the motel to use cocaine—Levy decided to cooperate with the investigation. When shown a photo lineup, she instantly identified Pressley. She shared with YSL News that her hesitance in pursuing the case stemmed from her fear of Pressley, though her feelings had since changed.
“I just wanted some justice,” Levy reflected during an interview earlier this year. “Seeing that mugshot of his face truly affected my soul.”
The subsequent investigation took 2½ years, during which months went by without any action. Detectives reinterviewed motel witnesses and looked for other women who had previously accused Pressley of sexual assault. They also questioned Pressley, who denied ever having sex with Levy.
Throughout this time, officials lost contact with Levy, who was initially incarcerated when they first reached out but was released during the investigation. Although protocols required it, the sheriff’s office failed to connect Levy with a victim advocate who could have assisted her in remaining engaged. She recalled receiving one Facebook message from a sheriff’s deputy after her release, but by then, she was once again grappling with addiction. She had also lost trust in the detectives, who initially promised to stay in touch but then went silent.
According to sheriff’s office records, she only spoke with a detective once following the photo lineup.
He inquired whether she consented to have sex with Pressley in exchange for drugs.
She insisted that it was an act of rape.
In June 2020, three years after conducting tests on Levy’s sexual assault kit, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office suspended the case again, attributing the decision to Levy’s alleged lack of cooperation, which they noted in the case file. The prosecutor’s office informed YSL News that there were many inconsistencies in Levy’s accounts and highlighted that her drug use, despite a court-imposed ban, raised questions about her reliability and credibility regarding her story.
Pressley, who is currently incarcerated on a separate drug-related conviction, did not reply to the request for comments. He is scheduled for release this fall.
Levy was released from prison last week after serving 16 months for violating parole due to a drug charge. Having recently graduated from an empowerment program designed for female inmates, she is now transitioning to a halfway house in Jacksonville.
She continues to grapple with feelings of self-blame, both for the assault and for the absence of charges against Pressley. Nevertheless, she recognizes that what transpired was not her fault.
“I won’t pretend I’m a perfect person, because I’m not. I made a lot of choices that contributed to this situation,” she stated. “But I didn’t ask for it.”
‘Nobody wants to apologize’
Officials from the Department of Justice have emphasized that obtaining convictions is not the sole aim of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, nor is it the primary focus. Williamson, who oversees the program, shared with YSL News that the main goal is to resolve cases to provide “answers for victims or their families.”
However, the majority of individuals whose sexual assault kits have been analyzed are unaware that this has occurred, let alone the outcome of the tests.
In Wichita, Kansas, police made efforts to inform just 17 victims out of approximately 1,100 kits, managing to reach only 11 of them. Two suspects have faced convictions, and a warrant was issued for a third.
Capt. Jason Stephens, who was in charge of sex crimes investigations for the Wichita Police Department when Kansas received a federal grant in 2015 to tackle its kit backlog, mentioned that officials were concerned about re-traumatizing victims by discussing their assaults without having the intention to reopen investigations. As a result, there are instances where police are aware of a suspect’s identity, but the victim remains uninformed.
This scenario is exactly what Mary Stolz, executive director of the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, feared when she learned about the attempts to contact just 17 victims. She imagined horrifying situations where a woman could unknowingly move in next to her assailant, go on a date with him, or have him as her child’s teacher—all while law enforcement possesses the suspect’s name but fails to inform her.
“That is a grave violation of human rights,” Stolz stated.
Notifying victims is arguably one of the most delicate challenges authorities face when addressing a backlog of old kits. For some, receiving a call about their sexual assault could reopen old wounds, while for others, it might help heal a long-standing trauma by providing information and access to support services such as counseling.
In light of this dilemma, many grant recipients have opted for limited outreach. Among 42 notification policies reviewed by YSL News, only eight suggested that nearly all victims should be contacted; conversely, at least six policies explicitly linked victim notifications to the likelihood of investigation or prosecution of the case.
YSL News analyzed victim notification statistics from 14 agencies with early grants and the most comprehensive data, comparing the number of victims contacted with the number of kits sent for testing. This analysis did not account for instances where victims may have multiple kits in the backlog.
Overall, four of the 14 grant recipients with the highest notification rates managed to reach one victim for every two kits tested. In contrast, others only contacted one victim for every 15 kits, with a few reaching almost no one. For example, in Wisconsin and Orange County, California, officials contacted only one person for every 43 kits sent for testing.
Campbell mentioned that some grant teams have felt paralyzed by the fear of re-traumatizing survivors by revisiting their assault cases, to the point where they “practically convinced themselves that it would be unethical to reach out to victims.” In one meeting, she expressed her frustration, saying, “You just need to begin.”
Conversely, she noted that in some areas, concerns for victims have become an excuse for inaction.
“Someone from that team has to confront the survivor and deal with whatever emotions they may have—whether that’s anger, relief, or fury. They need to be prepared to respond,” she stated. “Ideally, this would include an apology. Sadly, in many jurisdictions, there is reluctance to offer apologies.”
Less than half of the notification policies reviewed by YSL News acknowledge the necessity of apologizing. The Duluth Police Department in Minnesota is one such exception.
Mary Faulkner, a victim advocate and Duluth’s grant site coordinator, mentioned that the local team recognized the need to inform victims, understanding that many in the small city of 90,000 residents had always wondered about the status of their cases. Some may have even heard through news reports or acquaintances that the city was testing old kits and anticipated receiving a call.
“We were deeply concerned that victims might feel like they had been forgotten twice,” Faulkner noted.
Beginning with the assumption that every victim would be contacted, the officials only deviated from this practice if specific concerns arose. The team adjusted their process over time as they identified what was effective. Every victim they did not reach was documented with a reason.
From 444 kits sent for analysis, Duluth managed to reach 274 individuals and successfully contacted 187 of them. Sadly, another 16 victims had passed away since their reports were filed.
Prosecutors have initiated charges in 21 cases and secured seven convictions thus far.
Faulkner herself made many of the calls. While some did not end positively and those experiences linger with her, more frequently, people expressed gratitude but mentioned they had moved on in their lives. Some were curious about what steps were being taken to enhance support for victims now, while others worried that their kits hadn’t been tested because of something they might have done wrong.
“It was beneficial to have someone apologize and acknowledge that it wasn’t your fault,” Faulkner reflected.
Jordan Martin has never known that kind of support.
In 2018, the Wichita resident opted to stay overnight at a hotel, believing it to be a safer alternative than driving home alone from a bar. An acquaintance offered her a ride, followed her to her room, and raped her.
The next morning, she reported the incident to the police. According to her, the detective’s inquiries were curt and abrupt, suggesting he was eager to wrap up his shift. A few weeks later, Martin received a voicemail indicating that her case was closed, with the suspect claiming the encounter was consensual. There was no information about the processing of her rape kit.
“Listening to that voicemail felt so cold,” she shared.
Feeling numb and furious, she initially turned to alcohol before realizing she needed support and contacted the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. Over time, she learned to manage her emotions more effectively and found a sense of purpose in assisting others facing similar struggles. Today, Martin serves as the center’s director of advocacy.
Wichita police officials informed YSL News that they have implemented measures to enhance their response to sexual assault cases, which include improved training and a welcoming room for interviewing victims. The department announced its policy of testing all rape kits back in late 2018, ahead of other regions in the state.
Martin remarked that she has observed improvements in how local police treat victims since her own assault.
However, she still feels unsettled over not knowing what happened to her rape kit.
“I complied with everything the detectives asked of me—speaking to them and going to the hospital before taking a shower to gather evidence to bring this person to justice,” she said. “And yet I’m left thinking, ‘Did they really care?’”
Claims of success overlook issues
When Iowa completed its six-year grant program in 2021, the state’s Senate Democratic Caucus proudly shared on social media: “After many efforts, Iowa’s rape kit backlog has been completely resolved!”
But this statement was misleading, as Iowa did not actually eliminate its backlog.
It only tested two out of every five kits that had accumulated in police storage, some dating back to 1992. Furthermore, the state still doesn’t test all kits today.
Kerri True-Funk, who was part of the grant team for the state and previously worked for the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, expressed her concerns, reflecting on what could have been achieved if Iowa law enforcement had used the initiative as a way to drive change.
“It truly could have been a pivotal moment for the state,” she commented. “It might not have been a total turnaround, but it could have redirected the state’s approach positively.”
The Iowa Office of the Attorney General received a federal grant in 2015, and the following year, it surveyed law enforcement agencies statewide regarding their backlogs. The investigation identified a total of 4,264 kits. Reports revealed that officials would not have enough funding to test all of them.
Iowa and other recipients of the grants defined their own priorities for which kits to test. Although the federal program recommends testing all kits from reported incidents, at least a dozen places have chosen to go against this guidance and made exceptions.
Kits were often excluded for various reasons, such as if the suspect’s DNA was already on file from another case or if there was a conviction, which eliminated the chance that testing could exonerate anyone wrongfully accused.
Additionally, tests were not conducted on kits from cases labeled as “unfounded” by police, meaning they believed the victim made false claims. Studies indicate this label is often overused and misapplied in sexual assault situations.
Last year, Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension declared its testing process was “complete” but later clarified that only two-thirds of the kits had gone through testing. In California, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced in 2022 that a “30-year backlog of untested sexual assault kits” had been addressed, yet they had only handled less than half of the county’s kits. In Mobile, Alabama, during negotiations with the grant team, about a quarter of the backlogged kits were excluded from testing.
Iowa officials based their approach to testing on the reasons given by police for why the kits had not been tested initially, according to state documents. Cases that were prioritized for testing included those where law enforcement had questioned the credibility of the allegation, especially if prosecutors had not requested testing or if the suspect claimed that the sexual interaction was consensual.
However, the state decided against testing around 1,300 kits, nearly a third of the backlog, for which police indicated the victim either did not want to pursue charges or had shown a “lack of cooperation” after reporting the assault.
True-Funk admitted feeling conflicted; she wanted to respect victims’ wishes but was troubled by how police summarized those desires. Many individuals disengage when they feel mistreated by law enforcement and may change their minds later.
The backlog is filled with similar narratives.
One woman in Detroit recounted to investigators that, after being beaten and raped by her boyfriend, she stopped communicating with police due to her young age, fear of retribution, and emotional unpreparedness. However, upon being contacted after her kit was tested, she felt differently.
“She now feels empowered to take action,” a detective noted in the case file. Her assailant was subsequently convicted and sentenced to up to 18 years in prison.
If she had been in Iowa, her kit likely wouldn’t have been tested.
True-Funk noted that during committee meetings, her concerns were often overshadowed. These meetings routinely featured a dozen representatives from law enforcement and prosecutor offices but only a few advocates and a single individual who identified as a sexual assault survivor. When later discussions arose about future kit testing, True-Funk reported being “shouted down.”
There is an online tracking system available for victims to check if their kits have undergone testing, but police departments still have the authority to decide which kits are tested.
Additionally, the state lab advises against sending a kit if the police already know the suspect’s identity.
According to the submission guidelines from the state lab, “If the issue relates to consent rather than identity, please think twice before submitting DNA evidence for testing unless absolutely necessary.” Some police departments have indicated to YSL News that they adhere to this advice.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s spokesperson did not respond to inquiries about this policy and refused an interview.
A significant number of the backlogged kits in the state that were not processed as part of the grant program are frequently exceeding the statute of limitations, which is 10 years for adult victims. YSL News discovered that at least 500 kits have already surpassed this limit since Iowa completed its inventory, a number that is expected to rise to 625 by the end of next year. However, the statute of limitations does offer another avenue; in some cases, if a DNA match is made, charges can still be filed for another three years. Therefore, if Iowa were to analyze those kits, it could lead to new prosecutions.
Tests conducted on the kits have resulted in approximately 300 DNA matches, with leads provided to local agencies where the cases began. State officials mentioned that while they cannot mandate local agencies to update them on the outcomes, they are aware of 53 victims who were contacted after testing and four cases that resulted in charges, three of which led to convictions. Earlier this year, law enforcement in Davenport, Iowa, charged two additional individuals linked to a backlogged kit processed under the program, as reported by local news.
Officials from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office turned down multiple interview requests. Nonetheless, in a statement, communications director Alyssa Brouillet asserted that the state has cleared its backlog through the grant program. However, this statement appears to be a matter of semantics; Brouillet mentioned that every kit “submitted to our office” was tested “when there is potential evidence to be gained from the testing and when the victim opts to pursue a criminal case.”
She also claimed that local police departments inform all victims before the statute of limitations on their case runs out. However, YSL News found that this does not always occur, as police departments in Iowa City and West Des Moines stated that they do not typically provide such notifications.
After receiving $3 million from the Department of Justice, Iowa had considerable flexibility in allocating these funds.
The program stipulates that no more than half of the funding may be used for testing, although agencies can request exceptions. Federal officials desire to reserve funds for essential subsequent steps, which include supporting survivors, investigating cases, and prosecuting offenders.
In Iowa, similar to many states across the U.S., these necessities are pressing, and available funding is always insufficient. Victim advocates frequently experience burnout due to low salaries after just a few years. Many rural hospitals lack sexual assault nurses, and several facilities may have to share a single nurse. Moreover, Iowa discontinued its dedicated sexual assault hotline years ago.
Despite this situation, after completing the grant program, Iowa forfeited nearly one-third of its funding, joining many other grantees in leaving nearly $9.5 million unspent.
The $880,000 Iowa lost could have funded a week-long training session on investigating and prosecuting sexual assault in every county in the state.
It could have also trained over 500 nurses in basic sexual assault examination techniques.
Or conducted tests on an additional 1,000 previously collected but neglected sexual assault kits.
Contributing: Dian Zhang and Savannah Kuchar, YSL News; Lee Rood, Des Moines Register
Tricia L. Nadolny, Nick Penzenstadler, and Gina Barton are investigative reporters for YSL News. Jayme Fraser serves as a data reporter on the YSL News investigations team.