Across the nation, agencies receiving federal funding to manage neglected sexual assault kits must improve their follow-up on test outcomes, as emphasized by U.S. Representative Barbara Lee.
Alongside lawmakers, advocates for victims’ rights, and law enforcement, Lee is advocating for enhanced accountability following an investigation by YSL News into the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a grant program administered by the Justice Department.
Since its inception in 2015, this program has allocated nearly $350 million to state and local agencies to test old rape kits, investigate cases, and provide closure to victims. However, an investigation released last month by YSL News revealed that some grant recipients have neglected to test kits for the second time, simply reviewed cases without thorough investigation, and largely disregarded keeping victims informed about their cases.
Lee, a Democrat from California, termed the situation “unacceptable” and vowed to leverage her position on the House Appropriations Committee to secure more funding to ensure “every kit is tested, every case meticulously reviewed, and every survivor kept in the loop.”
“This is about priorities – we need to communicate that we want justice for survivors,” she stated. “Our actions must reflect that commitment.”
In Austin, Texas, where YSL News identified failures in the police investigation of a potential serial rapist, new police chief Lisa Davis has expressed her intention to cultivate trust with survivors.
“Continued errors are not an option,” she asserted.
In Wichita, Kansas, where around 1,050 backlogged rape kits were examined but only 17 victims were informed about the results, the local police chief has instructed his team to collaborate with advocacy groups to create a new victim notification policy. Andrew Ford, a spokesperson for the Wichita Police Department, indicated that this policy will affect both future survivors of sexual assault and those whose cases were part of the backlog.
These backlogged kits in Wichita were tested through a grant received by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in 2015. Ford informed YSL News that testing revealed suspects in 32 cases unknown to the victims, yet victims were not notified because officials did not believe those cases were prosecutable.
“We acknowledge our previous failures and are committed to improving our processes moving forward,” Ford said.
Critics of the federal program are aware of the potential impact of negative evaluations, recognizing that progress should not be discounted. Some worry that criticism might undermine the hard-earned reforms in sexual assault investigations.
Ilse Knecht, director of policy and advocacy at the Joyful Heart Foundation – a nonprofit that targeted backlog elimination as a primary goal in 2010 – called YSL News’s findings “disheartening” but acknowledged that the initiative has generated positive outcomes, such as training for criminal justice officials, promoting reforms, and helping society become more supportive of survivors.
“Any survivor who has found justice and healing due to these grants justifies the investment,” Knecht stated.
The Justice Department withheld comments on whether they took any measures in response to YSL News’s findings, like enhancing training for grant recipients. Justice Department spokeswoman Katherine Brown stated that the agency “does not concur” with the newspaper’s conclusions.
However, another division within the Justice Department seized the opportunity presented by YSL News’s probe to highlight their existing training programs for prosecutors dealing with sexual assault cases. In a correspondence to the press, Maya Vizvary from the Office on Violence Against Women noted the highlighting of “failures in prosecuting potentially viable allegations.” She shared a guide released in May aimed at better equipping prosecutors to handle sexual assault cases while countering common misconceptions regarding victim behavior.
“While some cases may not be prosecutable,” Fara Gold, a Justice Department advisor, advised in a recent podcast, “it is crucial to analyze the facts and the law as they stand and consider what a properly informed jury would conclude, rather than an imagined one. These cases are indeed prosecutable. Pursue them.”
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who has actively worked to tackle the backlog since discovering approximately 11,000 untested kits in Detroit in 2009, expressed frustration over the lack of charges stemming from backlogged cases.
“It appears that they demand more evidence than typically required in other cases,” she asserted. “They’re looking for a seemingly flawless case.”
Worthy emphasized that agencies benefiting from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grants should be held more accountable for the utilization of those funds. At the very least, those programs demonstrating ineffectiveness should be required to justify their performance.
“Ultimately, it comes down to being committed to what you’re doing,” she stated. “You need to desire to see outcomes and be genuinely dedicated.”
‘We expect more’ from local initiatives regarding test kits
According to the Justice Department, the program has resulted in the testing of 100,000 kits and has led to 1,500 convictions. However, almost half of those convictions are attributed to two agencies – the prosecutor’s offices in Cleveland and Detroit – while other jurisdictions show minimal outcomes.
In Austin, officials were dealing with a backlog of approximately 4,400 kits but managed to secure only one conviction.
In 2021, DNA evidence from two unresolved sexual assault cases in the city matched, leading police to believe they were dealing with a potential serial rapist. Authorities reached out to one victim, who opted not to reopen her case, but failed to contact the second victim, Krystal Allison. Allison discovered her case was connected to another sexual assault only after being contacted by a reporter this summer. An Austin sergeant admitted to YSL News that authorities had “failed to follow through.”
“It’s important to remember that what might be seen as ‘dropping the ball’ from a bureaucratic perspective for one sergeant represents a traumatic moment in someone else’s life,” remarked Austin City Councilmember Paige Ellis regarding Allison’s case. “As a city and community, we demand more.”
Three other members of Austin’s City Council also voiced their worries about how the police department has managed the backlog of cases.
“We can indeed improve,” stated council member Alison Alter. “But improvement is only possible if we acknowledge there is a problem.”
Alter emphasized that the handling of Allison’s case did not align with the standards she expects from the department and praised her for sharing her story, reminding everyone of the reason behind their efforts: “They are real individuals whose lives have been altered by a traumatic event,” she stressed. “We owe them more attention.”
Following YSL News’s report, members of the Austin-Travis County Sexual Assault and Response Team released a statement acknowledging that it could have been “devastating news” for local survivors to find out that only one case from the city’s backlog resulted in a conviction.
The Travis County District Attorney, José Garza, told YSL News that his team does not wish for community members to feel hopeless. He mentioned that his office is actively pursuing reform, including regular meetings with the police department’s sexual assault unit.
“I acknowledge that many parts were broken, and we are working to rebuild from the foundation up − focusing on not just sexual assault cases, but the overall functioning of our criminal justice system,” he said.
In 2022, the city resolved a lawsuit filed by a group of sexual assault survivors. Following that agreement, officials initiated a coordinated effort to revise how the city responds to sexual assault, which included hiring more staff and establishing a cold case unit.
The new police chief, Davis, reported that the city has recently been awarded a $500,000 grant from the federal Office on Violence Against Women for additional training. The city has also applied for another grant through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative specifically aimed at supporting the investigation and prosecution of cases; that application is currently pending.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson refrained from answering questions regarding the city’s backlog but stated in a message that he anticipates that Austin’s police department will evolve into “a national model” once the ongoing reforms are fully applied.
‘Need for improvement’ in Florida and other areas
Jacksonville Mayor, Donna Deegan, also chose not to comment on how her city’s law enforcement has managed the backlog of rape kits.
YSL News uncovered that investigations by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office have lagged for years, at times leaving survivors waiting for months without resolution.
When charges have been brought, the state prosecutor’s office primarily targeted suspects involved in stranger rapes, even though sexual assaults involving acquaintances are much more frequent. YSL News revealed that no cases from the backlog concerning intimate-partner violence have been filed by the office.
“As someone from a background marked by domestic violence, that really troubles me,” commented Florida Rep. Angie Nixon, who represents Jacksonville, after reviewing YSL News’s findings.
Nixon expressed her concern upon discovering that the prosecutor’s office considers whether a woman was intoxicated when deciding to move forward with charges. She stressed that an individual can still be victimized when drunk, noting that this often makes them more vulnerable.
Nixon expressed her worry that this approach might deter individuals from seeking assistance from law enforcement because they may feel their claims will not be taken seriously. She suggested that the sheriff and prosecutor’s offices consider reallocating remaining grant funds to manage cases of domestic violence.
“I intend to discuss this with them to find out what can be done,” she said. “Because this situation is unacceptable.”
In Wisconsin, there are 2,300 kits in the state’s backlog that were never processed due to exemptions in the testing protocol. Attorney General Josh Kaul informed a public radio reporter last month that his predecessor decided not to test kits unless the victims had clearly consented.
Experts advocate for testing all kits from reported offenses and emphasize that victims often withdraw from the legal process when faced with mistreatment by law enforcement officials.
Kaul acknowledged that the state’s untested kits could still be testing done with the agreement of the victims.
“We believe it is essential for victims to have control over the process. If they wish to have their kits tested, those kits will be tested at their discretion,” said Kaul.
In Kansas, Representative John Carmichael mentioned that he thought the state had sufficiently addressed its backlog after receiving a federal grant in 2015. He expressed surprise that only a handful of cases resulted in victims being informed and suspects being caught. In his hometown of Wichita, only two individuals have been convicted.
“When it comes to following up on DNA matches, both in terms of investigation or the treatment of victims, there is still progress to be made,” he remarked.
Mary Stolz, the executive director of the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center, criticized the department’s choice not to notify certain survivors when suspects were identified through testing, labeling it a “violation of human rights” that could jeopardize survivors’ safety. Stolz expressed relief that the police are now willing to provide more notifications.
“I believe it’s the right approach,” she stated. “We should have implemented this earlier. Nevertheless, we will proceed with it now.”
Experts and advocates call for enhancements, not cancellation of the program
Stefan Turkheimer, who serves as the vice president of public policy at RAINN (the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), expressed hopes that comprehending the shortcomings of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative will pave the way for future improvements. He emphasized the need for the program to be expanded to hold more perpetrators accountable.
“To enhance these systems, we must understand their flaws and collaborate to improve them,” he stated.
Rockne Harmon, a retired prosecutor from California specializing in DNA cases, raised alarms about the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative soon after it began in 2015. He noted that officials were not monitoring the outcomes of DNA matches and that the initiative lacked sufficient resources for follow-up investigations and prosecutions of the assaults that yielded matches.
Since then, Harmon has watched with frustration as authorities nationwide have celebrated the testing of backlogged rape kits while providing scant information on the outcomes of DNA matches.
He acknowledged that the program has indeed aided in solving cases that might have otherwise remained unsolved.
“The pressing question,” he added, “is whether it could have solved even more.”
