(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- In an effort to keep the public up-to-date on the progress of the Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative, Attorney General Mike DeWine released the following status update today:
As of August 1, 2013:
- Forensic scientists with the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) have received 3,286 previously untested rape kits from 100 law enforcement agencies.
- BCI has completed DNA testing on 1,331 of those rape kits.
- The DNA testing has led to 387 hits in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
“I made a commitment to testing these rape kits at no charge to law enforcement,” said Attorney General DeWine. “The results we are seeing are incredible. The information from the kits helps law enforcement solve old cases and, most importantly, bring justice to victims of sexual assault.”
Attorney General DeWine announced plans for the SAK testing project in December 2011 and requested that Ohio law enforcement agencies submit all of their previously untested rape kits to BCI, unless police previously determined that a crime did not occur. To prevent delays in analyzing active cases, four additional scientists were added.
Law enforcement agencies are submitting additional kits to BCI on a regular basis, and information on each CODIS hit is returned to the original jurisdiction for further investigation and possible arrest. Because many of the submitted kits are nearly 20 years old, BCI is testing the oldest kits first in an effort to return the results to law enforcement at least one year before expiration of the 20-year statute of limitations for rape.
Collectively processing more than 100,000 pieces of evidence a year, BCI’s Laboratory Division employs the highest standards of care and most advanced forensic testing technologies to provide Ohio law enforcement with accurate, timely analysis of evidence.
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Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840