(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 DeWine released the following status update today:
As of June 1, 2014:
- Authorities with 137 Ohio law enforcement agencies have submitted 7,624 previously untested rape kits for testing by forensic scientists with the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
- BCI has completed DNA testing on 3,807 of those rape kits.
- The DNA testing has led to 1,302 hits in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
"We are very pleased with the rate at which we have been able to test these kits, and we are dedicated to keep testing until each and every kit has been examined for DNA," said Attorney General DeWine. "Many cases have been solved due to this initiative, and we are confidant that many more attackers will be identified as the testing continues."
Attorney General DeWine launched the SAK Testing Initiative to offer free DNA testing to any law enforcement agency with untested rape kits in which a crime was believed to have been committed. Many of the kits submitted as part of the initiative are between one and two decades old.
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Media Contacts:
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840