Durham Police arrest 11 suspects in sexual assault cold cases
In a virtual news conference on Tuesday morning, Durham Police announced the arrest of 11 suspects tied to 15 sexual assault cases dating back to 1984.
Posted — Updated"Several offenders who have committed some of the most egregious crimes for the past decade are now behind bars," said Police Chief C.J. Davis.
Davis credits the Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit for the arrests.
The unit, made possible by a $1 million federal grant, is aimed at giving departments more resources to help clear the statewide backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry is pledging to prosecute these cases.
"I hope this gives survivors in our community hope, confidence that they will see accountability and justice," Deberry said.
Police say some of the men charged are serial offenders. One has been linked to eight different cases from 2003 to 2017.
In 2017, Attorney General Josh Stein said his office calculated there were 15,000 untested sexual assault kits statewide.
Police say that, rather than focusing on disappointment that the backlog happened in the first place, they are focused on getting justice for survivors.
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