Justice for sexual assault victims: NC ends untested rape kit backlog

Justice for sexual assault victims in North Carolina is now one step closer. For the first time in decades, the backlog of untested rape kits has been cleared.

More than 16,000 untested kits sat on the shelves of local law enforcement agencies in 2019. On Tuesday, the final 17 kits were tested

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the state crime lab didn't have enough scientists to test every rape kit. They told local law enforcement not to even send them in unless they had a suspect. Thousands of untested kits were left sitting on shelves - and thousands of victims waiting for justice.

Their day is finally here.

“Every untested rape kit represents a survivor waiting for justice, some for decades,” said Ilse Knecht, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Joyful Heart Foundation, at a press conference.

Also at that press conference was Miss Linda – a sexual assault survivor who was attacked by three men in Fayetteville in 1992. It took the state 26 years to identify them.

The testing of her rape kit in 2018 yielded a DNA hit on a man who was already in jail. He'll now serve a longer sentence.

Over the past few years, the state crime lab has tested almost 12,000 rape kits that were collecting dust at local law enforcement offices. Attorney General Josh Stein says they found 2,700 DNA matches with offenders who were in the database for other crimes.

"Testing these older kits has led to at least 114 arrests so far," he said. "We know that these arrests are connected to many more cases than the ones that were submitted, because so many offenders are serial rapists."

Miss Linda, who asked WRAL News not to use her last name, helped to lobby state lawmakers for the extra $18 million dollars needed to process those tests, even though it meant speaking about her own trauma.

She said it's about time the backlog was finally cleared.

"It took a long time," she said. "But sometimes you have to learn from your mistakes how to make it better. And that’s what we’ve done in North Carolina."

The state has made changes to make sure a backlog like this never happens again, including putting tracking numbers on rape kits so victims can see where they are in the process.

"By eliminating one of the biggest backlogs we’ve seen in a single state, North Carolina has helped clear a path for survivors towards healing and justice. We hope that more states will follow North Carolina’s lead and take meaningful steps to ensure that every survivor has the chance to seek justice – whatever form that may take," said Knecht.

Stein says he intends to continue doing everything in his power to help law enforcement solve cold cases.

"And get rapists off the streets and behind bars," said Stein.