News
Displaying News and Event Items: 11 - 20 of 789.
Aggressive effort to clear Dallas backlog of sexual assault cases continues
— Alicia Barrera, NBCDFW, Jan 23, 2024
"The Dallas Police Department and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office continue their aggressive efforts to clear old sexual assault cases.
“We owe it to our survivors, and it's incredibly important to us. So, that's why we really wanted to push to make sure that we are on track,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said."
Man Connected to Two Cold-Case Sexual Assaults Convicted Thanks to Dallas County Sex Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant Team
— Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, Jan 19, 2024
"A man whose DNA directly tied him to two Dallas County cold-case sexual assaults has been sentenced to 60 years in prison under the leadership of Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot.
Adrian Cortes was found guilty by a Dallas County jury after just 19 minutes of deliberation. They later sentenced the 61-year-old to 60 years in prison. At the time of trial, 28 years had passed since the initial assault. Despite the passage of time, both victim survivors testified at trial.
“Sometimes the system fails survivors of sexual assault. The mission of the SAKI project is to go back and right those wrongs. Every single woman in Dallas County deserves justice for the life-changing tragedy that was forced on them, whether it was perpetrated last night, last decade, or in this case, last century,” said lead prosecutor and member of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office SAKI Team Deborah Bankhead."
Advanced DNA technology solves nearly 20-year-old case
— Amanda Ruiz, news.yahoo.com, Jan 9, 2024
"A nearly two-decades-cold case in Mills County was solved by local law enforcement officials and new DNA technology.
Sheriff Pool says the Texas Rangers met with the office in 2021 and did a familial DNA search on the drop of blood. This was new technology made possible by the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, or SAKI, a federal grant for advanced DNA testing.
""They actually came back with a familial hit on it,"" he said."
Monongalia County Tackles Justice System Challenges with Two Key Hires
— BNN Correspondents, Jan 6, 2024
In a bid to tackle prevalent issues within the justice system, Monongalia County, West Virginia, has welcomed two significant additions to its prosecutor’s office. Larry Hasley and Samantha Elkins have been introduced, with roles aimed at mitigating the backlog of untested sexual assault kits and the surge in child abuse and neglect cases, respectively.
Ingham/Jackson Regional SAKI Unit Secures Jury Conviction of Lansing Man in 2012 Cold-Case Sexual Assault
— Michigan Department of Attorney General, Dec 6, 2023
“The work of our State’s SAKI units is indispensable in securing justice and peace of mind for assault survivors throughout the state, and putting behind bars often-serial offenders who have eluded the criminal justice system for years,” said Nessel. “I am grateful for the efforts of the Ingham/Jackson regional team and the Ingham County Prosecutor’s office on this case, and proud of the successes our SAKI units statewide accomplish in difficult cold-case prosecutions.”
PAVSA’s SMART program paving the way for future generations
— Nyah Adams, WDIO, Dec 4, 2023
Program to Aid Victims of Sexual Assault, or PAVSA, is a nonprofit rape crisis center that helps to aid victims, survivors and second hand survivors of sexual assault. They first opened their doors in 1975 when a small group of women were determined to combat the issue of sexual assault in the greater Duluth community.
DNA evidence leads to arrest of Smith County man in connection with two rapes in 2005
— Zak Wellerman, CBS 19, Dec 1, 2023
"DNA evidence has led to the arrest of a man accused of raping two women in Tyler nearly 20 years ago.
According to the Tyler Police Department, Jimmie Earl Gamble Jr, 40, of Smith County, was charged Wednesday on two counts of sexual assault. He remains in the Smith County Jail on bonds totaling $600,000.
The police department then thanked the Texas Rangers, the DPS lab, Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, CODIS Familial Search, the Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for their assistance in bringing this case to a conclusion."
Two new rape charges for Fayetteville man accused in series of sexual assaults
— Joe Jurney, CBS 17, Dec 1, 2023
"A Fayetteville man is facing two new charges of rape in a cold case from 2015.
Christopher James McMillan, 39, was arrested by the Fayetteville Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit on Thursday. He is also charged with first-degree sexual offense and first-degree kidnapping.
Utilizing funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s FY2015 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant, the victim’s sexual assault kit was outsourced to a private lab for forensic biology testing. Fayetteville police detectives investigated the case, but eventually, the case went unsolved due to a lack of investigative leads."
