News

Mobile County DA gets first conviction in Sexual Assault Kit Initiative
— Lindsay Bullard, NBC 15, Feb 12, 2020

A jury found a man guilty Wednesday of the 1997 rape and sodomy of a Mobile County woman.This is the Mobile County District Attorney's Office's first conviction in a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative case, according to a tweet from the D.A.'s official page.

AG SCHMITT, JOPLIN PD SEND SECOND BATCH OF UNTESTED SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS TO LAB
— Parker Padgett, KTTS 94.7, Feb 11, 2020

Missouri Attorney General's office sends second batch of previously untested SAKs off to private laboratory for testing.

Man Found Guilty of Sexual Assault of a Child After Backlogged Kit Tested
— Wisconsin Department of Justice, Feb 4, 2020

Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that Rock County Judge Karl R. Hanson accepted Jason A. Smith’s Guilty by No Contest plea for two counts of Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child that occurred in July of 2000. The victim’s sexual assault kit was tested as part of the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) in 2018. This is the fourth conviction to result from the testing of backlogged sexual assault kits in Wisconsin.

Police charge man in 2015 sex assault on Durham trail, investigate recent assault on second trail
— Sarah Krueger, WRAL, Jan 31, 2020

Police said Thursday that they have made an arrest in a sexual assault more than four years ago in the Ellerbe Creek Trail in Durham.

Upcoming Solicitations from the Bureau of Justice Assistance
— Bureau of Justice Assistance, Jan 30, 2020

Dr. Angela Williamson, Supervisor of National Initiatives, FBI/ViCAP Liaison, presented on criminal justice-based programs that will soon be requesting proposals. The Forensics-related programs include the following: The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, The Strategies for Policing Innovation Program, and The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative. The presentation discussing these solicitations can be found here. The Investigations-related programs include the following: The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, Public Safety Partnership, The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative, and Multidisciplinary Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking. The presentation discussing these solicitations can be found here.

New system lets survivors track rape kits
— SHIRA SCHOENBERG, CommonWealth, Jan 29, 2020

Massachusetts is rolling out a new system that will allow survivors of sexual assault to track online the processing of evidence collected from them at hospitals following an assault.

Attorney general gives update on Missouri’s untested rape kit process
— Fourstateshomepage.com, Jan 25, 2020

Earlier this week, Missouri’s attorney general announced testing is now underway on a backlog of thousands of untested sexual assault kits.

DNA match leads to arrest of Fayetteville man in 1989 rape of underage girl
— Akilah Davis , ABC 11 Eyewitness News, Jan 24, 2020

A rape test kit that sat for decades has helped police make an arrest in the rape of a minor that happened more than 30 years ago.

Georgia Uses DNA Sample and Genealogy to Solve 1999 Rapes
— The New York Times, Jan 12, 2020

Genetic Genealogy used to solve 3 cold case sexual assaults from 1999 in Georgia.

A serial killing suspect is returned to Dallas after nearly 17 years on the run
— Faith Karimi, CNN, Jan 10, 2020

A serial killing suspect charged in the deaths of three women has been arrested and returned to Dallas after nearly 17 years on the run.