WUNRN
USA – NEW YORK CITY
INITIATIVE IS A MODEL TO HELP OTHER CITIES CLEAR RAPE-KIT BACKLOGS
By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG - November. 12,
2014
In 2000, New York had 17,000
untested rape kits, a years-long accumulation of potential evidence in some of
the city’s most violent crimes. Over the next four years, in a push to clear
the backlog, the city had the kits tested. The result was 49 indictments connected
to unsolved cases in Manhattan alone.
Seeing these efforts as a model for
jurisdictions around the country to replicate, Cyrus
R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, announced a program
under which $35 million in civil forfeiture assets will be used to help other
cities and states tackle their own backlogs, which, nationally, total in the
hundreds of thousands.
In an interview, Mr. Vance said the
effort was likely to have an impact far beyond the communities that receive the
aid.
“Rape kits that are untested are not
just going to solve crimes in the jurisdictions where they are, but because
some of these people are serial offenders, this could lead to solutions of
crimes all over the country,” he said.
A rape kit is the collection of
physical evidence gathered when a sexual assault victim is examined. Such kits
are tested for DNA evidence that may identify, or rule out, suspects.
The initiative announced by Mr.
Vance is intended to assist cities like Memphis, which has a backlog of 11,000
untested rape kits, and Las Vegas, which estimates its backlog at 4,000.
The program is to be run with the
assistance of the Joyful Heart Foundation, a victims’ advocacy organization
that for the last several years has made clearing rape-kit backlogs a priority.
Joining Mr. Vance at the
announcement was Mariska Hargitay, a star of “Law and Order: SVU,” a show that,
in its depiction of a fictional Manhattan district attorney’s office, has
become synonymous for many with the real district attorney’s office and,
specifically, its sex crimes unit.
Ms. Hargitay is the president of the
foundation. In her remarks, she said the rape-kit initiative showed victims of
sexual assault that “the power of the law is on their side.”
Also in attendance was Mr. Vance’s
counterpart from Detroit, the Wayne County prosecutor, Kym L. Worthy. In 2009,
Ms. Worthy found 11,341 untested rape kits while touring an abandoned
warehouse. After testing 2,000 of the kits, her office turned up 473 matches
related to unsolved crimes in 23 states.
Ms. Worthy said that a combination
of public and private financing had helped the authorities in Wayne County
significantly reduce their backlog, but that 2,400 kits were still untested.
She said the county would apply for some of the money being made available by
Mr. Vance’s office.
Ms. Worthy said she had seen a shift
in public attitudes about the issue of untested kits. “The more people read
about it and know about it, the more people ask me about how they can help,”
she said.
Mr. Vance said, “It’s unacceptable,
that when victims have undergone this rigorous process to have those kits just
sit on a shelf.”
Natasha Alexenko, a New York
resident who was robbed and sexually assaulted in 1993 and now acts as an
advocate for rape survivors, also spoke at the announcement.
Ms. Alexenko said her rape kit was
not processed until the early 2000s. In 2007, she said, the man who raped her
but who had not yet been linked to the attack was arrested for jaywalking in
Las Vegas. She said he then assaulted a police officer, and a DNA sample was
taken and uploaded to Codis, a national database.
His genetic profile matched evidence
collected as part of Ms. Alexenko’s rape kit. That, she said, gave her immense
relief and a sense of justice. The man was ultimately convicted.
Linda Fairstein, a former sex crimes
prosecutor in Manhattan and Joyful Heart Foundation trustee, said she thought
the initiative was a “brilliant idea.”
“To have the voice of law
enforcement, combined with victims’ advocacy groups, is a powerful and unique
opportunity to make sure every jurisdiction across the country is aware of how
important this is,” Ms. Fairstein said.
Another crucial aspect of the
effort, she said, was its potential to exonerate people who have been
wrongfully convicted.
The money that Mr. Vance has
committed is to come from a settlement with the French back BNP Paribas. That
settlement required the bank to pay a total of $8.83 billion to various
entities in the United States for violating financial sanctions, with $448.7
million going to the district attorney’s office and $447 million going to New
York City.
Before distributing money elsewhere
the district attorney’s office and the Joyful Heart Foundation will confirm
that no jurisdictions in New York State are facing rape-kit backlogs. They will
then conduct a nationwide survey to determine how many untested rape kits there
are and where they are languishing. The Justice Department estimated there were
200,000 untested rape kits around the country in 2011.
The district attorney’s office will
then invite local law enforcement agencies around the country to apply for
funding. Processing each rape kit costs $500 to $1,000.
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