Memphis police: Backlogged rape kits tested, suspects ID'd

Source: Associated Press

Memphis police: Backlogged rape kits tested, suspects ID'd
By ADRIAN SAINZ, Associated Press | March 9, 2015 | Updated: March 9, 2015 10:23pm

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Testing of thousands of rape evidence kits that sat ignored for years in Memphis has resulted in the identification of 16 people suspected of raping multiple victims, an investigator said Monday.

Memphis, Houston, Cleveland and Detroit are among the U.S. cities working to reduce a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, with hopes that evidence collected from the kits could lead to prosecution of more sexual assault cases. Rape victims have sued the city of Memphis, alleging that the failure to test some 12,000 kits has allowed too many rapists to escape prosecution.

In Memphis, the backlog dates back to the 1970s, officials say. After the backlog was revealed in late 2013, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. formed a task force charged with eliminating it. Police began using test results to start investigations into finding victims and suspects.

A report issued by former U.S. Attorney Veronica Coleman-Davis in June 2014 said no one maliciously or wantonly allowed the kits to remain untested in Memphis. Instead, the report attributed the problem "to a general and collective failure to understand the importance of DNA testing as was reflected in common practices in place locally and nationwide."




Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Memphis-police-Backlogged-rape-kits-tested-6124629.php