Untested Rape Kits Lead to More Crimes

CBS News Investigative Unit Examines Real-Life Consequences When Evidence Backs Up at Crime Labs

(CBS)  This story was written by CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian and Investigative Producer Laura Strickler.

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A government report released Tuesday found that essential DNA evidence in rape cases is often never sent to crime labs for testing. But what our investigation also found is that even when police departments do send rape kits to crime labs, they can go untested for months -- even years -- while rapists go free.

A 24-year-old single mother from Enid, Okla. (who we will call "Cathy") told police she was raped in July by Kory Mitchell.

"I tried to crawl away and when I got to the door, he pushed me back down," Cathy said.

Justice Department Report
Human Rights Watch Report

"Cathy" knew Mitchell through her ex-boyfriend. What she didn't know was that Mitchell had been accused of rape over a year ago.

"I didn't know I couldn't trust him," she said.

Mitchell, who denies the charges, was not arrested for the first alleged rape because police were waiting for the lab results from the rape kit. It took 14 months for the results tying Mitchell to the crime to arrive. Finally, the results showed up on July 8, exactly one day after "Cathy" says Mitchell raped her. He has been charged with both rapes.

"I don't want him to do it to somebody else," Cathy said.

Rape in America, Justice Denied
Rape Kit Data, By the Numbers

Now, a five-month CBS News investigation of 24 cities and states has found more than 6,000 rape kits from active investigations waiting months, even years to be tested.

On average, six months in Rhode Island, Alabama and Illinois. It can take nearly a year in Missouri. Up to three years in Anchorage, Alaska. One state, Louisiana, has rape kits dating as far back as 2001 waiting to be tested.

"It's absolutely astounding," said Sarah Tofte, Research Director at Human Rights Watch. "What's the point of sending a rape kit to a crime lab for testing if you can't get to it for say, eight years?"

"It worries me that this is not a high enough priority in some parts of the country in law enforcement," said Sen. Patrick Leahy.

Sen. Patrick Leahy says it wasn't supposed to be this way. In 2003, he co-sponsored federal legislation allocating three-quarters of a billion dollars to clear the rape kit backlog. But still delays remain.

"If they don't catch the person on this rape, they are going to commit another one," Leahy said.

That's what David Lisak found. An expert on rape at the University of Massachusetts, he says research shows that 71 percent of rapists are repeat offenders.

"The number of assaults that they commit can be anywhere from, in non-stranger cases, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 3, 4, 5, 6 offenses at least per rapist," Lisak said.

Even with accused repeat offenders there are delays. Prosecutors had to wait 11 months for lab results before they could charge one man with three rapes in Missouri. And because of a backlog at the Louisiana crime lab, a sex offender was just charged with rape, from 2006. Both men deny the charges.

"We had a sense that there were perpetrators out there who were not being followed up on," said Steve Redding. He's a county attorney in Minneapolis, and started digging through old cases where the victim didn't know her attacker, and for one reason or another, the kits were never tested. He sent 35 kits to the lab. Patterns emerged. A case from 1998 matched DNA from a 2007 case.

"Do I think that the person has not committed any sexual assaults in between those nine years," Redding asked? "Not in my life as a prosecutor for 30 years.

In the end, Redding got DNA matches on eight of the 35 cases, charging all eight with rapes.

Further proof that justice can be found in these kits, if only they are tested, and tested in time.

Get Help
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Get Help from Rape Abuse Incest National Network
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Safe Horizon

Facts About Rape
Fact Sheet from RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network)
Date Rape Myths and Facts
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

[jskiles]

The "CSI" type programs, I'm sure, leave false impressions about DNA testing. I would like to know more about the reality of the problem.
1. How many test sites are there nationwide?
2. How long does each test take?
3. How much does each test cost?

[LittleMissr19]

I can't answer your first question, but last I heard, it cost about $1200 to test and each DNA test took about 2 weeks. This is no excuse for the back-up or a prosecutor's decision to just ignore a rape case. Ways can be found to test all these kits on time. It'll take criminals off the street and give victims some small sense of peace. More than worth it, don't you think?

This article is linked on Cheat Sheet News

[culturechang]

Ok, now this is something we can focus on as opposed to yesterday's article of: "RAPE: JUSTICE DENIED"

Now we have something we can investigate as to why the kits were not analyzed. There are probably a host of reasons. 1. Perhaps, a backup of samples waiting to be tested. 2. Incompetence at the police dept (failing to do thier jobs, losing samples, paperwork mix ups that confuse the samples with the names that introduces doubt, etc).

Democray1, be careful with your claim. You dont want to scare good peoople from the job of policeman and proseuctor for fear of prosecution for incompetence Often times, management screws up and then blames the staff.

However, it should be a crime to wrongfully frame someone of a crime they did not commit. That happens too. That is malicious and should be criminal.

[democracy1]

It should be a crime to not thoroughly investigate a crime.

[culturechang]

Democray1, be careful with your claim. You don?t want to scare good people from the job of policeman and prosecutor for fear of prosecution for incompetence Often times, management screws up and then blames the staff.

However, it should be a crime to wrongfully frame someone of a crime they did not commit. That happens too. That is malicious and should be criminal.

It is already a crime to perjure yourself in court.

[bradkt1]

This is what happenes when people believe politicians who tell you that Government can do more with less. It does not do more with less...Government does less with less. They need to hire more people to process these rape kits and develope the evidence so the perpetrators of these crimes can be prosecuted, convicted and put away for good so they won't strike again. The overworked people who are there on the job become burned out, disillusioned, jaded and all of a sudden they start to believe that what they are doing isn't important because they are not being supported. The inevitable result is that things fall through the cracks. I have seen this time and time again...but that's not what anyone wants to hear.

[culturechang]

Govt takes whatever they get and uses poor priorities with it.

For example, a local police dept crime scene investigator did a presentation at our office about a month ago. Besides telling us that her job is completely misrepresented by the TV show CSI, she said the materials they use for crime scene investigations are not even paid for by the city. Grants pay for it.

Meanwhile, the police waste resources chasing prostitutes and trolling Craigslist for the same.

[billpl-2009]

"....And because of a backlog at the Louisiana crime lab...."

pretty soon ALLLLL of medical services will be that way

thanks to Pelosi and gang

[Flachickasaw]

We don't need goverment interferance.....your neighborhood republican......can I get my bonus now?

[democracy1]

Sarah Palin supported having rape victims pay for their own rape kits to be tested, so please ****!

[bytheway59]

rape kits are not a medical service, you ninny. they are an essential component to a crime investigation, administered by my and your local police departments.

[NYC77]

I am a survivor as well but women aren't the only ones that get assaulted. Many men don't come forward. Rape is worse than murder because the survivor has to live with it for the rest of their lives. This has been going on since the beginning of time and it still seems like it isn't taken very seriously! It is accepted..Rapists and pedafiles are just as dangerous as serial killers...They never stop and they are very sick people who don't deserve to be in the population.

[NYC77]

I am a survivor as well but women aren't the only ones that get assaulted. Many men don't come forward. Rape is worse than murder because the survivor has to live with it for the rest of their lives. This has been going on since the beginning of time and it still seems like it isn't taken very seriously! It is accepted..Rapists and pedafiles are just as dangerous as serial killers...They never stop and they are very sick people who don't deserve to be in the population.

[kochiedk]

when a woman says "No" and a man forces himself on a woman that's rape plain and simple. No woman asks to be raped or beaten. It doesn't matter if alcohol is involved or not. The law enforcement agencies and prosecuting lawyers in these cases need to change their way of thinking. Get out of the cave man days!!! My question to the prosecutor is if a woman is home alone and someone breaks in and rapes her in her own home would that case be considered differently than if she was walking down the street and raped? It shouldn't be. Rape cases should be taken as seriously as a robbery, murder or mugging. In the case of the woman being raped in her own home or walking down the street or being at a party or a bar bottom line is if a woman says "no" and the man still forces himself on her it's still rape, no matter where she or what she's under the influence of or not under the influence of. NO is NO. and RAPE is RAPE. plain and simple. It's very traumatic being raped then having to go through the rape kit and talking to police officers telling the story over and over again. I'm a rape survivor and have also worked with rape victims. I know what it's like going through the process. Just remember every rape victim out there is someone's sister or daughter.

[democracy1]

The old "she asked for it" nonsense still exists.

[MikoRose]

Sounds to me like the men in charge of the country don't care to much about women.

[kochiedk]

I agree

[incog-nito]

Um... Alaska, a state that was run by the woman until recently, has just about the longest delay for the kits to be tested.

[skeezix06]

Yep. That's an indicator of how much they value women; which is to say not at all.

[democracy1]

Crimes against women (although this CAN be a crime against men as well) seem to be a fairly low priority here, it's true.

[culturechang]

That is nonsense. In the last 100 years, women have gotten the right to vote, equal rights to employment, rape shield laws, and the benefit of the doubt in divorce court. Make realistic claims instead of hysterical ones.

[MikoRose]

Sounds to me like the men in charge of the country don't care to much about women.

[cbsblogger]

Our country and politicians are more concerned with keeping the wealthy elite as elitists than keeping our nation righteous. The best thing for the USA would be a clean sweep of Washington and to sweep it out again until they get the message that their job should be improving the lot for 300 million Americans, not a few CEOs and Wall Street.

[outwestbutnotca]

If we can bail out Wall Street and Motor City to the tune of tens of Billions, it seems like we should be able to find a few million to clear up all of the rape kits, and stay current on them. Don't you think? How about we give up one fighter aircraft in lieu of funding every rape kit exam for the next twenty years? Based on the findings in New York, in twenty years we will only have to give up half and aircraft. Maybe twenty years later only the seat. That is progress!

[monumentalfigure]

Seems that you have your share of a burden, too. So sad.

In my country (Finland) sentences of rape and sexual abuse of children is often only probationary or maybe one or two years (of which the behind-bars-time is not more than a half) but we get those labtests anyhow done in proper time.

I often say that our country is shamefully a paradise to sexual offenders, with utmost secrecy about perpetrators personal identification. But seems that there are dark sides in other places too. Still, we hope to get public register of sexual offenders some day. The sooner the better.

[queenoftrauma]

I just wanted to thank you for putting this story in the spotlight. As a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) I take care of these victims. It is my job to collect these kits you spoke of & I can tell you it is very disheartening to know that the majority of these kits will never be processed! I see what these victims have gone through & I don't have the heart to tell them that what they see on TV is unfortunately not what happens in the real world. Thank you again for bringing it to the attention of the public, maybe it will bring about some changes!

[queenoftrauma]

I just wanted to thank you for putting this story in the spotlight. As a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) I take care of these victims. It is my job to collect these kits you spoke of & I can tell you it is very disheartening to know that the majority of these kits will never be processed! I see what these victims have gone through & I don't have the heart to tell them that what they see on TV is unfortunately not what happens in the real world. Thank you again for bringing it to the attention of the public, maybe it will bring about some changes!

[queenoftrauma]

I just wanted to thank you for putting this story in the spotlight. As a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) I take care of these victims. It is my job to collect these kits you spoke of & I can tell you it is very disheartening to know that the majority of these kits will never be processed! I see what these victims have gone through & I don't have the heart to tell them that what they see on TV is unfortunately not what happens in the real world. Thank you again for bringing it to the attention of the public, maybe it will bring about some changes!