Baltimore County leaders announce new effort to expedite sexual assault investigations

BALTIMORE  -- Baltimore County leaders have announced a new effort to expedite the testing of cold case forensic evidence in sexual assault cases.

Back in September, WJZ's Cristina Mendez took a tour at GBMC to learn more about Dr. Rudy Breitenecker - an emergency room physician at GBMC, who during the seventies, began collecting DNA evidence from sexual assault survivors.

At the time, DNA profiling did not exist. 

Breitenecker preserved the evidence for more than 2000 sexual assaults on microscope slides.  Now, about 1400 survivors have a chance for closure and justice.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski announced the creation of a Sexual Assault Investigations Task Force, and a Cold Case Investigation Squad within the Baltimore County Police Department's Special Victims unit.  

"We've had too many sexual assault victims and survivors have justice delayed for far too long," Olszewski said.

Olszewski said the task force will give BCPD a greater ability to process and store forensic evidence. 

BCPD Police Chief Robert McCullough echoed the new commitment to expedite testing of the forensic evidence preserved by Breitenecker and GBMC.  

"We hope today's announcement helps restore confidence in the commitment of the Baltimore County Police Department seeking justice on behalf of victims of sexual assault. We deliver on that commitment every day by identifying those responsible, and holding them accountable," BCPD Police Chief Robert McCullough said. 

With $2 million dollars in funding and the passage of a new state law - which mandates evidence from sexual assault exams be stored for 75 years - Baltimore County plans to complete testing of all remaining GBMC slide cases by the end of 2024.  

So far, 500 slides have been transported from GBMC to Baltimore County police in the past month and testing of those slides is underway.