About 3,300 sent to lab for analysis
Missouri officials say they have tried to clear the backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
In crimes of sexual assault or first-degree rape, physical evidence like a DNA test can mean the difference between a perpetrator escaping punishment or entering the criminal justice system. For that reason, testing a backlog of sexual assault kits for genetic material is a valuable procedure for positive or negative identification.
Given this legitimacy, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has announced law enforcement agencies across the state have cleared the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. So far, 3,298 untested, reported sexual assault kits have been sent to the lab for analysis.
The Attorney General’s Office awarded over 650 Missouri law enforcement agencies and hospitals a Community Partnership Award for their “vital assistance in completing the Phase II inventory of sexual assault kits within the SAFE Kit Initiative.”
“The success of the SAFE Kit Initiative depends on active participation from hospitals and law enforcement agencies willing to dedicate the time and effort to help us clear the backlog of untested sexual assault kits and achieve justice for victims,” said Schmitt. “We wanted to highlight the wonderful work these departments and medical facilities have done and thank them for their continued partnership with our office on this vital initiative.”
In Platte County, 11 law enforcement agencies and one medical facility received the Community Partner Award for their help with the Attorney General’s Safe Kits Initiative.
Awards acknowledging these entities were recently mailed to the following local recipients: Ferrelview Police Department, Northmoor Police Department, Parkville Police Department, Platte City Police Department, Platte County Sheriff’s Office, Platte Woods Police Department, Riverside Police Department, Saint Luke’s North Hospital, Tracy Police Department, Weatherby Lake Police Department, Weston Police Department, and Edgerton Police Department.
“The Community Partnership Award recognizes law enforcement and hospitals that have aided the attorney general’s office in working to inventory untested sexual assault kits, clear the backlog, and get kits tested,” said Madeline Sieren, deputy press secretary in a press release. “Phase III of the SAFE Kit Initiative will begin soon.”
Schmitt’s strategy of clearing the backlog began on Feb. 27, 2019, with the appointment of Judge M. Keithley Williams to spearhead the Safe Kit Initiative. The cost of this cumulative effort was funded in part by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s SAKI Program and a $2.6 million appropriation from the state legislature. These efforts have also emphasized the importance of data collecting, leading to the creation of a central repository for sexual assault kits and a kit-tracking website.
Locally, Platte City Police Chief Joe Wellington said: “Over the course of any sexual assault investigation, a SAFE examination is completed with the hope of obtaining physical evidence to be used to prosecute a suspect. In some instances, those kits are not analyzed. It could be due to the death of a suspect, a no prosecution decision by the victim, or some other situation where prosecution does not occur. The Safe Kits Initiative was developed to make sure that all safe kits were examined, which could, with today’s technology, identify patterns where traditional investigative techniques did not.”
“The Platte City Police Department had a very small number of untested kits which were released to the state for testing. Those kits have been returned and are being held in case the kits are determined to be tied to another case. The ever-evolving world of technology has led to many cold cases being solved. Anything and everything we can do to bring closure to those cases will be a priority of this department,” he said.
Based on the results of the 3,298 sexual assault kits, 500 had a strong enough DNA profile, deeming them eligible for Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) upload.
“Of the 500 that were deemed eligible for CODIS upload, there have been 201 CODIS ‘hits,’ amounting to a roughly 40% hit rate,” states a press release from the attorney general’s office.
Despite these successes, 353 kits were deemed eligible for data collection because either the DNA profiles were linked with the victim or the DNA profile was inconclusive. Another 459 were deemed negative, indicating that no DNA was found.
“CODIS is the FBI’s database for DNA profiles of criminal offenders. When DNA profiles are uploaded to CODIS, the system tracks for “hits,” looking to see if that DNA profile matches that of a previous offender that’s already been uploaded into the system,” states the press release.
As a result of CODIS hits, three alleged wrongdoers are now facing charges of either sexual assault, rape or attempted rape in the first degree. Among those facing charges is a 41-year-old Holden man who is scheduled to appear in court on June 30.
Another case involves a Columbia resident who was previously charged in Warrensburg with statutory rape and sodomy. The 32-year-old has also been charged in Boone County.
Charges were also brought against a St. Joseph man for the alleged rape of an 18-year-old. The perpetrator was arrested in February by the St. Joseph Police Department.