Hundreds of rape kits going back 30 years finally tested in California county

A 30-year backlog of untested rape kits has been cleared in Orange County, leading to charges in at least six cold cases, California authorities reported.

A review of 6,480 sexual assault kits held in evidence for up to 30 years found 3,791 that had never been tested, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Investigators found 1,705 of those kits were eligible to be tested, resulting in hundreds of new DNA samples being added to criminal databases, the release said. Kits deemed most likely to lead to a criminal case were tested first.

“Every one of these untested sexual assault kits represents a victim who deserves justice,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release.

Criminal charges were filed in six cold cases as a result, including a 28-year-old case in which a man posing as a police officer raped a woman in Stanton. He was convicted of the attack in February 2021 and sentenced to 24 years to life in prison.

A $1.86 million grant from the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative helped fund the multi-year effort to clear the backlog, the release said. An additional $328,305 grant from the California Department of Justice helped pay for testing the remaining rape kits.

This story was originally published June 29, 2022 at 11:44 AM with the headline "Hundreds of rape kits going back 30 years finally tested in California county."