Here's what we know about the Charlotte region's position on kit testing.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Attorney General Josh Stein announced Tuesday that North Carolina has ended its backlog of old, untested sexual assault kits.
Since 2017, Mr. Stein has prioritized closing this backlog to bring justice to survivors. A statewide inventory study found more than 16,000 untested kits were sitting on shelves at local law enforcement agencies in 2019.
In light of Tuesday's announcement, WCNC Charlotte wanted to see how testing data stands at a local level. Specifically, we are looking at the number of rape kits submitted and tested in Mecklenburg County.
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This link will take you to the North Carolina Department of Justice's Sexual Assault Kit Tracking Dashboard. This is live and updated regularly as sexual assault kits are submitted or tested. The dashboard shows a county-by-county breakdown and shares the number of kits that require DNA testing, don't require DNA testing, are anonymous, or have no decisions made yet.
Data for Mecklenburg County as of April 9, 2024 is as follows:
- 454 kits requiring DNA testing have been submitted.
- Of these, 449 kits were tested
The data shows 137 test results were registered in the Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS. There have been 40 matches from these kits and so far he has made three arrests.
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According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), victims of sexual assault should always request a rape kit. This is because these kits can preserve evidence that increases the likelihood of prosecution.
Victims can also request a rape kit without first reporting the crime. Lane said the kit will ensure evidence is collected in case the victim later decides to file a police report.
Contact Megan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook. X And Instagram.
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