More than 60 people have been arrested following a massive sexual assault kit testing initiative in Nevada.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced Thursday that the state has completed testing on all sexual assault kits from before 2016. According to the report, more than 7,800 kits were tested. Officials say there were more than one 1,000 DNA matches, leading to 64 arrests.
"To our survivors, I say this. This is your moment and I commend you for your strength and your courage. What happened to you does not define you, and we as a community are committed to your recovery."
Ford's office says since 2015, the state has allocated more than $15 million towards preventing sexual assault and prosecuting offenders.
In 2017, the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 97, which mandated that the attorney general help establish a statewide program to track sexual assault kits and report its progress. In June 2019, the tracking system went live through Nevada’s Department of Public Safety. Now, survivors of sexual assault can track dates and milestones from the time that they report a sexual assault, to the retrieval of the kit by law enforcement, the testing of the kit, availability of test results, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) entry/hits, law enforcement investigation review and results, and prosecution review and results.
To learn more about Nevada’s sexual assault kit backlog and resources available to survivors, go to endnevadasbacklog.ag.nv.gov
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