Event to commemorate 10th anniversary of rape kit initiative
DETROIT (AP) — Wayne County prosecutors will be commemorating the 10th anniversary of a push to test thousands of sexual assault kits found in a Detroit police evidence warehouse.
Highlights of the initiative will be discussed Wednesday during an invitation-only event.
More than 11,000 rape kits were discovered in 2009 in a police evidence warehouse. Those kits contained DNA and other evidence from rape cases, but a majority of the 11,000 kits were never tested in a lab.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy pushed efforts to test the kits and prosecute old cases.
Through May 2018, 130 people had been convicted and 818 serial sex offenders were identified after authorities started investigating earlier batches of the kits.
Thousands of untested kits also have been found at other police departments across the nation.