In 2009, more than 11,000 untested sexual assault kits were found in an abandoned Detroit police storage facility. Since then, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has been working with the Michigan State Police to get the kits tested. As of this printing, about 1,600 of those kits have been tested, more than 87 serial rapists have been identified and 14 have been prosecuted.
Sadly, more than 9,000 kits have yet to be tested. To make our mothers, daughters, sisters and others who have endured the trauma of a sexual assault wait in uncertainty for justice is unacceptable and unconscionable.
Recently, I joined Worthy and Law and Order SVU star Mariska Hargitay to announce a legislative initiative aimed at setting guidelines and deadlines for rape kits to be processed and tested in Michigan. I vow to work with the prosecutor to get this legislation passed and make sure justice is brought to Detroit.