More Than 3,500 Rape Kits Left Untested In Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Thousands of rape kits in Maryland have not been tested, according to data provided by law enforcement agencies to state officials.
Citing figures obtained under the state Public Information Act, The Baltimore Sun reported that police in Maryland have left more than 3,500 of the kits untested.
Evidence in police crime labs around the state, including rape kits, are used to help identify attackers with the help of DNA.
"In the city of Baltimore alone we're about six months behind on the backlog. That means individuals with a pattern of preditory behavior are still walking the street," said Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby last year, in an interview with WJZ.
Of the 3,500 untested kits, most are in Montgomery County with over 1,100. The next highest are in Baltimore City with nearly 900.
"Some of the kits are not tested because of outdated and old fashioned policies that we need to address and improve," said Lisae Jordan, with Md. Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
DNA testing is time consuming and expensive, but many rape kits are not tested because they contain no name.
Under Maryland law a woman can be tested for rape and not give her name. Those rape kits are called Jane Doe cases.
"How testing a Jane Doe kit would do me any good as a prosecutor; I'd never be able to go to court. I don't have a victim," Baltimore Co. State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said.
The Baltimore County State's Attorney says testing is also unnecessary when victim and attacker know each other.
"When you have a case when the identity of the defendant is not an issue, that is the parties knew each other, then what is the point of testing a rape kit?" Shellenberger said
"I don't agree that we should not test rape kits just because we know who the assailant is because we've found in other states is that in some cases testing the kits finds the assailant raped someone else and we need to know that," Jordan said.
The attorney general's office is set to release a report on the numbers in December, along with its recommendation for handling untested kits.
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