Relationships March 27, 2017
More than 500 untested Detroit rape kits have accumulated since 2009, when over 11,000 unprocessed evidence packages were first discovered.
The discovery is particularly frustrating because information from such kits could have prevented at least one sexual assault in 2011. Of course, that’s only if the Detroit police had been able to fix the process of testing rape kits after the first egregious backlog – which they unfortunately did not.
Because of the mishandling of the rape kits, a man whose DNA was collected back in a 2010 rape kit wasn’t arrested until nearly seven years later, after he’d allegedly attacked another victim.
Back in 2009 an eye-popping 11,341 untested rape kits were discovered in a Detroit police warehouse. You’d think the fury and embarrassment from such unbelievable negligence would have guilted the force into getting its shit together. But that was just not the case.
Then in 2014 a state law was even enacted that was supposed to require police to send rape kits for testing within 14 days of receiving them. Yet Detroit still couldn’t get it together, resulting in the recent discovery of another 500+ untested rape kits.
Anthony Thornton, a suspected serial rapist, was arrested this past January for a rape that occurred in 2010 and a kidnapping and rape in 2011. Had the 2010 kit actually been tested in a timely manner, the second offense could have been avoided.
Untested Detroit rape kits are not the only issue. There is a national backlog problem. Image via Instagram @thejhf (Post-2014 information)
But it’s much more than one less offense, isn’t it? Had police followed protocol and arrested this man earlier one woman’s life would not have been entirely changed for the worst. She’ll likely deal with the trauma of that kidnapping and assault for the rest of her life… because someone else just couldn’t get organized.
Looking at a situation like this, it’s no wonder women are afraid to report cases of rape and sexual assault. Victim blaming has rape survivors judged and often told that what happened was their own fault, and if the case involves adolescents, many often assume they’re just lying to avoid getting into trouble. A 2015 report even showed that police said people who were assaulted by friends and acquaintances were responsible for “choosing to associate with the perpetrator.”
And now this backlog seems to show that police really just don’t care about sex crimes. The Detroit Police Media Relations Director Michael Woody said no one would be punished for the out of control backlog, claiming it wasn’t any particular person’s fault, but “a result of many different factors.” He did not specify what those factors were.
Finally testing those pre-2009 kits resulted in 78 convictions. Imagine the lives that could have been changed had they actually tested the kits in a timely manner.
But, if that weren’t disappointing enough, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy believes that the backlog isn’t an isolated incident for Detroit. She called it a “national issue,” estimating a total backlog of around 400,000. And, you know, probably the freedom of thousands of rapists who, like Thornton, will be able to continue committing crimes.
A silver lining can be found in organizations like End the Backlog, which is a part of the Joyful Heart foundation started by “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay. It strives to shine a light on the United States rape kit backlog and help to end the injustice.
