RALEIGH, N.C. — Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Tuesday that North Carolina has ended the backlog of untested older sexual assault kits.
“Today is a great day," Stein said at the press conference. "Today, North Carolina has ended the backlog of untested rape kits in North Carolina."
Stein has prioritized ending this backlog to get justice for survivors since 2017. A statewide inventory determined more than 16,000 untested kits sat on the shelves of local law enforcement agencies in 2019.
Under the Survivor Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2019, stakeholders determined 11,858 rape kits needed to be tested. As of April 2024, only 17 kits are left to be tested.
A total of 5,075 samples have been entered into CODIS, the national DNA database. Of that, 2,024 samples matched offenders who were already in the database. So far, 114 arrests have been made.
"I am incredibly proud of the bipartisan and collaborative effort that produced this achievement -- Republican and Democratic legislators, district attorneys, and law enforcement officers all played a critical role in ending the backlog. I also want to thank the scientists at the State Crime Lab who have worked countless hours to get these kits tested," Stein said.
“Every untested rape kit represents a survivor waiting for justice, some for decades,” Ilse Knecht, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Joyful Heart Foundation, said.
Emily Barnhardt is a sexual trauma resource counselor at SAFE Alliance in Charlotte. Inside her office, plush pillows sit on a couch and they provide comfort. Sexual assault survivors sit on their couch and work to find the next step.
"The concept of justice, it not always pursuing criminal charges," Barnhardt said.
The next step could be a rape kit.
"Which is invasive and can take several hours ... for it to be tested," Barnhardt said.
It's been a problem in North Carolina and Barnhardt said now with the backlog nearly eliminated, it sends a message to survivors.
"I hear you and I see you, I think we demonstrate that by testing the evidence that they have handed us in their most vulnerable moments," Barnhardt said. "We want to move forward with this.”
If you are a survivor of sexual assault and are looking for guidance or support, there is help out there. You can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE, which is available 24/7 and offers a range of free services.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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