GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul was in Green Bay Wednesday to discuss the importance of preventing another backlog of sexual assault kits.
In years past, untested rape kits piled up across the state.
“There were about 6,000 kits that were untested by the state,” explains Kaul.
But since then, a concerted effort has reversed that trend.
“The cases where there was no conviction and consent all of those have been tested,” he says.
That development hasn’t come without unintended consequences, though.
According to a recent report from the Department of Justice, the effort to test those kits has resulted in a new back log of about 350 other DNA cases in the state.
Additionally, the average delay for DNA testing has increased.
“So one of my priorities is to make sure our crime labs are working effectively,” says Kaul. “I’d like to see that turn around time under two months.”
State lawmakers have proposed new legislation to avoid another backlog.
Sexual assault victims would have the option to file a report with law enforcement under the bill.
The sexual assault kit will still be sent to the state’s crime lab and held for 10 years, even if they choose not to report.
“If the survivor does want to report it, law enforcement must pick up the kit within 72 hours of it being reported and submitted to the crime lab within 14 days,” says Kaul.
There are some Republican lawmakers who think the state should do more.
“The attorney general talked about a 10 year period that the kits would be kept. several other states have lengthened that timeline. I think that time should be extended to 20 years as well as notification to victims prior to the destruction of their kit,” explains Republican State Senator André Jacque.
There still needs to be a legislative hearing before the bill can be sent to Governor Tony Evers.
“The legislation has been referred to committees in the assembly and the senate, there is nothing scheduled but we hope to have something soon so it can be signed into law,” says Kaul.
