One million dollars will be allocated to the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force of Wayne County which intends to solve the 11,000 back logged rape cases found in a Detroit police storage facility last 2009.
The budget will come from the country's Delinquent Tax Revolving fund with pending approval from the Wayne County Commission. According to Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans, the county received more than the expected fund so allocating the excess to other projects is possible. Evans, together with Prosecutor Kym Worthy said that though the country is facing a major crisis this year, untouched rape cases cannot be disregarded.
"These were funds that were going to be put toward the deficit, but like I said earlier, the deficit isn't the only problem we have," said Evans. "The deficit isn't going to protect or save the lives of the women who have been assaulted," he added.
"How can anyone ignore this issue?" Worthy said in an interview. "I have to say there have been 15 to 17 other cities, major cities, major jurisdictions, urban areas across this country that have discovered this issue. Some are doing things; many are doing great, great things. Some are not.
"I don't know how anyone can turn their back on the multitudes of women - mostly women, we have some men and children, as well - but mostly women who have suffered a severe, most intimate sexual assault. I don't think you're human if you do that."
The funds will be allocated to investigators who are specially assigned to find and bring to court offenders through the tested rape kits. In addition, Evans will also grant 5,000 feet of space in the Guardian Building to serve as quarters for investigators, prosecutors, and other task force members.
So far, 10,000 of the unopened rape kits had been tested and 2,616 match CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System. Among those matches, 549 were alleged serial rapists.
"This is a monumental day," said Worthy. "It's a day I never thought would come. These are dangerous people. Some of these individuals have as many as 15 CODIS hits. ... This is going to make a significant difference. These kits go back over 35 years, and one of the first things I said is we're going to try to bring justice to as many of the victims as possible."
Worthy spearheaded a campaign to test all unopened kits and to this day, 1,000 more has yet to be tested.
