Rape Kit Testing Backlog Thwarts Justice for Victims

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2010— -- When Valerie Neumann woke up dazed and physically bruised the morning after her 21st birthday, the awful reality began to sink in that she had been raped. Neumann then made the difficult decision many sexual assault victims make -- to submit to the ordeal of a rape kit at her local hospital.

Testifying before a House panel today, Neumann described how for six hours, a specially trained nurse fleeced her body, pulling hairs, swabbing her thighs and vagina, and taking pictures of bruises and scratch marks on her back. The nurse placed the evidence in a series of sterile envelopes and sent the kit to law enforcement for DNA testing.

"Although I just wanted to pretend nothing happened, I knew what I needed to do," Neumann told the House panel. "It was very hard to go through. My only consolation was that this exam could be used to put my rapist behind bars."

But three years, five months and four days later, Neumann's kit remains untouched and her rapist uncharged after prosecutors told her they didn't have the funds or enough of a legal case to justify having her rape kit tested.

"I used to believe in our justice system," Neumann said. "But after my experience … I can honestly say that if I were raped again, I don't know that I would choose to go to the hospital and be put through a rape kit again."

Today, advocates for sexual assault victims called Neumann's testimony alarming and indicative of fallout from the broader national rape kit testing backlog. They pressed federal lawmakers to enact legislation to help fix the problem.

Neumann's untested rape kit is one of an estimated 180,000 kits completed each year whose potential evidence, which could validate a woman's claims, identify an attacker or exonerate a suspect, loiters on shelves and in warehouses.

"I get a lot of fan mail that says I wish the detective who handled my case was like you," said actress Mariska Hargitay, whose character on "Law & Order" takes on horrific sex crimes.

Hargitay, who has become an advocate for victims of domestic violence and also testified today, said she's received thousands of letters from rape victims about how isolated they feel after completed rape kits and police reports appear to fall on deaf ears.

"Yes, sexual assault is difficult to talk about. … But lives are ruined because of it. If New York City can do what it's done -- get rid of a backlog -- then we can do it elsewhere," said Hargitay.