Nearly 900 rape kits now being tracked in South Carolina
GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - After years of waiting, hundreds of sexual assault evidence kits have been logged into South Carolina’s new online tracking system, finally giving survivors the tools to follow updates about when forensic testing is done.
FOX Carolina Investigates started looking into the tracking system (SAKTS) last year after our reporting revealed it had still not been implemented a year after it was legally required to be up and running.
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The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division cited funding problems but would not sit down with us for an interview or allow us to tour their forensics lab. In December 2023, they started rolling out the SAKTS pilot program, a year and a half overdue.
The law also requires SLED to submit semiannual reports to lawmakers and the governor on how the SAKTS is being used.
At the start of our investigation last year, no rape kits in South Carolina were being uniformly tracked. Through dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests we confirmed more than 3,000 untested rape kits were in evidence storage across the state.
In the new semiannual report dated Aug. 1, SLED said 871 rape kits are currently being tracked. Of those, forensics testing has been requested for 655 kits and 141 have been completed.
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The data says 195 kits have been awaiting testing for more than six months; 104 kits have been waiting more than a year.
The report says the average time statewide for when a kit is received by the lab and when it is analyzed is 434 days. This number varies greatly by jurisdiction.
Twelve rape kits have been destroyed or removed from the statewide system, according to the report. It is not clear where these kits are from or why they may have been removed or destroyed.
Following FOX Carolina’s investigation into delays with the launch of the tracking system, a group of lawmakers requested an audit into why it took so long to implement. We are awaiting their findings.
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