North Carolina clears decades-old rape kit backlog, leading to more than 100 arrests

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has officially ended a decades-long backlog of untested rape kits. Attorney General Josh Stein, who’s running for governor, is credited with spearheading the effort that started seven years ago.

Stein’s office reported more than 16,000 kits sat untested on shelves in 2019. Thanks to state and federal funding, more than 11,000 kits that needed to be tested have been, resulting in more than 5,000 DNA CODIS data submissions and 114 arrests.

“It’s been an incredible partnership among law enforcement, prosecutors and victims' advocates,” Stein said.

CRIME LAB BACKLOG LEADS TO 8-MONTH DELAY ON RAPE KIT DNA ANALYSIS

In 2017, Stein came to cut the ribbon on the Western Crime Lab in Edneyville, which has processed nearly 3,500 kits in the past seven years.

The state’s bipartisan Survivor Act was part of the efforts and helped launch a kit tracker system and a requirement that officers quickly submit tests for timely turnarounds.

“It gets the evidence back into law enforcement’s hands to aid them in their investigations," Stein said.

LONG-AWAITED WESTERN CRIME LABORATORY IN HENDERSONVILLE OPENS MONDAY

In 2022, Asheville police arrested Manuel Bates after a delayed rape kit was finally processed. Bates was sentenced to seven to 13 years in prison and required to register as a sex offender for life.

In Henderson County, investigators cracked a 1995 case that involved a man charged with indecent liberties with a child and sexual offense by a substitute parent. The AG’s office said the case is still being adjudicated.