Waterloo Times

The Iowa Attorney General's office recently announced the conclusion of a six-year investigation into incidents involving untested sexual assault evidence kits in the state.

The investigation, called the Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, resulted in the testing of 1,606 kits and the modification of several procedures.

"The Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Initiative project was created in April 2015 to address the issue of untested sexual assault kits" according to a release from the Iowa Attorney General's office. "The project was supported by two grants awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance in 2015 and 2016, totaling $3 million. The grant period ended in fall 2021."

The initiative resulted in four criminal charges and two convictions, one of which included two minors; several cases had remained unsolved for more than a decade, according to Western Iowa Today.

Additionally, the number of kits submitted to the Divisions of Criminal Investigation laboratory for testing increased by an average of 87% throughout the course of the project.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety anticipates that this trend will continue, due largely to the project's effectiveness.

Survivors may contact the Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Information Line at 1-800-770-1650 to find out whether their kit was submitted or to find out the status of their case.