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Wayne County Prosecutor’s office is processing the final Detroit rape kits discovered in 2009

Kym Worthy (file photo).
Sarah Cwiek
/
Michigan Radio
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy raised funds with the help of major donors and organizations to send each of the over 11,000 rape kits for testing.

The last of over 11,300 rape kits discovered in a Detroit police facility are currently being processed by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office.

614 kits remain, and they were shipped to Bode Cellmark Forensics and Sorenson Forensics labs for testing before they are reviewed by the Michigan State Police lab.

In 2009, one of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s assistants discovered more than 11,300 untested, backlogged rape kits in a Detroit Police storage facility. The vast majority of the kits belonged to women, and some of them had been sitting in storage for more than a decade. Worthy's office raised funds to send each kit for testing with the help of major donors and organizations such as the Michigan Women’s Foundation.

According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office, processing these kits have led to the identification of 818 serial sex offenders and the conviction of 130 rapists. 273 cases are currently under investigation.

Originally from New Jersey, Lara is a senior at the University of Michigan studying English and Spanish. She's an Online News and Investigative Intern at Michigan Radio and a recent alum of The Michigan Daily, where she's served as Managing Editor of The Statement Magazine and Summer Editor in Chief. When she's not at Michigan Radio, she can be found listening to Bruce Springsteen or exploring a national park.
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