Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) GranteeWest Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services

The West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services (WVDJCS) received $1.17 million in funding in FY2015 to create a coordinated community response to reduce the number of unsubmitted sexual assault kits (SAKs). With a supplemental $1-million award in FY2016, a state-level initiative helped form a multidisciplinary team to conduct an inventory of unsubmitted SAKs, assign designated personnel to pursue new leads, develop policies and protocols to provide trauma-informed victim notifications, and prosecute cases. West Virginia also created a new electronic data exchange to enable tracking SAKs through the criminal justice system.

In FY2018, WVDJCS received an additional $1-million SAKI grant to pursue the collection of lawfully owed DNA. The funding will go toward developing procedures to ensure consistency in collecting DNA samples from offenders (including offenders at correctional facilities) and also training personnel to ensure DNA collection procedures align with legal and laboratory standards. WVDJCS also received $996,678 in funding in FY2018 to allow for completion of testing previously unsubmitted SAKs across the state, continue cold case sexual assault investigations, and support entry of all criteria cases into the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP).

In FY2020, WVDJCS received an additional $252,860 in SAKI funding to continue work from previous SAKI funding years; this work includes submitting any remaining SAKs for DNA testing and subsequent upload into the Combined DNA Index System. The funding will also be utilized to support Marshall University's testing of secondary evidence for rural law enforcement agencies.

SAKI initially funded WVDJCS in FY2015; since that time, WVDJCS has used their funding to achieve several goals and milestones—including the following:

• Completed a massive statewide inventory in 2018 of the unsubmitted SAKs in the possession of West Virginia's almost 600 law enforcement jurisdictions in 55 counties across the state. In 2021, the last of the SAKs were tested and DNA results were uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). To date, project results are as follows: 2,460 kits identified, inventoried, and tested; 961 DNA profiles identified and entered into CODIS; 355 database hits; and 27 states had hits (i.e., matches) to profiles associated with the initiative.
• Established a state-level law enforcement working group to continue the progression of having a multidisciplinary process for sexual assault investigations
• Worked with multidisciplinary partners to complete outreach activities across the state; these activities helped promote victim-centered policies and train local agencies in cold case sexual assault response. Training included in-person sessions, webinars, resource packets, and direct engagement.
• Supported by SAKI, the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services has hosted annual statewide meetings and provided assistance to rural areas in the state to bring local agencies together to build relationships, promote multidisciplinary practices, and to enhance peer connections.
• Worked with West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Criminal Investigations Bureau to improve evidence tracking, lawfully owed DNA collection, and digital ViCAP entry processes.
• The Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights was established in WV per Senate Bill 72 in the 2019 legislative session, allowing victims the right to have their SAKs tested and the right to know the results of that testing (through appropriate channels).
• On February 18, 2020, House Bill 4476 was signed into law—establishing direct submission of SAKs from the medical facility where collection occurred to the WV State Police Forensic Laboratory for testing. This law will expedite the testing process and eliminate unnecessary transportation of SAKs from the hospital, to law enforcement to the laboratory. The new law will also ensure that the laboratory receives all eligible SAKs for testing.
• Implemented an expanded SAK tracking system, allowing victims to track the status of their SAKs from collection to disposition with law enforcement (or the appropriate entity).

Find more information and resources from the West Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services.

For more information on the specific SAKI awards for this site, see the table below.

West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services Funding

Year	Amount	Purpose Area
FY2015	$1,170,800	Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits
FY2016 - supplemental award	$1,000,000	Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits
FY2018	$996,678	Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits
FY2018	$1,000,000	Expansion of DNA Databases to Assist with Sexual Assault Investigations and Prosecutions: Collection of Lawfully Owed DNA from Convicted Offenders and Arrestee DNA Collections
FY2020	$252,860	Comprehensive Approach to Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits

Please direct all media inquiries to:

Lawrence Messina
Lawrence.C.Messina@wv.gov
304-558-2930

To learn more about WVDJCS's progress, read the following news and events.

News and Events

Monongalia County Tackles Justice System Challenges with Two Key Hires
— BNN Correspondents, Jan 6, 2024
In a bid to tackle prevalent issues within the justice system, Monongalia County, West Virginia, has welcomed two significant additions to its prosecutor’s office. Larry Hasley and Samantha Elkins have been introduced, with roles aimed at mitigating the backlog of untested sexual assault kits and the surge in child abuse and neglect cases, respectively.

Bill Requires Rape Kit Access Within 24 Hours
— ABCNews.go, Jan 23, 2023
"A bill passed in the Senate Monday morning, requiring all West Virginia hospitals with emergency departments have a trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) available to treat victims 24 hours a day."

Martinsburg man charged in 22-year-old sexual assault case
— Matthew Umstead, Herald Mail Media, Dec 17, 2020
A 58-year-old Martinsburg man has been charged with the September 1998 sexual assault of a Berkeley County female after authorities found that a DNA specimen obtained 22 years ago matched state DNA database information for a convicted offender.

Man pleads guilty to 24-year-old sexual assault
— MetroNews, Mar 9, 2019
DNA from a 1995 previously unsubmitted sexual assault kit leds to an arrest in West Virginia.

WV testing inventory of sexual assualt kits, contributing to national DNA database
— Staff Reports, WVNews, Mar 7, 2019
During the process of testing their nearly 2,400 previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits, West Virginia State Police has entered nearly 300 DNA profiles into CODIS, and received 106 hits.

WV Senate passes Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights for third year
— Taylor Stuck, Charleston Gazette- Mail, Feb 1, 2019
West Virginia senate passes the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights for third year. This legislation outlines what sexual assault victims are entitled to and can expect in an investigation after their assault.

West Virginia's Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Information System Named Finalist for National Award
— West Virginia, Mar 3, 2017
The West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Information System has been selected as one of 30 finalists for the 2017 Igniting Innovation Showcase held on March 14, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Information System was developed by the WV Division of Justice and Community Service and the WV State Police Forensic Laboratory in partnership with WV.gov. The system will enable tracking of sexual assault kits from the time they are sent to a healthcare facility through when they are tested and is an innovative improvement for the tracking and evaluation of sexual assault kits.

Partnership works to fulfill sexual assault kit initiative
— Joe Thornton, The Herald-Dispatch, Oct 16, 2016
After receiving $1 million in funding from the federal government in 2015, West Virginia completed an inventory of nearly 1,000 sexual assault kits, began testing them, developed a tracking system, and created a group of skilled individuals to brainstorm how to prevent a SAK backlog in the future. A partnership between SAKI and the District Attorney of New York allows West Virginia to move forward with a victim-centered approach. To learn more, read the full article.

First arrest made under new sexual assault kit program
— Alyssa Meisner, TriStateUpdate.com, Sep 28, 2016
After receiving funding to inventory and test its backlogged sexual assault kits, West Virginia’s state crime lab found a DNA match, and law enforcement personnel made their first arrest. To learn more, watch the full video.

West Virginia aims to eliminate untested sexual assault kits and improve evidence collection
— Ian McQuinn, Business Wire, Sep 20, 2016
The West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services recently completed the development of a new online system that tracks sexual assault kits from the time they are shipped to a health care facility to when they are collected and returned for forensic testing. The system also collects information on the quality of the collected SAKs that will be used to identify areas of improvement and training opportunities. The new online tracking system enables the associated crime labs and police departments to track SAKs that are sent to a facility and when. To learn more about West Virginia’s new tracking system, read the full article.

Quick action in Cabell rape kit backlog case is expected
— Courtney Hessler, The Herald-Dispatch, Sep 15, 2016
A serial rapist is now behind bars due to the results from testing backlogged rape kits in West Virginia. The perpetrator committed the crime in 2004, but was not implicated in the assault until 2016, after West Virginia received funding from the federal government to test all of its backlogged rape kits in cold storage. To learn more, read the full article.