Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says thousands of untested rape kits are sitting in the evidence rooms of law enforcement agencies across the state, though the exact number is anybody's guess.
During a news conference Wednesday at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Bondi called for more funding in the next state budget to process the sexual assault kits.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting a study on the number of untested kits and will present the findings to the Legislature in January. The state has committed over $300,000 for the study.
Backlogs for rape testing kits have been a nationwide issue in recent years.
Bondi said that enhanced DNA technology means that some cases might be solved now, when they weren't in the past.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
