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HOUSTON (AP) — A woman who waited five years for charges to be filed against a man accused of raping her is suing the city of Houston saying authorities showed deliberate indifference by allowing a backlog of untested rape kits.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Beverly Flores joined a lawsuit filed this year by DeJenay Beckwith alleging Houston officials failed to properly investigate their 2011 attacks.
A growing number of lawsuits are being brought by victims nationwide regarding untested rape kits.
The assailant in Beckwith's case pleaded guilty last year. A suspect in Flores' rape was charged this year.
Both women allege that DNA for their assailants could have been matched in the criminal database earlier. Beckwith says her assault might not have happened if evidence from previous victims had been tested.
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