By William Lee and Lauren FitzPatrick
Staff writers
Investigators working with the sex crimes unit of the Cook County state’s attorney’s office seized hundreds of untested rape kits scattered throughout the Harvey police station basement, the Daily Southtown has learned.
Authorities took the dusty rape kits in early May, about four months after county deputies and state police marched into the police station and confiscated evidence in numerous unsolved murders.
The kits, which contain DNA evidence on hundreds of alleged attacks, were scattered about the basement, according to officials. They were spotted by county and state authorities when they raided the police station in January, removed dozens of unsolved homicide case files and videotaped the evidence locker, investigators said.
Those investigators noted the unmarked rape kits in their reports and passed them on to superiors. Eventually, the reports caught the attention of the sex crimes unit, sources told the Southtown.
The neglected rape kits likely date back several years as the police department reported 173 sexual assaults between 2002 and 2005, according to crime statistics reported to the state.
Authorities estimated more than 200 rape kits were scattered around the basement. Some may have been tested, while many clearly had not, sources said.
“We are reviewing each kit to determine if there is any viable DNA evidence, as well as trying to locate and talk to victims,” according to a statement from the state’s attorney’s office.
The Southtown contacted the city of Harvey for a response and received none.
‘Two minutes of work’
Rape kits with DNA evidence should be stored in a refrigerator, according to one experienced investigator, but Harvey’s kitchen-size refrigerator that should have housed the kits was broken and apparently had been so for years.
A rape kit contains DNA evidence collected from the victim at a hospital. The kit is then sealed with evidence tape. The kit is supposed to be assigned to a detective immediately. The detective then fills out paperwork for the state police crime lab, and an evidence custodian then takes the kit to the crime lab for testing.
“It’s not a lot (of work), it takes them maybe two minutes. Two minutes of work for a victim is nothing,” said the source.
County officials are faced with several challenges as they must, in effect, re-investigate these rapes.
“This is a lengthy and time-consuming process that involves reviewing police reports and matching them to the kits as well as contacting victims, some of whom may have either moved away or are reluctant to pursue the case,” state’s attorney spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said in a statement.
Too much time may have passed
Time may also play a crucial factor. The elapsed time may have deteriorated the DNA evidence that was stored in the dank basement. In addition, the statute of limitations in some of these crimes may have expired.
Under Illinois law, sexual assault victims have three years to report the attack and another seven years to press charges. The existence of DNA evidence extends the time limit to 10 years if the victim can identify the assailant and erases the limit if the victim cannot. Child victims have until they turn 38 to press charges against attackers.
“It’s a big thing because every day that goes by, the statute of limitations ticks off,” a law enforcement source said. “The city of Harvey has totally blown it.”
Cook County sheriff’s police, already part of a special task force charged with taking on numerous unsolved murders in Harvey, could be called in to assist state’s attorney’s investigators in the rape cases.
Both departments were hit hard by county board budget cuts and layoffs last year.
“To take on 100 kits right now … my God, that would take our entire investigative unit,” said one unnamed official.
In January, investigators took forensic evidence, including bullet fragments, collected at crime scenes and stored in Harvey’s evidence locker. Authorities also took reports and computer files from detectives, special operations, traffic and the chief’s office.
Prosecutors continue to look into why the city police have not brought murder charges in many slayings, including gang-related killings.
State’s attorney’s official statement:
The State’s Attorney’s office has undertaken the highly unusual task
of sorting through hundreds of rape kits that were discovered earlier this year when authorities went through the Harvey Police Department’s storage rooms in search of ballistics evidence in recent shooting incidents in the south suburb.
We are reviewing each kit to determine if there is any viable DNA evidence, as well as trying to locate and talk to victims. This is a lengthy and time-consuming process that involves reviewing police reports and matching them to the kits as well as contacting victims, some of whom may have either moved away or are reluctant to pursue the case. After completing this review we will make a determination of whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute. Any DNA profiles of unknown offenders will be submitted to the national CODIS data bank for possible matches.
– Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office
The State’s Attorney’s office has undertaken the highly unusual task
of sorting through hundreds of rape kits that were discovered earlier this year when authorities went through the Harvey Police Department’s storage rooms in search of ballistics evidence in recent shooting incidents in the south suburb.
We are reviewing each kit to determine if there is any viable DNA evidence, as well as trying to locate and talk to victims. This is a lengthy and time-consuming process that involves reviewing police reports and matching them to the kits as well as contacting victims, some of whom may have either moved away or are reluctant to pursue the case. After completing this review we will make a determination of whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute. Any DNA profiles of unknown offenders will be submitted to the national CODIS data bank for possible matches.
– Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office
Published in the Daily Southtown, June 10, 2007, on page A4.
Printable 2007-06 harvey rape kits left untested
