DULUTH, Minn-
The city of Duluth received more than $2 million dollars in federal grant money to enhance the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases.
The money came from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) after a statewide audit revealed Duluth had nearly 600 untested sexual assault DNA kits sitting on evidence shelves. The kits were never sent to a lab for DNA testing, as the criminal cases were previously considered "unviable" for further investigation.
The grant paid for the evidence to be tested for DNA matches, but many of the newly reinvestigated cases are dropped by the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office. Police sent in 578 untested kits for DNA analysis with federal SAKI grant money, and the results have since led police to forward 21 cases to the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office for possible charges. Of the 21 cases, the prosecutor decided to proceed with 13. Only about 2 percent of the SAKI cases have made it to a courtroom since the grant began in 2016.
As part of a year-long investigation, FOX 21’s Nikki Davidson made a public data request, to get access to the SAKI cases the St. Louis County Prosecutor decided not to charge.
One of the cases involved a man who had been accused of sexual assault multiple times, and also currently works as a first responder in the Northland.
Watch this full video investigative journalism story here: https://www.facebook.com/nikkidavidsonreports/videos/442762603223007