Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI)

The National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, also known as SAKI, facilitates resolutions for cold cases when sexual assault kits provide new evidence. When the State Attorney's Office SAKI team was awarded the federal grant in 2015 to initiate the program, there were over 1,700 unsubmitted sexual assault kits. Since that time, all untested kits have been tested, which have resulted in:

• 426 Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits
• An additional 793 DNA profiles uploaded into CODIS
• 34 cases have been prosecuted; 18 cases pending (numbers as of 2022).

In 2021, the office's Special Victim’s Unit was awarded a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to continue investigating and prosecuting SAKI cases.

The federal grant is being used for three distinct initiatives:

• Continued support for the office’s SAKI unit
• Continued support of the office’s Lawfully Owed DNA Project: New funding will assist in collecting lawfully owed DNA from qualifying offenders whose DNA sample was never collected. Their DNA is uploaded to criminal justice databases, which often helps solve cases. 
• Investigation and prosecution of cold case sexual assaults: To date, more than 165 cases have been identified for prosecution, with charges filed on more than three dozen cases. But more than 2,000 other cases could benefit from additional DNA testing, which may lead to the identification of suspects and bring justice to victims.

The SAO4 remains committed to survivors of sexual assault and bringing justice in these terrible cases.