Rape kit Coverage

NC completes backlog of untested sexual assault kits

Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Tuesday that North Carolina has ended the backlog of untested older sexual assault kits.

Justice for sexual assault victims: NC ends untested rape kit backlog

Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Tuesday that North Carolina has ended the backlog of untested older sexual assault kits.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief

In Durham, guilty plea comes 34 years after sexual assault

Samuel Harris has been convicted of two counts of second-degree rape and three counts of second-degree sexual offense in a 1990 sexual assault in Durham County.

WRAL Staff

Man charged in 1998 Raleigh rape case, given $3 million bond

Averette Alston was charged for his alleged role in a sexual assault from Aug. 26, 1998 on S. State Street.

WRAL Staff

Serial rapist charged with hiding woman's body

Dennis Speed, who's imprisoned at the Durham County Detention Center, has some charges going back almost 15 years.

Cold case: Man charged with 1998 rape in Raleigh after long-delayed test of DNA evidence

Erwin King, 58, of Chowan County, was charged Monday with felony first-degree rape and felony first-degree kidnapping. His arrest comes 25 years after the 1998 assault police say occurred in the 5500 block of Duraleigh Road in Raleigh.

Chelsea Donovan, WRAL reporter

Orange County Rape Crisis Center prepares to make major cuts

A big budget crunch is coming to Orange County's Rape Crisis Center. The staff is going to be cut in half, and services will be reduced starting this fall.

Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter

Orange County Rape Crisis Center makes major cuts

A big budget crunch is coming to Orange County's Rape Crisis Center. The staff is going to be cut in half, and services will be reduced starting this fall.

NC makes progress in sexual assault kit backlog

Only about 8% of the total tests had samples with results that could help police further investigations or cold cases.

Few sexual assault kits remain untested in NC, data shows

Only about 8% of the total tests had samples with results that could help police further investigations or cold cases.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL Investigative Data Journalist

Man calls DNA link to 1990 rape 'ridiculous'

Deandre Marcel Smith was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping for a crime that took place when he was 20 years old.

Wake DA: Wait times to test rape kits 'unacceptable;' suspect in 1990 rape arrested Saturday

The fact that it took 30 years to arrest someone for the rape of a 73-year-old woman is another example, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman says, that test delays for rape kits are "unacceptable."

Joe Fisher, WRAL reporter

Man charged with rape, kidnapping in 1990 cold case

Deandre Marcel Smith, 51, was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping.

Raleigh police make arrest in 1990 rape

Deandre Marcel Smith, 51, was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping.

Woman sues San Francisco over arrest based on DNA from her rape kit

A woman whose DNA from a rape kit was used by the police to arrest her in connection with an unrelated property crime last year filed a federal lawsuit against the city of San Francisco on Monday, saying that the Police Department had engaged in an "unconstitutional invasion of privacy."

Eduardo Medina, New York Times

Cooper OK's bills for loosened alcohol laws, free rape kits and added domestic abuse protections

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed a string of measures. The laws ease restrictions on bar owners, strengthen domestic violence protections and provide sexual assault victims free rape kits.

Bryan Anderson, WRAL state government reporter

Bill would expand NC's DNA database, try again to keep hospitals from billing sexual assault victims

Lawmakers have been back and forth over whether to fine hospitals that bill victims for rape kit collection, something that's already against state law.

Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporter

NC bill would fine hospitals up to $25K if victims are charged for rape kit

House Bill would prohibit a medical facility or professional that performs forensic medical examination from billing the victim of rape or sexual offenses. Violations would be punishable by a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation.

Gilbert Baez, WRAL Fayetteville reporter

North Carolina hospitals could face fines for charging rape victims to process evidence

A bill that would fine hospitals for charging victims to conduct rape kit testing is closer to becoming law in North Carolina.

'We owe it to survivors': State lawmakers address how they're supporting sexual assault victims

State leaders are making sure victims can meet with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, who help victims begin to process their trauma and collect evidence in the immediate aftermath of an incident.

Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter

13 things tucked away in NC budget

From election security to Holocaust education to bathrooms in Wilkesboro, the 1,400-page state budget funds countless under-the-radar projects.

Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter

Durham man pleads to sexually assaulting 14-year-old in 2009

A Durham man has plead guilty to raping a 14-year-old in the woods back in more than 10 years ago.

Maggie Brown, WRAL Multiplatform producer

Durham man pleads guilty to 2010 rape

A Durham man pled guilty to raping a woman in 2010 on Meriwether Drive.

'I am not a rapist': Jury hears from Florida man accused of raping NC woman in 1996

A jury in New Hanover County heard from a Florida man accused of raping a 24-year-old teacher in Wilmington 25 years ago.

WECT News

About half of NC's rape kit backlog sits unexamined, so Stein requests more funding

The kits that have been processed have helped provide justice to some survivors.

Ali Ingersoll, WRAL investigative data journalist