Massachusetts lagged behind on clearing rape kit backlog

A new report from the Massachusetts state auditor shows the State Police crime lab didn’t review thousands of previously untested rape kits within 90 days after a new law went into affect in 2021 that required the lab to eliminate the backlog of evidence.

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s Office audited the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which oversees the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, from July 2020 to October 2022. The audit looked into their processing of sexual assault evidence collection kits, or rape kits. 

“Survivors of sexual assault already have so many obstacles to overcome when bringing their experiences forward,” DiZoglio said in a statement. “We have tools to hold perpetrators accountable and help survivors but unaddressed delays minimize the injustice experienced by survivors and place others at risk for potential assaults.”

The auditor’s office said they spot-checked records and found lapses within the EOPSS, including delays in assigning kits to local district attorneys offices and inaccurate location labeling.

The audit found that in 2021, the MSPCL failed to review 3,084 sexual assault evidence collection kits within the required 90 days, which is nearly half of the previously untested kits. Some kits weren’t reviewed for 161 days.

Previously, the lab was behind on more than 6,000 previously untested kits going back decades. In Bristol County alone, more than 1,100 kits were never tested, but testing eventually led to arrests in multiple rape cases involving children more than a decade old.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the EOPSS said the MSPCL is working through the decades-old backlog and they “appreciate the review conducted by the Auditor’s office and are carefully reviewing the recommendations to determine further actions.”

“Massachusetts is a national leader in sexual assault evidence collection kit testing, meeting an unprecedented 30-day timeframe as compared to the national average of 90 to 120 days,” the spokesperson said. 

Out of 35 records checked, the audit also found EOPSS did not remove all personal information, including home addresses, of sexual assault survivors in 11 of the records. In response, the EOPSS said, in part, that the information was never available to the public, the report said.

The audit also found that the kits weren’t shipped in a timely manner to the assigned DAs’ offices and their online tracking system reflected inaccurate locations of tests. The only objective in the audit that the EPOSS passed was the completion of quarterly reports required for the legislature.

According to their most recent report, 3,170 of the previously untested kits have been tested as of March 31, 2024. 

“We remain deeply committed to working in close collaboration with our partners to deliver justice, empower survivors, strengthen law enforcement’s response to sexual assault, and improve outcomes,” the EOPSS spokesperson said.