By Craig Anderson

DOVER — More than $2.1 million in grants was utilized to clear a backlog of approximately 1,250 untested Sexual Assault Kits according to findings in a state audit released earlier this week.

The two grants received in 2015 and 2018 funded a program overseen by the Criminal Justice Council that allowed law enforcement agencies acquire information in ongoing cases, program director Michael Kelly said. Evidence from eight of the kits led directly to eight arrests, he said.

The state of Delaware has managed to dramatically cut the backlog of kits to under 100 since the program ended in early 2020, Mr. Kelley said. The Division of Forensic Science now does the testing that preserves physical evidence from a person — alive or dead — following a sexual assault.

The grant money was used to contract the Bode Technology laboratory in Virginia for testing. Other costs, among others, covered by the grants included salaries, reporting program upgrades, training, and investigative overtime pay.

The program was part of the National Sexual Assault Kit initiative.

State Auditor Kathy McGuiness said the report had “positive” findings. The full report is available online at auditor.delaware.gov.

“The high point was that Delaware received grant money and it spent appropriately and helped erase a Rape Kit backlog that we had,” she said.

Ms. McGuiness said the funding “provided the opportunity for Delawareans to benefit by hiring talent, enhancing systems, developing and documenting policies and procedures and implementing best practices to clear the backlog of untested rape kits.”

According to the report, the backlogged kits required testing at an average of cost between $500 and $1,200 per kit.

The report issued by the auditor’s office noted that “Six out of seven neighboring states have enacted laws and/or made changes to their policies to mandate timely submission for all Rape Kits to the crime lab. Delaware has yet to address legislation to prevent future backlogs from accumulating.”

Also, according to the audit, Delaware does not mandate testing for all Sexual Assault Kits. The report recommended that the state “Enacting legislation/policy mandating testing for all Rape Kits to eliminate the backlog from reoccurring and ensure justice is provided for victims.”

As far as the value of the previous program, Mr. Kelly, a New Castle County police officer for more than 20 years, said “It provided, most importantly, justice and closure for survivors of those who experienced the assaults,” he said. “It allowed for the suspect or the perpetrator to be held accountable.”