Federal money to help Fort Worth rape kit savings – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Help is on the way for hundreds of sexual assault victims awaiting justice in Fort Worth.

Evidence from hundreds of cases sits on shelves in the crime laboratory.

Sen. John Cornyn’s office announced Thursday that the federal government will send $2.1 million to help clear the backlog.

“DNA analysis is a critical tool used to identify perpetrators, exonerate innocent suspects, and solve cases,” Senator Cornyn said in the press release. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done over the years to reduce the backlog of DNA testing, but I won’t rest until every victim and family in Texas gets the answers they seek and the justice they deserve.”

Funding coming in less than two months NBC 5 Investigates begins reporting on the rape kit backlog at the Fort Worth Police Department.

The grant money will be split between the three organizations.

The City of Fort Worth will receive $689,620, Tarrant County will receive $516,863, and UNT Health Sciences Center in Fort Worth will receive $981,387.

According to Senator Cornyn’s office, the money will be used to “reduce the DNA testing backlog and help solve crimes.”

“It’s time,” said Lavinia Masters.

Masters is a sexual assault victim from Dallas whose DNA kit sat on the shelf for 21 years, and by the time her attacker was identified, the statute of limitations had expired.

“This still weighs heavily on me,” Masters said.

Since then, he says he has fought hard to get financing so his fellow victims won’t have to put up with what he did.

“If they’re suffering right now, that’s why I get angry because I know the work that we’ve put in and that we’re still fighting for, that really makes me angry because there’s no excuses anymore,” Masters said.

The 2019 law named after Masters set strict timelines for police and crime labs to process rape kits.

But records uncovered by NBC 5 Investigates last month show that five years later, the Fort Worth Police Department failed hundreds of times to test rape kits in the time required by law, missing deadlines by months, even years.

Fort Worth Police Chief Niel Noakes vowed action following NBC 5’s reporting and He publicly apologized to the victims.

In a statement this evening, Chief Noakes said: “We are grateful for Senator Cornyn’s shared commitment to doing whatever it takes to support victims of crime and hold offenders accountable. This aligns with our department’s focus on confronting this situation and doing things right. “Aimed at reducing the DNA testing backlog, this $2 million grant will undoubtedly speed up the process, strengthen our collaboration with forensic laboratories, and increase overall public safety.”

Masters, now a victims’ advocate, says survivors just want results.

“This may seem negative, but we don’t need another hero. “We need to remove these kits from the shelves,” he said.

The number of kits backlogged in Fort Worth has decreased since last month’s reporting.

As for Thursday’s announcement, NBC 5 has requested details on how the grant money will be used and is waiting to hear back.