District Attorney Jacqueline A. Sartoris announced late this afternoon that her office has received notice from the US Department of Justice of a nearly $2.9 million 3-year federal grant for the Cumberland County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative.

Historically, in Maine, and across the country, only a very small percentage of sexual assault kits were tested.  The reasons varied, but we now know the best practice is to test all non-anonymous (‘reported’) kits as often there is evidence in the kits of links up to other crimes and sexual perpetrators.  The grant will allow the DA’s office, working with many partners, to inventory and track all sexual assault kits held currently in the county, test all appropriate kits in line with national standards, fully investigate and vigorously prosecute eligible cases. It is anticipated that approximately  500 sexual assault examination kits currently stored  in Cumberland County in various law enforement departments wlll be transported for testing ouf of state during the 3 year grant period.

This grant means that Maine will NO LONGER BE THE SOLE STATE that has not embarked upon this vital work.  We anticipate that the training, policies and practices developed from  the work of this grant will make Cumberland County a leader in pursuing and screening justice for sexual assault survivors.  We also expect to prevent any backlog of kits in the future.