PORTLAND, Maine — The Cumberland County District Attorney's Office applied for and got a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Justice grant.
"I started asking questions about whether Maine had a backlog of rape kits and realized pretty quickly that no one knew," Jacqueline Sartoris, the Cumberland County District Attorney, said.
Sartoris says that money will be used over the next three years.
"This grant will enable us to really kind of supercharge our efforts to take these cases seriously, to tell victims that we believe them, and to make sure that we are investigating and prosecuting cases wherever possible," Sartoris said.
"To apply for the grant, an estimate was needed of just how many rape kits were still waiting to be processed.
Sartoris says there are around 500 untested kits in Cumberland County alone, which could come as a surprise for those waiting for the next steps in their case.
"What we also know from an informal survey of more recent victims of sex assault is that they believe that those kits are being tested normatively," Sartoris said.
Sartoris also says getting the kits tested could also help police in identifying and arresting repeat offenders.
"What we know from the other prosecutorial districts that have done this work is they have found between 12 percent and 15 percent of their kits actually are tied to other sex assaults," Sartoris said. "One of the things that bothers me the most about having these outstanding kits is had we done that testing in real-time, we may have actually prevented other sex assaults which have already occurred."
Earlier this year, the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault received a separate $90,000 to set up a pilot program to track rape kits in Kennebec and Penobscot counties.
Carlie Ficsher with MECASA says that funding for this kind of work is needed.
"Grant funding is helpful in the short term, but it's ultimately not a long-term or a sustainable solution," Fischer said. "So to that end, it's critically important that the state step up and address these issues within the state budget, you know, or within funding."
Maine is one of a few states without a state inventory and tracking system for rape kits.
However, LD 2129, a bill which was introduced by Rep. Valli Geiger, was working its way through the Legislature, but ultimately didn't pass even though it had unanimous support.
"That bill would have required over $300,000 a year in funding to the lab to be able to test everything and make sure that we don't get another backlog," Sartoris said.
That bill has since been resubmitted for the 2025 legislative session.
For now, Cumberland County will use its funds to inventory, track, and test eligible kits.
"Then going to investigating, contacting victims where appropriate, making sure that victims have the opportunity to be heard, doing that investigation, and then proceeding to a prosecution if we believe that the evidence supports prosecution," Sartoris said.
The Cumberland County DA's office has three years to use the grant money.
Once the DA's office actually receives the money, the first six months will be spent performing a detailed inventory of the hundreds of untested rape kits it now has. Sartoris anticipates that to be done by the fall of 2025.
If you or anyone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, there is help available. The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault has a free 24/7 hotline. That number is 1-800-871-7741.