HOUSTON – KPRC 2 was the first to report that the Houston Police Department suspended over 4,000 sexual assault cases sexual assault cases due to a lack of personnel.
Since the continued digging by our KPRC 2 Investigates team, we have now learned that of those 4,017 suspended sexual assault incident reports, 1,147 had been tested for DNA, and 96 of those rape kits returned with DNA matches through the Combined DNA Index System known as CODIS.
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The Houston Forensic Science Center tested these kits as part of an automated process, and the results were emailed to the police. These kits were also entered into a national DNA database containing numerous matching profiles.
KPRC 2 spoke with Houston-area attorney Letitia Quinones-Hollins, who expressed astonishment at the suspended cases with DNA matches. In her over 20-year career as a criminal attorney, she had never come across such a situation.
“I’ve never heard of that,” she said.
Regarding the blame, Letitia Quinones-Hollins refrained from commenting on the Houston Police Department’s and Houston Forensic Science Lab’s processes when dealing with sexual assault cases. However, as a criminal defense attorney, she mentioned that DNA evidence is not always readily available.
“Oftentimes, in sexual assault cases, that evidence is not always just readily available. We have to wait on that evidence because of the backlog that exists within the Houston Forensic Science Center Lab,” she explained.
Quinones-Hollins said it could sometimes take months before they receive evidence back from the forensic science lab.
“If you think about it, Houston is the fourth largest city with millions of people in it and we have one forensic center lab. They can only do so many tests a day if they are going to do it correctly,” Quinones-Hollins said. “There is a huge lag-tone with DNA testing. Most oftentimes, it could be anywhere from 90 to 180 days.”
Houston police said as a part of its review and investigation, one of their goals is to build a better workflow process between departments, properly addressing incident-related CODIS hits. (A CODIS hit is when the DNA profile from a sexual assault kit matches the DNA profile from a separate criminal offense or a known offender).
HPD Chief Troy Finner said he also directed all Special Victim Division incidents with the code “SL,” meaning the investigation was suspended, to be sent to the Harris Forensic Science Center for review, regardless of the offense.
The department said this was done last week. Since then, 20 more CODIS hits were added, bringing the total to 96.
When asked about the possibility of suspects facing charges in these cases, Letitia Quinones-Hollins pointed out that there is no statute of limitations. Therefore, even if it takes several years for DNA testing to be completed, individuals can still be charged.
“They could still face charges. Even if it took three to five years to get the DNA testing, that person will still face charges,” Quinones-Hollins said.
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