OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson has announced that he will commit $750,000 in pledge funds to test unprocessed sexual assault kits in the state.
According to a press release from Ferguson's office, the money will fund the testing of approximately 1,150 previously untested kits, and the Washington State Office of the Attorney General will track cases in which kits come back positive.
"Every sexual assault kit is a story that needs to be told," Ferguson said in the release. "Testing the kits not only honors the courage of survivors, but also identifies serial offenders who might otherwise go free."
Ferguson also said that legislative funding has already been used to start testing, but this pledges uses money from a grant provided to the OAG by the Department of Justice, which Ferguson's office received in April 2018.
The Washington State Patrol is in charge of testing sexual assault kits. The WSP will send the kits to outside labs for testing, then seek reimbursement from the OAG, according to the release.
To date, the the OAG has received $1.5 million in funds for sexual assault kit testing. The release said the office will ask for another $1.5 million in the future once the inventory phase is completed.
