MADISON COUNTY — A working group of law enforcement, health care, and advocacy leaders has been established in Ohio to resolve a reporting gap regarding sexual assault evidence kits.
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Although state law mandates law enforcement agencies and crime laboratories submit annual reports detailing their kit inventories to the attorney general, many agencies are failing to report their data, our news partners at WBNS reported.
The working group, which includes representatives from the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, was formed to identify solutions to the state’s reporting deficit.
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The initiative aims to ensure every sexual assault evidence kit across Ohio is fully accounted for and actively processed.
Under Ohio law, agencies handling sexual assault evidence kits must submit an annual accounting to the state detailing kit counts and status.
Kristen Slaper, senior adviser to Attorney General Andy Wilson, explained that the reporting requirement was created to maintain oversight of kit management in police property rooms.
“So the concept of the reporting is to ensure that those kits are not sitting on shelves in property rooms,” Slaper said. “Unfortunately, what we’re finding is that agencies didn’t report. Does that mean the kits aren’t being worked? No.”
Slaper emphasized that missing data does not automatically indicate that investigations or lab work have stalled.
Instead, the initiative focuses on providing full transparency for survivors throughout the process.
“The spirit of this entire thing is that victims know where their kits are, and these kits are actually getting worked,” Slaper said.
Advocates stress that comprehensive tracking is vital to maintain reform efforts across the state.
Emily Gemar, a representative of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, noted that while Ohio has improved its evidence handling following historical backlogs, complete state records are essential.
“Ohio has made significant progress since the rape kit backlog of the past, and we don’t want to lose that progress,” Gemar said. “But right now, the state clearly doesn’t have complete reporting data to confidently understand what’s happening with each sexual assault kit in Ohio.”
To resolve these tracking gaps, advocacy groups are seeking standardized reporting protocols and clearer enforcement mechanisms.
“We’d like to see a system where kits can be accounted for from collection to testing to storage, where the law enforcement agencies understand exactly what they are required to report and there is meaningful accountability when that doesn’t happen,” Gemar said.
The working group is expected to deliver its recommendations by the end of the year.
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