Sexual Assault Kit Initiative

Happy Thanksgiving! On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Assistance and SAKI TTA, we are extending our heartfelt gratitude to grantees across the country! Since 2015, the SAKI program has supported 90 grantee agencies, ranging from local to statewide departments. THANK YOU for all that you do for victims and survivors of sexual assault and violent crime. To learn more about agencies who have received SAKI funding, visit the SAKI TTA website: https://ow.ly/3ILR50Uf57H

#SAKIGranteeSucess: Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams announced the conviction and life sentences of Navarri Henderson for three separate violent crimes that included sexual assault and domestic abuse. Henderson was convicted of assaulting a woman in December 2016, assaulting and raping a pregnant woman in August 2018, and assaulting his then-girlfriend in October 2019. Williams expressed gratitude to the New Orleans Police Department, SANE nurses, and trial team who assisted in the case. Williams also stated Henderson’s conviction was a testament to the women’s bravery for coming forward. Learn more: https://ow.ly/GUn950U9nnV

Analysis through the Maricopa County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and Forensic Genetic Genealogy helped identify the suspect in a cold case sexual assault. In 1986, a toddler was abducted and sexually assaulted at a construction site in Phoenix, Arizona. Investigators were unable to identify a suspect, despite their best efforts. In 1992, the case was revisited, and a DNA match was identified in CODIS to another child sexual assault case, this time in Henderson, TX. A collaboration in 2022 between the Maricopa County SAKI team and the Texas Department of Public Safety led to the utilization of Forensic Genetic Genealogy, which assisted detectives in identifying David Roy Munt as the suspect. Munt is being held on a $1 million bond. Learn more: https://ow.ly/sgGb50U9k9K

#SAKIGranteeSuccess: Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) was used in a murder trial used for the first time in a Dallas County, Texas earlier this month. David Rojas was convicted of capital murder in the 1989 sexual assault of Mary Hague Kelly. Significant DNA was collected at the crime scene, but no match was found. A breakthrough came in 2022, when FGG helped identify Rojas as a potential suspect. A DNA sample from a beer bottle Rojas discarded in June 2022 confirmed the match, and he was subsequently arrested. Rojas was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. Learn more: https://ow.ly/RnOW50U9jVs

The Kent, Washington Police Department has charged a 31-year-old in connection to a 2013 sexual assault of a child. The six-year-old child was shopping with her mother, and while at the store’s checkout, a man walked up to the child, sexually assaulted her and left the store. The case went cold until Aug. 6, when a CODIS hit was found after testing evidence collected from the scene. The match identified a man whose last known address was linked to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he was stationed in 2013. The man then moved to Texas, where police found he had a recent conviction for a crime against children. Police have not released the man’s identity. He was taken into custody last month. Learn more: https://ow.ly/1Jh150U4f6E

On October 31st, the world lost an incredible individual with the passing of Natasha Alexenko. A sexual assault survivor, author, and founder of Natasha’s Justice Project, her passion and endurance for improving the response to sexual assault while supporting survivor healing is unmatched. SAKI TTA and many others have worked alongside, learned from, and have known Natasha as a dedicated advocate, always happy to have a seat at the table and share her experience so that others may learn from the past, embrace a trauma-informed future, and keep up the momentum for change. She dedicated much of herself to supporting sexual assault victims, participating in training and education for law enforcement, and assisting in creating the bridge between a survivor and the criminal legal system. Natasha’s family has provided the following link if you would like to share a memory of her or send condolences to the family. https://ow.ly/aSeo50U667e

#SAKIGranteeSuccess: The #VirginiaSAKITeam has charged a suspect in the 1991 sexual assault and murder of Jennie Lee Johnson. Johnson was last seen on Nov. 22, 1991, and her body was discovered in a field in King and Queen County the next day. Evidence in the case was retested using advancements in DNA technology, which led to a jury indicting 62-year-old Ives T. Fortune on rape and malicious wounding charges. Investigators credited the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative for the break in the case. Learn more: https://ow.ly/mp3050TZvfW

#SAKIGranteeSuccess: A retired truck driver will spend 40 years in prison for the killings of two women over 30 years ago. Douglas Thomas, 70, pled guilty earlier this year to murder in the 1992 death of Shenda Hayes in Waco, Texas, and the 1993 death of Sherri Herrera in Riverside County, California. Investigators in California uploaded a DNA profile from Herrera’s killing in 2002, and around five years later, there was a match connecting the killings in each state. After further investigative efforts were conducted in both cases, California and Texas authorities were able to identify the suspect as Douglas Thomas. Learn more: https://ow.ly/ZWKw50TZs2u

Did you know we are on Facebook? Give us a follow to keep up with the latest news, grantee success stories, resource announcements, and more! Click here to access the SAKI Facebook account: https://ow.ly/wLHr50U1K0X

Thanks again to all our #SAKI2024 attendees for making this year’s National SAKI Grantees Meeting a huge success. We look forward to next year’s meeting!?