County to help fund testing of 1,700 Minneapolis rape kits

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — County officials in Minneapolis say they will pay for additional help to examine about 1,700 rape kits that have never been tested, some of which date back 30 years.

The city announced Friday it discovered the untested kits in July when the department was doing an inventory. Deputy Police Chief Erick Fors estimates it will likely take two years to get them tested.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says the county will fund an additional DNA analyst position at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to help speed up the process. Freeman says victims who have questions should contact Vernona Boswell, the county’s sexual assault victim advocate.

The number revealed Friday is nearly nine times more than the 194 untested kits the city disclosed it had in 2015.