BJA FY 2023 National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Expanding Prosecution of Cold Case Sexual Assaults in the Durham County (North Carolina) District Attorney's Office.

Funding pursuant to this proposal will be used for (1) compensating a prosecutor and legal assistant dedicated to SAKI cases; (2) paying travel, lodging, and subsistence costs for survivors during trial; (3) compensating expert witnesses during trial; (4) utilizing an outside DNA consultant as needed; and (5) employing specialty DNA testing in certain cases with particularly complex physical evidence.
Primary activities include: precharge case review and charge consulting, preparing indictments, processing discovery, preparing case files, required data collection, negotiating plea arrangements, trying cases, participating in the multidisciplinary working group, and serving survivors throughout the court offices statewide that are developing their own SAK initiatives.
Continuing and expanding the DA Office’s SAK initiative will result in rigorous prosecution, robust and trauma-informed survivor engagement, continued coordination with DPD, and enhanced coordination with other local law enforcement agencies that possess SAKs, as well as additional service providers responsive to survivors’ unique needs. By the end of the grant period, the DA Office will have obtained additional convictions, resolved cases more quickly than non-cold case sexual assaults, and engaged historically underserved survivors.