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The Sexual Assault Center in Nashville said they’ve watched victims wait up to 18 months before their rape kits were tested.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is still working to speed up the testing of rape kits despite special funding not being included in the state budget. It’s a loss for rape victims across the state, according to attorney Gary Smith. “Rapists are not one-off offenders. They’re serial. And the lack of testing […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A bill pushed by a Memphis lawmaker that would require rape kits to be tested within 30 days did not receive funding in the governor’s proposed state budget Tuesday. That means HB104, sponsored by Antonio Parkinson, is dead, according to House Democrats. The bill had previously been recommended for passage by the […]

A New York grand jury that voted to indict former President Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter has refocused attention on the Manhattan district attorney steering the case. Alvin Bragg’s decision to convene the grand jury early this year led to […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A judge ruled Wednesday that thousands of rape victims in the city of Memphis can join in one class action lawsuit. It’s a case WREG has covered extensively since first uncovering the rape kit backlog more than a decade ago.  There was happiness in the hallway outside court Wednesday afternoon. Attorneys told […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The decision of if a lawsuit filed by a woman who says she was raped by Cleotha Abston-Henderson should be dismissed is now in the hands of a judge.  Attorneys for the city of Memphis and attorneys for a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the same man […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is outsourcing the testing of at least 550 rape kits to a private Florida lab through a $1.5 million federal grant, the state’s lead investigative agency announced Monday in a move aimed at reducing processing times that have drawn scrutiny. In a news release, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Tennessee is outsourcing hundreds of untested DNA rape kits to a lab in Florida for testing as state investigators try to reduce turnaround times for the evidence. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Monday that it had flown 550 kits to DNA Labs International, based in Deerfield Beach, Florida after securing a […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Final arguments were heard Thursday in a class action lawsuit to determine whether the City of Memphis is liable for inflicting emotional distress on rape victims by failing to test over 12,000 rape kits. Judge Gina Higgins heard summary judgment arguments in Janet Doe v. The City of Memphis. Higgins is expected […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A bill that would require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test rape kits they receive within 30 days passed a key House committee Tuesday night. The bill sponsored by Antonio Parkinson of Memphis passed the Criminal Justice Committee, allowing it to advance to the Government Operations Committee. The TBI said […]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In wake of Eliza Fletcher’s kidnapping and murder in September, state representative Antonio Parkinson has introduced a bill requiring TBI to test rape kits within 30 days. Governor Bill Lee has taken steps to expand hiring at the bureau’s forensic labs, but Parkinson says more needs to be done. Earlier this week, he told some of […]