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WASHINGTON — A Memphis couple has donated $10,000 to process untested rape kits in the city of Memphis.

Developer Nick Brown and his wife Tracey made the donation.

Nick Brown explained why he’s so passionate about this issue.

“If you get rid of one rapist because of this, that rapist could have raped 10,15,20 more women. I just felt it had to be done,” he said.

He’s building homes with safe rooms inside, but says women in Memphis need to be safe on the street.

George Little, Mayor Wharton’s Chief Administration Officer, added, “At the end of the day, it isn’t about who pays for it, or how it gets paid for. We want to bring these perpetrators to justice, and victims to be safe.”

A total of $3.75 million is still needed to finish the testing. So far, the state has given $500,000, the city has kicked in $1.5 million, the Plough Foundation granted $750,00, and the Browns gave another $10,000.

Jennifer Nichols works as a prosecutor in these cases. Once the kits are tested, she works to bring the attackers to justice. She says $10,000 is a big deal.

“I’m thinking about the women, men, and children who I haven’t met yet who will be impacted by this gift,” she said.

But it’s a long road ahead. It took the city years to admit it had a backlog after WREG first uncovered it four years ago, and more than 12,000 untested kits have been found since then.

Now it may be years before we know every case lost in storage is transferred into evidence.

Little said, “It took us decades to get into this problem as is so often the case, it’s going to take a while to work it through.”

Earlier this week, Memphis police announced they found 200 more kits dating back to 1976.

Thursday, Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation renewing funding for untested rape kits.

Federal grants from the program have helped fund the processing of untested of rape kits in Memphis.

The Debbie Smith Act is named after the West Virginia woman who was kidnapped and raped in 1989.

It took years for evidence to be examined and make an arrest.

Had the legislation not been renewed, it would have expired in October.