After two weeks, Attorney General Brad Schimel explains $1 million rape kits grant

Keegan Kyle | Appleton Post-Crescent

MADISON - More than two weeks after a $1 million federal grant for rape kits was awarded to his state Department of Justice, Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Thursday how the money will be used.

The funding, awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, will pay for:

► More research examining "the nature and extent of sexual assault crimes around the state and to inform the development of policy interventions."

► More training and resources for prosecutors to pursue cases involving years-old rape kits, which contain evidence from sexual assault cases.

► More testing by state crime lab workers that "may be necessary for cases that develop" from analyzing old rape kits.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin first reported the grant funding on Sept. 28. But the purpose of the money had been unclear because state authorities under Schimel did not respond to multiple requests for information. Even advocates for survivors of sexual assault remained in the dark.

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Schimel is seeking a second term in office Nov. 6. His challenger, Democrat Josh Kaul, has been bashing the Republican attorney general over the state's slow response to a massive backlog of rape kits scattered in police stations and hospitals. State authorities first discovered the backlog in 2014 and then secured $4 million in grants the next year to address it.

Schimel announced Thursday that a technical review of rape kit tests had been completed by state workers for more than 4,000 kits tested in private labs. The review was required before the DNA test results could be uploaded to national crime databases, which authorities hope will help catch serial rapists.

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