You may have heard the candidates for governor arguing about the backlog of untested rape kits the state of Ohio had in 2013. But it's more than a political talking point. The state has finally cleared the backlog and tested the DNA evidence. Still, Cuyahoga the only county to vigorously pursue cases. 370 convictions have been logged here. Across the rest of the state, only a couple dozen. Why? We'll talk about how the sexual assault evidence was handled locally and what other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors might learn from the Cuyahoga task force. Later, we'll wrap our politics coverage with a conversation with Republican candidate for Ohio Treasurer, Robert Sprague.
Rick Bell, Special Investigations Division Chief, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office
Rachel Dissell, Reporter, Plain Dealer
Rachel Lovell, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education, Case Western Reserve University
Joe Frolik, Managing Producer for Community Affairs, Ideastream
Robert Sprague, Republican, Candidate for Ohio Treasurer
For More Information:
The Plain Dealer: Past Reporting on Rape Kits
Begun Center Research on Rape Kit Testing Results
Cuyhaoga County Sexual Assault Kit Task Force