You are reading

New Law Sponsored by Simotas Will Preserve Rape Kits for 20 Years

Aravella Simotas

April 3, 2018 By Tara Law

A new law sponsored by Assemblymember Aravella Simotas (D- Astoria) has passed that will give sexual assault survivors extra time to seek justice.

As part of the passage of the state budget, which was finalized early April 1, a new law will require law enforcement agencies to preserve rape kits for at least 20 years, which can provide crucial evidence for sexual assault cases.

The extension will also require hospitals to keep rape kits for longer than 30 days–even in cases where the victim doesn’t press charges. Hospitals will be required to keep them for 20 years.

The law also creates a tracking system which notifies survivors about where their rip kits are stored and warns them when the storage period is about to expire. The law also requires New York State Office of Victim Services to reimburse hospitals for conducting the exams instead of victims.

“Preserving untested rape kits preserves a victim’s right to move forward with a prosecution of the perpetrator,” said Simotas. “No sexual assault survivor should ever be told that a prosecution is not possible because a rape kit was disposed of prematurely.” 

Simotas has forwarded several bills designed to defend sexual assault victims’ rights. A 2016 law she sponsored requires law enforcement agencies to send rape kits to labs within 10 days of receiving them. The results must then be reported back within 90 days.

New York has no statute of limitations for rape or criminal sexual acts.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

NY Hall of Science debuts CityWorks, its largest exhibition in over a decade

The New York Hall of Science in Corona opened its largest interactive exhibition in more than a decade on Saturday, May 3. The exhibition explores the often invisible inner workings of the built urban environment.

CityWorks is housed in a 6,000 square foot gallery, and the exhibit was created by a team of NYCSI exhibit developers, researchers, and educators over the past five years. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the intricate systems and engineering that enable cities to function, including how they break, evolve, and endure.

Twenty people indicted in Queens-based $4.6M vehicle theft ring after three-year probe: DA

Twenty individuals were indicted and variously charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars in Queens, throughout New York City and its suburbs, following a three-year investigation by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD, and the New York State Police dubbed “Operation Hellcat,” into the criminal enterprise based in Queens.

Some of the vehicles were stolen from owners’ driveways, some with the keys or key fobs inside. The stolen vehicles were often sold through advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The defendants are charged in nine separate indictments for a total of 373 counts, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday.