The Colorado Bureau of Investigation takes an average of more than 500 days to process kits used to preserve sexual assault evidence — nearly six times longer than the division’s stated goal.
The backlog of exams, commonly called rape kitswas exacerbated by a CBI scandal in which a laboratory analyst, Yvonne “Missy” Woods, was found to have manipulated the results of more than 1,000 DNA tests over a long period of time. The consequences include widespread retesting of the cases assigned to Woods, officials said.
But even before the full extent of that misconduct came to light, the division’s backlog in processing the kits was 275 days — or three times longer than the state goal of 90 days, officials told a legislative committee last week . Now the processing takes 517 days.
The backlog was highlighted Wednesday during an annual Department of Public Safety oversight hearing with state lawmakers. But it only came to light after a sexual assault survivor testified that she had waited more than 400 days — and counting — for DNA test results after being drugged and assaulted, with no progress in her case.
“For more than 400 days, I have not felt safe in public, in my own home — not even in my own body,” Miranda Spencer, a 34-year-old from Denver, said during the joint meeting of the House and Senate . judicial committees.
She described the experience as a “real nightmare” that left her concerned not only for her safety, but that of her young daughter.
In an interview with JS, Spencer recalled sitting in the hospital in late 2023, her head spinning when she was told it would take at least 10 months for her exam to be processed. She has since called her case detective regularly for updates, she said, to make sure the case doesn’t fall through the cracks, only to be told it has been turned over to the CBI lab.
The testimony before the Joint Judiciary Committee refocused a hearing that had otherwise highlighted some of the state’s progress in reducing crime, including auto thefts.
Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called it “unreasonable” that the department and CBI had not directly addressed the backlog during the hearing — and had only responded to the survivor’s testimony. The Security Division is led by Executive Director Stan Hilkey, and the CBI is led by Director Chris Schaefer.
She and other members of the committee vowed to bring the issue to immediate attention.
“There are clear questions about accountability and transparency that both (Schaefer) and Director Hilkey and ultimately Governor (Jared) Polis will have to address,” Gonzales said in an interview. “It’s hard to say we’re aiming for Colorado to be one of the ten safest states in the country when we look at 517-day delays in processing a rape kit. That goal, with the existing waiting time, is simply diametrically opposed to each other.”
Hilkey said at the hearing that the CBI could not immediately resolve the problem because of the time it takes to train new analysts and the time to process the kits themselves. Schaefer told the committee that the fastest time he has ever seen to process a kit is three days, even though the labs are running 24 hours a day.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re in a position today where, if you gave us $5 million right now, we could solve the problem immediately,” Hilkey said. “It’s just a matter of time to get the scientists on board (and) get the process done.”
Officials said they may expedite some cases if the court deadline approaches or if there are other priority circumstances.
Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat who is not a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said several lawmakers are considering legislation to address the problem. The issue has special meaning for her: She was sexually assaulted last February, she said, and is still waiting for her package to be processed.
“The lack of answers means I feel like my life is on hold and it is impossible to move forward,” Willford said in a statement. “I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. The backlog of DNA cases and rape kits is unacceptable and the state must take addressing the backlog seriously.”
Hilkey said the department brought in 15 trainee scientists to do live casework so they could review the cases handled by Woods, the analyst who manipulated the data, to determine the extent of the misconduct. Investigators have found more than 1,000 “impacted cases” during Woods’ nearly 30-year career, the CBI announced last month.
This distraction forced sixteen scientists to take on the workload of new cases, adding to the backlog. The department has since resumed training for those charged with reviewing cases and is working to hire more scientists.
Officials are also exploring other options to clear the backlog and return to the 90-day standard, they said.
“We want to make sure we serve victims in every way we can,” Hilkey testified about sexual assault cases. “… This crime, we can hardly think of – perhaps short of murder – anything more heinous or contrary to the people of our state, and we want to respect and honor that again by returning to a reasonable standard. ”
Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican on the House committee, said he was “shocked” by the backlog.
“This is a real crime that the state of Colorado must make a top priority,” he said in an interview Monday. “We need to accelerate the timeline for rape kits, but we also need to deal with what happened to this lab analyst.”
Soper highlighted the dual priorities of the criminal justice system, each of which has been jeopardized by Woods’ misconduct: avoiding sending an innocent person to prison while ensuring swift justice. He said he planned to introduce a bill that would require the CBI to notify all involved parties — accused, prosecutors and victims — when there is a data compromise.
Spencer, the assault victim, wondered in the interview what the testing delay would mean for other survivors of a crime that has already been committed. underreported. She felt it was her civic duty to testify about the issue, she said, and expressed hope that it would spur government officials to action.
The backlog isn’t just a bureaucratic delay, she said. It represents people who cannot get justice and rapists who are allowed to live their lives freely.
“It’s a systemic issue of the way victims are treated,” Spencer said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t believe it if someone told me they (in my experience) had reported a rape. It’s so inhumane.”
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