San Francisco’s district attorney has dropped charges against a woman whose DNA collected from a rape kit was used to link her to a property crime, citing a violation of her constitutional rights.
District attorney Chesa Boudin said his office learned that the city’s police were using DNA samples collected from sexual assault victims to identify possible suspects last week, and is calling for legislation to ban the practice.
“This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings,” Boudin said on Monday. “This is legally and ethically wrong.” Officials said the practice violated the defendants’ fourth amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, and runs afoul of California’s Victims’ Bill of Rights.
The woman’s DNA, which was collected in a rape exam as part of a domestic violence and sexual abuse case several years ago, was used to link her to a felony property crime in the city. Police identified her in the crime based on evidence from the rape exam, Boudin said.
It was unclear whether any other sexual assault victims have been arrested for later crimes based on evidence submitted in a rape exam, Boudin said. His office believes that one of the police’s DNA databases could include DNA profiles from rape victims collected over several years, and that this database is regularly used to search for matches to DNA found at crime scenes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The San Francisco police chief, Bill Scott, said he asked the assistant chief for operations and the investigations bureau “to thoroughly review the matter and report back to me and to our DA’s office partners” as to the extent of the practice.
Boudin also expressed concerns the practice would deter victims of sexual assault, which is widely underreported in the US, from coming forward.
“If survivors believe their DNA may end up being used against them in the future, they’ll have one more reason not to participate in the rape kit process,” said the California state senator Scott Wiener, who said he was working with Boudin’s office to pass legislation to prevent the practice if needed. It is unclear how many police departments use DNA databases of sexual assault victims to identify suspects.
Boudin, who facing a recall effort, was elected to his position in 2019 alongside a national wave of progressive prosecutors seeking to reform the criminal justice system.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
