Hundreds of suspects ID'd after rape kit testing, more tests still needed

DETROIT (WJBK) - Tuesday morning kicked off the Enough Said African American 490 Challenge, a coalition of women's groups hoping to raise funds to test the remaining rape kits that have not yet been tested.

In 2009, 11,000 untested rape kits were found in a Detroit Police Department storage closet. Since then, around 10,000 kits have been tested. Each kit costs around $490 to test, and about 1,300 kits are left.

It's no secret that the city is strapped for cash. Tuesday morning, several women's organizations stood with Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy encouraging donations to get those remaining kits tested.

"We now have 2,616 CODIS hits. That means, kits that had enough DNA material for profiles to be formed and for that profile to be put into the national DNA database known as CODIS," Worthy said Tuesday morning. "Of that [2,616], 549 suspected serial rapits have been identified. ... The research shows that each rapist rapes on average of seven to 11 women. So, if you take one rapist off the street, you're really protecting seven to 11 more victims."

FOX 2 also learned the CODIS hits have linked to 38 other states. Donations have come in from 50 states and even other countries, and the goal is to raise $650,000 to finish the testing. Many more donations are still needed.

Click here to learn more about taking the African American 490 Challenge, or to make a donation.