Thousands Of NC Sexual Assault Kits In Backlog Now Tested

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says over half of the untested sexual assault kits recently accounted for in law enforcement evidence lockers have now been tested or are awaiting testing at private labs. Stein and Republican lawmakers held a Legislative Building news conference on Tuesday to update efforts to tests more than 16,000 older kits. Stein says testing nearly 3,000 of these kits so far has led to evidence resulting in at least 40 arrests. A 2019 law set aside $6 million to test these kits. The Democratic attorney general says another $9 million is needed from legislators to eliminate the backlog entirely.