FORT MYER, Fla. -- Criminals charged with rape can land behind bars for years, but it can stick with the victim much longer. For years Coleen Henderson has helped women who've dealt with the traumatic experience. "The crime of rape for the survivor lasts a lifetime."
She's not shocked to hear 13,000 rape kits in Florida have not been processed. "That doesn't surprise me. If the case isn't going to go forward, then in the past, what's happened is they don't process the kit."
Results from a $300,000 study conducted by the state also reveal 498 kits in Lee County have gone untested.
Attorney Scot Goldberg tells Four in Your Corner's Malcolm Johnson, when representing rape victims, it helps to already have the rape kits tested. "As a criminal defense attorney, you want that done as soon as possible. You want those results as soon as possible, so you know what evidence you're dealing with, what discovery you're going to be getting from the State Attorney's Office." But he realizes there are plenty of reasons law enforcement doesn't send them all in.
When asked why there are so many untested kits in Lee county, a spokesman with the Sheriffs Office told Fox 4 by email: "There are no active rape investigations where the kits sit and collect dusk. It has never happened nor will it."
Those who work with rape victims say the best case scenario would be making it mandatory for all kits to be processed for testing. "For survivors that have not gone forward for whatever reason or they were afraid," said Henderson.
