Eugene weekly., February 16, 2017, Page 12, Image 12

TRACKING
THE
AND SEARCHING
FOR
BACKLOG
JUSTICE
How Melissa’s Law is working to
address Oregon’s rape kit problem
By Corinne Boyer
R
achael said “no” repeatedly
to the man who came into her
Oregon apartment and attacked
her on the night of July 6, 2014.
She cried, knowing that her
children were in the next room.
She didn’t want them to hear.
The man who raped her lived
across the street.
Two days later, Rachael
went in for a sexual assault nurse exam (SANE) in which
evidence would be collected for a rape kit. She waited
weeks more to report the rape to police because she was
“terrified” of her attacker.
“I had already showered and everything by then, but
I still had my underwear not washed yet, my pants not
washed yet, the sheets, blanket, and I submitted that for
evidence in the place of … you know, I mean I had the full
kit done, but they were saying you showered pretty well,”
she says.
No DNA was found on her body, but it was found on
the clothing and bedding. Eugene Weekly is not using
Rachael’s full name because she has never told her story
outside of court and does not want to be identified.
In Oregon’s 2016 legislative session, Senate Bill 1571
passed unanimously in both chambers and was signed into
law on March 29 by Gov. Kate Brown.
It’s dubbed Melissa’s Law, after 14-year-old Melissa
Bittler, a Portland girl who was raped and murdered by
a serial rapist in 2001. Portland Police detectives found
similar attacks on girls in 1997 and sent in their untested
rape kits for analysis.
“Had law enforcement tested the kits immediately
following the crimes, the suspect may have been identified
sooner, and Melissa might still be alive today,” according
to Portland attorney Jacqueline Swanson in an article
published by End The Backlog. That’s a nonprofit founded
by Law & Order SVU actress Mariska Hargitay that tracks
the nationwide backlog of rape kits.
Melissa’s Law requires that all non-anonymous rape
kits be prioritized and tested.
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February 16, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com