Rhode Island § 23-98-4 - Sexual Assault Evidence Kits

§ 23-98-4. Mandatory submission and testing requirements for newly collected sexual assault evidence kits.

(a) Medical facilities and all other facilities that conduct medical forensic examinations shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency immediately, and no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the collection of a new sexual assault evidence kit.

(b) Hospitals and state laboratories shall work together to ensure reported kits are transferred from the hospital to the laboratory within ten (10) days of the kit being collected.

(1) Anonymous kits and unreported kits are exempted from this section unless the victim files a report and consents to the testing of their kit. Anonymous kits shall be safely stored by the state laboratory in a manner that preserves evidence for a duration of ten (10) years or the applicable statute of limitations, whichever is greater.

(2) Victims who do not file a report with law enforcement at the time the kit was collected shall not negate their right to report the crime and have their kit tested in the future.

(3) Kits associated with a reported crime that is uncharged or unsolved shall be preserved by the applicable law enforcement agency for fifty (50) years or the length of the applicable statute of limitations, whichever is greater.

(c) Law enforcement shall contact the department of health when a victim of sexual assault files a police complaint. At that point, the department of health shall begin the forensic analysis. An accredited public crime laboratory shall test all kits within thirty (30) days of receipt.

(1) Testing shall be pursued to develop autosomal DNA profiles that are eligible for entry into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and local DNA databases, with the goal of generating a CODIS-eligible DNA profile. If a laboratory is unable to obtain an autosomal CODIS-eligible DNA profile, the laboratory shall evaluate the case to determine if any other DNA-typing results could be used for investigative purposes.

(2) In cases where testing has resulted in a DNA profile, the laboratory shall enter the full profile into the Combined DNA Index System Database (CODIS) and local DNA databases. The average completion rate for this analysis and classification shall not exceed ninety (90) days.

(3) If an accredited public crime laboratory is unable to meet the deadline specified in subsection (c)(2) of this section, untested kits shall be outsourced to an accredited private crime laboratory.