{"id":3138,"date":"2026-07-07T04:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3138"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:34:17","slug":"dna-grant-leads-to-convictions-in-sexual-assault-cold-cases-in-tucson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3138","title":{"rendered":"DNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Decades after their assaults, sexual assault survivors in Tucson are seeing justice following the DNA testing of thousands of backlogged rape kits.<\/p>\n

Read more Prosecutors push for a trial for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk<\/a><\/p>\n

A $1 million grant awarded in 2016 allowed the Tucson Police Department to begin testing a backlog of roughly 2,000 sexual assault kits.<\/p>\n

About 1,000 produced DNA results. Of those, approximately half generated matches to known offenders, according to Tucson Police Detective Dallas Wilson, who works on sexual assault cold cases.<\/p>\n

More than 100 serial offenders identified<\/b><\/h3>\n

Since testing began, Tucson police have identified more than 100 serial offenders. Fourteen have been convicted, with additional cases still moving through the courts.<\/p>\n

Wilson said DNA testing was not always routine prior to Arizona\u2019s laws changing in 2017. If detectives believed a suspect was a known or potentially consensual partner, the kit often went untested.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey thought it would just show that DNA was there,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t show that a sexual assault actually occurred, because it was going to be his DNA in there consensually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some sexual assault kits date back to 1980s<\/b><\/h3>\n

Wilson said the department\u2019s backlog of untested kits stretched back decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have sexual assault kits going all the way back to the 80s,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cMost of these survivors feel like their cases have been forgotten about or neglected and not even cared about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some DNA profiles appeared on multiple kits, revealing serial offenders who had gone undetected for years. Wilson said one question often determines whether a survivor chooses to move forward with their case: whether there are other victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are other victims, those victims band together and want the case reopened,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Survivors are notified face-to-face<\/b><\/h3>\n

For about 700 survivors, DNA evidence has reopened cases once thought unsolvable. Wilson said he tracks down survivors \u2014 sometimes in other states \u2014 to deliver the news in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to me to actually go in person and notify them face to face and let them know that I do care and I do want to reopen the case if that\u2019s what they\u2019re willing to do,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Read more Man accused of shooting girlfriend during argument in Avondale<\/a><\/p>\n

Wilson said survivor reactions vary, but are always emotional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis brings up old wounds,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThey are ultimately appreciative regardless of whether they want to go forward or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said some survivors choose not to pursue their cases further.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been victims that some of them don\u2019t even want to know who the perpetrator was,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThey want to move forward with their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survivor waited nearly 30 years for answers<\/b><\/h3>\n

A survivor identified only as J.L. said she waited nearly three decades before receiving any update on her case.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Not a word one. No,\u201d J.L. said when asked whether she received any follow-up from police.<\/p>\n

She said the lack of contact left her feeling dismissed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel like trash,\u201d J.L. said.<\/p>\n

J.L.\u2019s rapist was convicted 29 years after her assault. She said knowing the offender can no longer victimize others brought her a sense of closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people can no longer hurt other people,\u201d J.L. said. \u201cI think the majority of them are habitual offenders. So, you can\u2019t do this anymore. That\u2019s closure to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson described the grant and updated technology as a turning point for cold case investigations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow with this grant and the new technology, we\u2019re able to go back and not only reopen the investigation but notify the victim of who the assailant was and get actual DNA testing, and in some cases go forward through trial and get justice,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Operation Chill Out, county cooling centers to expand resources during early heat wave<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Testing of backlogged rape kits identifies more than 100 serial offenders, results in 14 convictions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Testing of backlogged rape kits identifies more than 100 serial offenders, results in 14 convictions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3138\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T04:34:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"DNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T04:34:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138\"},\"wordCount\":713,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a55524fe73979cba1e7bcb128cda02b5.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=3138\",\"name\":\"DNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson - 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