Waiting for evidence results while a serial rapist may be
lurking is a source of great frustration
The series of five sexual assaults in Gilroy since April – two, thankfully, unsuccessful – have set the city’s residents on edge. Most of the victims have been minors, one a 12-year-old girl, another a 14-year-old boy. No one has been arrested in any of these attacks.
The wait for information from the county, though apparently justifiable, is incredibly frustrating and it prompts the question, “Isn’t there any way given the serious circumstances that this community”s police department can get answers to basic questions like whether this is the work of a serial rapist or a known sex offender confirmed by DNA evidence?”
Police have submitted rape kits to the crime lab in two of the recent attacks, but will have to wait at least three weeks for the results. We’re told that Santa Clara County’s crime lab is one of the fastest in the state.
When results are available, police will be able to compare the results to see if one man or two is responsible for those two cases. They’ll be able to compare the DNA results to the DNA database to see if there’s a match.
In the meantime, the community waits and holds its breath, hoping police catch the man or men behind these attacks before someone else is victimized by a sexual assault.
But it’s not only in these recent rape cases that crime lab delays have a dramatic impact. The trial of David Vincent Reyes, charged with killing former Garlic Festival queen Franca Barsi, has been delayed for months due to pending lab results.
A ruling on Kathryn Ryle’s suspicious death – she died of a gunshot wound in September – is pending due to fingerprint results that Det. Frank Bozzo is awaiting from the crime lab.
Lab director Benny Del Re says that the county crime lab’s workload has increased by a staggering 25 percent a year for the last several years.
Science has enabled us to analyze more evidence in new ways, and that’s why the crime lab is overloaded with forensic evidence. But for that evidence to have maximum impact and practical value – in arresting criminals and preventing new victims – it must be processed in a timely manner.
Santa Clara County is facing a severe budget crunch. Despite that, public safety needs to be a top priority, and funding for county crime lab operations should ensure that the lab has the resources to decrease the amount of time it takes to process forensic evidence and thereby increase public safety.though apparently justifiable, is incredibly frustrating and it prompts the question, “Isn’t there any way given the serious circumstances this community’s police department can get answers to basic questions like whether this is the work of a serial rapist or a known sex offender confirmed by DNA evidence?”
Police have submitted rape kits to the crime lab in two of the recent attacks, but will have to wait at least three weeks for the results. We’re told that Santa Clara County’s crime lab is one of the fastest in the state.
When results are available, police will be able to compare the results to see if one man or two is responsible for those two cases. They’ll be able to compare the DNA results to the DNA database to see if there’s a match.
In the meantime, the community waits and holds its breath, hoping police catch the man or men behind these attacks before someone else is victimized by a sexual assault.
But it’s not only in these recent rape cases that crime lab delays have a dramatic impact. The trial of David Vincent Reyes, charged with killing former Garlic Festival queen Franca Barsi, has been delayed for months due to pending lab results.
A ruling on Kathryn Ryle’s suspicious death – she died of a gunshot wound in September – is pending due to fingerprint results that Det. Frank Bozzo is awaiting from the crime lab.
Lab director Benny Del Re says that the county crime lab’s workload has increased by a staggering 25 percent a year for the last several years.
Science has enabled us to analyze more evidence in new ways, and that’s why the crime lab is overloaded with forensic evidence. But for that evidence to have any practical value – in arresting criminals and preventing new victims – it must be processed in a timely manner.
Santa Clara County is facing a severe budget crunch. Despite that, public safety needs to be a top priority, and funding for county crime lab operations should ensure that the lab has the resources to decrease the amount of time it takes to process forensic evidence and increase public safety.
