Joyful Heart in the News

The Missouri Attorney General's Office says it hopes to determine by early next year how many untested rape kits are on shelves in Missouri, a first step in an effort to improve the state's response to sexual assault.

Attorney General Josh Hawley's Deputy Chief of Staff, Loree Anne Paradise, said the office is working with advocacy groups and others to determine the best way to find out how many kits have not been tested and what factors led to the backlog. The audit comes after reporting by the Columbia Missourian on untested kits and follows recommendations by a panel that studied how to improve the state's response to sexual assault.