San Francisco DA denounces use of rape kit DNA to arrest victim

San Francisco’s district attorney said Monday that police used DNA on file from a rape kit to identify a woman connected to an alleged property crime, a move the local official denounced as treating “victims like evidence.”

District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office reportedly learned of the practice last week. The revelation came after the results of a rape exam conducted years ago connected a woman to a recent property crime, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The woman was given an exam after an instance of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and her DNA was used in her arrest on suspicion of a felony property crime.

On Monday, Boudin issued a statement denouncing the use of DNA from sexual assault victims to identify possible crime suspects.

“Rapes and sexual assault are violent, dehumanizing, and traumatic. I am disturbed that victims who have the courage to undergo an invasive examination to help identify their perpetrators are being treated like criminals rather than supported as crime victims,” Boudin said, noting that his office demanded an end to the practice.

“We should encourage survivors to come forward—not collect evidence to use against them in the future. This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings. This is legally and ethically wrong,” he added.

Boudin also said that his office would encourage “local and state legislators to introduce legislation to end this practice in California.”

The district attorney also noted to the Chronicle that if DNA was used without consent for a reason other than the rape kit, that could be considered a constitutional violation of one’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and a possible violation of California’s Victims’ Bill of Rights.