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SF DA Boudin, Legislators Push Bill Stopping Law Enforcement From Misusing Rape Victims' DNA

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) – San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin recently paired with state legislators on a bill, proposed this week, that ban law enforcement agencies from using DNA of a woman obtained after a sexual assault investigation to link her to an unrelated crime.

On Monday, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and Boudin announced the introduction of Senate Bill 1228, also called Genetic Privacy for Sexual Assault Victims.

The legislation would prohibit law enforcement agencies throughout the state from retaining DNA from rape kits and using them in searchable databases used for purposes unrelated to sexual assaults.

The law came together following accusations that San Francisco police used the DNA of a woman obtained after a sexual assault investigation to link her to an unrelated crime. According to Boudin's office, federal law already prohibits DNA from sexual assault victims being placed in the national database Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS. However, there is no state law prohibiting the practice.

In addition to prohibiting California law enforcement agencies from using the DNA of sexual assault victims, AB 1228 would also prohibit law enforcement agencies from using the DNA of sexual assault victims' close contacts for anything other than the sexual assault investigation.

The bill also calls for the state's Committee on Revision of the Penal Code to study whether further legislation is needed to safeguard the privacy of Californians who've submitted DNA as part of a rape investigation, and to figure out whether a forensic oversight board is needed.

"Victims of sexual assault should be encouraged and supported in coming forward to undergo sexual assault examinations to identify their perpetrator," Boudin said in a statement. "Instead, the practice by a police crime lab that my office exposed treats victims like criminals. It not only violates their privacy, but it dissuades victims from reporting sexual violence -- which makes us all less safe."

"Sexual assault is among the worst things that any person can experience, and we must do everything in our power to support and protect survivors who make the brave choice to come forward," Wiener said. "It is an unbelievable violation to use survivors' DNA -- given expressly for the purpose of finding or prosecuting a perpetrator -- to incriminate them. Sexual assault exams are traumatic enough as it is; we don't need to create additional reasons for survivors to forgo them. "

"We must do all we can to support survivors of sexual assault. This legislation sends the message they can trust the criminal justice system and come forward to report their cases," Ting said.

Last month, Boudin accused San Francisco police of using DNA voluntarily submitted by a woman after a 2016 sexual assault in a recent search for suspects in an unrelated suspected crime. Boudin's office has since dropped all charges against the woman in the recent criminal case.

Boudin alleged the practice isn't limited to San Francisco and is routine with law enforcement agencies across the state, but said it's illegal under Marsy's Law, the California Victim's Bill of Rights Act of 2008.

Police Chief Bill Scott has said the Police Department's existing DNA policies are within state and national laws, but Scott has since moved to end the practice.

Scott said on Monday he is in support of the proposed state bill.

"When revelations came to our attention about our department's possible misuse of a DNA profile, I ordered an immediate change to our crime lab practices assuring that it doesn't happen again," he said. "We promptly implemented an interim policy change, and we are currently engaging with the San Francisco City Attorney's Office and California Department of Justice on permanently revised policies to protect the DNA of survivors, victims, and all whose cooperation we depend on when we investigate crimes."

© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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