For anyone who has been the victim of a crime, knowing investigators are actively seeking justice is something that can provide comfort during a stressful time.

Knowing that you haven’t been forgotten about and that your case matters can make a huge difference in the healing process.

This is especially true when it comes to sexual assault crimes.

Victims of sexual assault often must go through invasive examinations and rape kits to collect evidence, and if nothing is ever done with the information collected, some victims feel as if they have been violated again.

In Ohio, more than 13,000 rape kits were untested, that is before Attorney General Mike DeWine started an initiative to bring sexual criminals to justice.

As of July 1, a total of 4,055 matches to DNA profiles already in the CODIS database have been obtained from those previously untested rape kits. Authorities from 294 law enforcement agencies have sent a total 13,890 rape kits to BCI for testing as part of the special initiative.

“Our commitment is to test every rape kit,” DeWine said. “We owe it to the victims of these attacks, and we owe it to the public.”

Sexual assault crimes are horrific and something no one should ever have to go through. The sexual assault testing initiative is one step closer to giving victims justice and it shows that they have not been forgotten about.