House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is calling on the FBI to investigate whether sexual assault victims’ DNA could be used to implicate them in unrelated crimes.
A letter that the California Democrat sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray questioned whether DNA profiles collected from sexual assault victims could be uploaded to the National DNA Index System’s offender database, with recent reporting “indicating” that the San Francisco Police Department used DNA from a victim’s medical rape exam to later link them to a property crime.
BIDEN ORDERS TROOPS TO BALTIC REGION FOLLOWING RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE
“Do current federal laws and regulations permit law enforcement agencies to upload DNA profiles obtained from crime victims to the National DNA Index System’s offender database?” Schiff asked.
Schiff, who represents California’s 28th Congressional District, also asked if the FBI planned to “expunge” any DNA profiles if the practice was prohibited, arguing that it could have a “chilling effect” on sexual assault reporting.
Schiff’s letter comes a week after San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin reported that his office discovered that a law enforcement database with DNA collected from sexual assault victims was being searched for possible suspects.
“This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings. This is legally and ethically wrong. My office is demanding that this practice end immediately, and is encouraging local and state legislators to introduce legislation to end this practice in California,” Boudin wrote in a statement.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement that his department will be reviewing DNA collection practices and policies.
Scott commented that the department’s policies “have been legally vetted and conform with state and national forensic standards.”
“Although I am informed of the possibility that the suspect, in this case, may have been identified through a DNA hit in a non-victim DNA database, I think the questions raised by our District Attorney today are sufficiently concerning that I have asked my Assistant Chief for Operations to work with our Investigations Bureau to thoroughly review the matter, and report back to me and to our D.A.’s office partners,” Scott wrote.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Schiff said in his letter that he is prepared to draft legislation to oppose sexual assault kits that are used in this manner, if necessary.
According to data from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, more than 2 in 3 sexual assaults go unreported to police.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed that the bureau had received Schiff’s letter but offered no further comment.
SFPD did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
