ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez announced a new justice plan on Wednesday as the rape kit backlog is nearing completion.
The brainchild of lawyer Randi McGinn, Project Predator is an initiative that will focus on prosecuting these backlog cases and includes 40 special prosecutors from the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association.
“We are now focused, in cooperation and coordination with our law enforcement partners first and foremost Albuquerque Police Department, in preparing solid cases based on the results that we do have from those tested kits,” said Torrez.
McGinn explains that a woman is sexually assaulted every 96 seconds in America and in prosecuting this backlog of cases, survivors of sexual assaults will finally be able to receive justice.
“It is extraordinary that we have public servants, the mayor, Raul, Sarina, who are willing to undo this backlog and get some justice for all these women who’ve been waiting for the last 10, 15 years for the person who raped them to be caught,” said McGinn.
At this time, 23 cases have been assigned to these special prosecutors. Three of these cases have been indicted and are pending jury trial.
