SAN ANTONIO — Since 2019, Texas law has required that all sexual assault kits be tested within 90 days after law enforcement requests it. However, in Bexar County, News 4 I-Team found that 284 rape kits had missed that deadline.
When asked about the backlog, the director of the Bexar County Crime Lab, Orin Dym, explained that the increase in cases is a key factor. “All sexual assault kits must be submitted to crime labs,” Dym said. “That’s a national standard and a requirement in Texas. This leads to a growing number of sexual assault cases coming in.”
Dym noted that public awareness about untested sexual assault kits has played a role in this increase. “For years, it was common for investigators to decide which kits to send for testing. The public’s push for all kits to be analyzed caused a significant increase in submissions,” he said. “This shift in practice has had a ripple effect, resulting in all kits coming to the lab.”
Dym began his role at the Bexar County Crime Lab in 2019, the same year the new law on sexual assault kits was implemented. It was also the year Texas legalized hemp, which required additional, more time-consuming drug testing. This added to the lab’s workload, which already covered a wide range of cases. “DNA testing is not just used for sexual assaults,” Dym said. “It’s used for homicides, assaults, burglaries, robberies, and carjackings. This has caused a significant increase in DNA-related evidence, leading to backlogs across multiple case types.”
Delays in testing also affect the criminal justice system. If prosecutors don’t have the evidence they need in a timely manner, they risk allowing accused offenders to go free or having to reduce bail significantly.
To tackle the backlog, Dym and his team prioritized certain types of cases. “We realized that we needed to shift our focus,” he said. “Sexual assault cases and homicides are our top priorities.” This approach might delay other types of cases, but it’s a necessary step to address the most critical evidence backlogs.
To improve efficiency, Dym’s lab introduced robotics, which helped reduce the backlog from 800 rape kits to 284. The lab also hired additional analysts, and once they are fully trained, Dym expects a significant reduction in backlogs—not just for sexual assault kits but across all cases involving DNA testing.
“I have an amazing team doing incredible work,” Dym said. “They’re members of this community too, and the backlogs bother them just as much as anyone else.”
