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.
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. “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.
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.