Police seek grant to tackle sex assault cases

AKRON » Police in Ohio are seeking a nearly $1 million federal grant to help handle the city’s backlog of cold case sexual assaults.

Akron police are looking to use the grant to launch a six-member team for three years to go through the city’s cold cases. The money would come from the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative offered by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The police department currently has 847 sexual assault kits that correspond to an existing DNA profile, but only one detective investigating the cases.

If the funding is approved, the additional detectives will help investigate and prosecute the cases.

City Council is expected to vote on allowing the police department to apply for the grant June 18.