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FACT BRIEF

Was there a backlog of untested rape kits in Nevada while Catherine Cortez Masto was attorney general?

By Todd Butterworth
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YES

Democratic U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was Nevada’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015. In 2014, it was revealed that Las Vegas police had more than 4,300 unprocessed rape kits and had only tested 16% of kits received since 2004.

Rape kit results are entered into an FBI database but often go untested because a victim decides not to press charges, a case is solved with other evidence or a lack of funding. By 2018, 95% of Nevada’s 7,300 backlogged rape kits had been tested, leading to 13 arrests. This was possible through grant and legal settlement funding secured by Adam Laxalt, Cortez Masto‘s successor as attorney general and her Republican opponent in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Nevada.

Nevada’s attorney general does not have explicit legal responsibility related to rape test kit processing. However, many state attorneys general, such as Laxalt, spearheaded projects in the mid-2010s to reduce the backlog of untested kits. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Las Vegas Review-Journal Group: 16 percent of Las Vegas rape kits tested since 2004
KRNV 'Rape kits' no longer collecting dust
Nevada Independent On the Record: Democratic Senate Candidate Catherine Cortez Masto
KTNV PolitiFact: Catherine Cortez Masto and rape kits
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.