Hargitay also helped draw attention to the issue among lawmakers (AP file photo)
More than 250 convictions have emerged from a long-running investigation into thousands of sexual assault cases in Detroit, Michigan, where evidence had remained untested for decades.
American actress Mariska Hargitay, best known for her role as detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU, was among those who helped fund and support the effort. According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, the Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Project had secured 263 convictions by April 2025, while investigations and prosecutions were still continuing.The project began in 2009, when authorities discovered 11,341 sexual assault evidence kits inside a Detroit Police Department warehouse. According toAccording to Wayne County, Michigan, the kits related to cases dating from 1984 to 2009, but none had been submitted for testing.
The discovery meant that evidence collected over 25 years was still awaiting examination.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy took responsibility for addressing the backlog. However, examining such a large number of kits required considerable funding, which was difficult to secure at the time. Detroit was facing serious financial problems, and the county administration did not initially provide the money needed for the project.
Worthy began approaching organisations and private donors for assistance. What followed was a fundraising effort involving government agencies, charitable foundations and individuals from across the United States and abroad. Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation eventually became one of the organisations supporting the initiative.
How Hargitay became involved in the investigation
Hargitay had already been working with survivors of sexual assault through the Joyful Heart Foundation when she met Worthy at a congressional hearing in 2010.
Their meeting marked the beginning of the foundation's involvement in Detroit's effort to examine the abandoned evidence.Her contribution was not limited to financial support. Hargitay also helped draw attention to the issue among lawmakers, using her public profile to support Worthy's campaign for changes in the handling of sexual assault evidence.In a 2024 interview featured on the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast, Worthy recalled asking Hargitay to come to Detroit after they had appeared before lawmakers.
"She said she would, and she did," Worthy said.The actress subsequently attended a breakfast organised for legislators whom Worthy had struggled to reach. According to the prosecutor, Hargitay's presence helped bring attention to the issue and encouraged political support for reforms. "And I am telling you, that legislation that helped us crack this problem in Michigan sailed through," Worthy recalled.
Why testing the evidence took years
One of the biggest challenges was the cost of examining the evidence.
According to the Los Angeles Times, which reported on the podcast in August 2024, testing a single kit could cost between $1,200 and $1,500. With 11,341 kits awaiting examination, the authorities needed millions of dollars.Funding eventually came from several sources, including the federal government, Michigan authorities, Wayne County and private organisations. Donations were also received from people in all 50 US states and nine foreign countries.
The work went beyond examining evidence already held by police. Investigators also had to follow up on findings from cases that were sometimes decades old.The results showed how serious the consequences of leaving evidence untested could be. In one case highlighted by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, evidence from a 2002 sexual assault was linked to a man who had later been imprisoned for three murders committed during the following seven years.By the project's tenth anniversary in 2019, according to the prosecutor's office, testing of all 11,341 kits had been completed.
Cases reached far beyond Detroit
The investigation eventually extended well beyond Michigan. By April 2025, cases connected to the Detroit project had been linked to 40 US states, including California, Texas, New York, Florida and Washington.The Los Angeles Times reported that the effort had helped solve more than 5,000 cases and identify 22 serial rapists, citing information shared through NBC's coverage of the project.The work also contributed to changes in how Michigan handles sexual assault evidence. The state introduced legislation establishing timelines for submitting kits for testing, along with a tracking system that allows survivors to follow the progress of DNA testing.Hargitay later helped bring the issue to television audiences through I Am Evidence, a 2018 documentary she produced. The film examined the problem of untested sexual assault kits and featured Worthy's efforts in Detroit.
It received an Emmy Award in 2019.
Investigations continue despite completion of testing
Although the original kits have been tested, the cases connected to them have not all reached a conclusion. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said investigations and prosecutions were continuing in 2025, more than 15 years after the evidence was discovered.Worthy has remained associated with Hargitay's foundation, serving as its vice-chair and co-chair of its National Council of Leadership and Innovation.The Detroit project has also been used to develop practices for investigating sexual assault cases and managing evidence in other parts of the United States.