Hubbard Farms residents in southwest Detroit went vigilante on an alleged rapist after Detroit police took a whopping 21 days to send the victim's rape kit in for testing.
According to WXYZ, back in mid-July, a 15-year-old Hubbard Farms resident with Down Syndrome accused a man from the neighborhood of raping her when she was on her way to work. Seven hours of waiting later, she was administered a rape kit at the hospital. Five days of waiting later she was interviewed by police about the incident. 23 days of waiting later and no arrest had been made.
Community members say they asked the police for help repeatedly. When it didn't work, they put up their own wanted posters to warn neighbors. And then beat the accused, a man who is said to have mental health issues, with a baseball bat.
When 7 Action News asked officials why the investigation was taking so long, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said they have asked Detroit Police for more evidence and are waiting to determine if charges will be brought.
Detroit Police say the prosecutor’s office is waiting on DNA. The MSP crime lab does have the rape kit and are expediting it. When we told Detroit Police we wanted a reason for the delay, a police spokesperson told 7 Action News, "We are looking into this."
Unfortunately, this is not the only forgotten rape in Detroit. Untested kits could number as many as 10,000 dating back to a 2009 incident.
