Hundreds of sexual assault victims waiting more than a year for DNA results

Hundreds of sexual assault victims have been waiting more than a year to have evidence from their attacks tested at Queensland’s government-run DNA lab, raising fears rapists are evading justice.

Forensic scientist Kirsty Wright. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

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Hundreds of sexual assault victims have been waiting more than a year to have forensic evidence from their attacks tested at Queensland’s government-run DNA laboratory, raising fears that rapists are evading justice. Lengthy testing delays at the troubled DNA lab – which is undergoing a $200m rebuild after two major commissions of inquiry – could be preventing police from making arrests or laying charges, with matters before the courts being prioritised.

The Justice Department’s lab is struggling to keep up with current demands as it implements recommendations from the two inquiries and conducts a historical review of more than 40,000 major crime cases embroiled in a testing fiasco dating back to 2007.

New data obtain by The Australian reveals police are currently waiting for results from 1058 rape kits, 420 of which were submitted for testing more than a year ago.

Almost half of the 1058 cases have not even undergone initial biological examination, which includes screening for sperm and reporting those results to police. There are now 11,536 forensic samples from 3185 major crime cases – including murders and rapes – waiting for DNA results.

The growing backlog of cases, which are separate to the historical review, is set to become a major political problem for Premier Steven Miles’s Labor government, which will enter the official election campaign period at the end of the month.

Forensic scientist Kirsty Wright, who first exposed Queensland’s DNA lab disaster on the The Australian’s podcast Shandee’s Story, said she was “red-hot angry” that the lab was continuing to fail sexual assault victims. “There are no excuses at all that 40 per cent of sexual offence kits are taking longer than 12 months to complete by the new DNA lab,” she said.

“In other DNA labs, sexual assault kits would typically be tested within two weeks.

“This is extremely poor strategy and management, and someone needs to be held publicly responsible.”

Dr Wright said testing delays would be adding to trauma of sexual assault victims.

“It was obvious in the 2022 commission of inquiry that the lab needed a major overhaul and tens of thousands of cases needed retesting,” she said. “As early as 2022, plans should have been put in place to outsource a majority of major crime cases, which would have prevented the failures we are seeing now.

“With a backlog of 3185 current major crime cases and over 40,000 historical major crime cases, at what point is FSQ going to consider that the only realistic course of action is to temporarily shut the lab down and outsource cases.

“It has been 18 months and many millions of dollars later, and what we are seeing is the generation of new backlogs.”

Dr Wright in April called on the state government to shut the lab down and outsource all further testing internationally until it could be rebuilt. DNA labs in Texas and Washington DC were shut down and their testing outsourced after testing problems were discovered. Queensland began outsourcing some of its testing to other labs in New Zealand and Britain after the first commission of inquiry, but Dr Wright said more needed to be done to tackle the backlog.

Dr Kirsty Wright, left, and Vicki Blackburn, the mother of Shandee Blackburn. Picture David Clark

New rape kits were rolled out across the state last July, after revelations the health department was using “significantly inferior” equipment to other states when collecting vital DNA evidence from victims.

A Forensic Science Queensland spokesman said scientists had to undergo “extensive training” on how to examine evidence from the new kits before they could begin casework.

“FSQ anticipates seeing a significant increase in testing cap­acity in coming months,” he said.

“Urgent Forensic Medical Evidence Kit matters assigned by Queensland police are prioritised and progressed through the laboratory within five business days.

“All other FMEKs are progressed based on an agreed priority list with the Queensland Police Service.”

The spokesman said the lab had run recruitment campaigns, prioritised training and expanded outsourcing agreements with other labs to “address the DNA backlog whilst ensuring scientific integrity of results”.

“Additionally, FSQ continues to engage with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and QPS to identify high priority cases for DNA testing and statement/report preparation.”

The DNA backlog is causing chaos in the courts, with cases being delayed until samples can be tested.

In November, Bailey Douglas Sinclair, accused of helping a group of people commit murder, was granted bail after spending nearly 18 months on remand because of DNA testing delays.

In March, a central Queensland man accused of rape, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had his trial pushed to early 2025 because of outstanding DNA evidence.

The son of a couple killed in a plane crash last October was forced to delay his parents’ funeral after the forensic lab took months to formally identify and release the bodies.

FSQ chief executive Linzi ­Wilson-Wilde said in mid-2023 that she was confident clearing the backlog of samples would take “two to three years”.

Shandee Blackburn.

The two commissions of inquiry were launched in 2022 and 2023 as a result of Dr Wright’s revelations on The Australian’s Shandee’s Story podcast, which probed the 2013 stabbing murder of Mackay woman Shandee Blackburn.

During the initial murder investigation, Queensland’s forensic lab was unable to find any DNA on some swabs taken from Blackburn’s body and at the crime scene, including a large pool of blood in a gutter.

There was also no DNA found in samples taken from parts of the vehicle used by her former boyfriend John Peros, the main police suspect, who had tested presumptively positive to blood.

In a statement, a QPS spokeswoman said police were “committed to ensuring DNA evidence is used effectively to identify offenders of serious crime, fully investigate offences, and seek justice on half of victims”.

“Members of the public can make general enquiries about their matter through the Policelink Online Portal or by calling the dedicated QPS hotline for DNA testing on 1300 993 191.”