City of Albuquerque settles lawsuit over rape kit backlog

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A woman brutally attacked and raped more than a decade ago had her rape kit sitting untested for years. Now, the city is shelling out after her attorneys claim her attack and others believed to be committed by the same man could have been prevented.

It was in Albuquerque in December 2010, when a woman said she was walking through a neighborhood of west Central when a man attacked and raped her. She reported the crime to police but her rape kit would go untested for more than seven years.


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According to a lawsuit filed by the victim, the suspect later identified as Victor Gonzales had raped at least two other women in the months before, whose rape kits also sat on shelves untested for years.

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