Mariska Hargitay helped fund testing of 11,341 sexual assault kits in Detroit, producing 263 convictions by April 2025.
The backlog surfaced in 2009 when police uncovered the kits, evidence collected between 1984 and 2009 that had never been examined. Detroit’s fiscal crisis forced prosecutors to seek private and federal backing.
Hargitay, already active through her Joyful Heart Foundation, met prosecutor Kym Worthy at a 2010 congressional hearing, sparking the foundation's involvement. Her presence at a lawmakers’ breakfast further amplified the issue.
The attention helped secure bipartisan support for legislation that mandated timely testing and established a tracking system, allowing survivors to monitor DNA progress.
Testing cost an estimated $1,200 to $1,500 per kit, requiring millions in funding; donations flowed from federal, state, county, and private donors across 50 states and nine countries.
While all kits have been tested, investigations remain ongoing; prosecutors are still pursuing cases that uncovered serial offenders and linked crimes across 40 U.S. states. Additional indictments are expected in the coming months as new evidence emerges.