MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Montana is applying for a federal grant to pay to process untested rape kits that had been stored by local law enforcement agencies.

Members of the Montana Sexual Assault Evidence Task Force met Friday in Missoula and said the FBI will test 300 of the unprocessed kits with funding from the National Institute of Justice. Assistant Attorney General Jon Bennion says 10 law enforcement agencies representing some of the largest population areas in Montana can each submit 30 of their unprocessed kits to the FBI for testing,.

The task force in April applied for a federal Bureau of Justice grant to pay outside labs to process another 1,100 kits. The grants will be awarded in the fall.

Bennion said Big Horn County has not responded to requests for information about any untested rape kits it might be holding in evidence.

 

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