Cabell senator to reintroduce sexual assault legislation

“In light of the current news surrounding the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in our country, it is my belief that expanding protections and paths to justice for survivors of assault is more important than ever,” Woelfel said.

Woelfel said the first bill is modeled after the Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights passed by Congress in 2016. The legislation would establish numerous rights for assault survivors, including a right to have a personal representative accompany a survivor to a health-care facility for an examination, the right to have an assault evidence collection kit tested, and preserved for up to 20 years, and the right to a 60-day notice prior to the disposal of any evidence.

The bill would require collecting and storing DNA samples for anyone charged with a felony, similar to the way fingerprints are currently collected. The bill also would require storing DNA samples from rape kits, whether a police report is filed in the case or not.

The legislation is similar to Senate Bill 69, which Woelfel introduced during the 2017 session. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 34-0, but did not make it out of the House Judiciary Committee.

Woelfel also intends to re-introduce legislation similar to Senate Bill 167, which also passed the Senate unanimously and died in the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would require the state’s Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Commission to come up with protocols and recommend legislation for the processing of rape kits and would require standards for storing DNA samples from rape kits.

“The current backlog of untested kits is unacceptable ,and the prolonged wait is far too common for survivors in West Virginia,” Woelfel said. He said the bill would mandate efficient time frames for kit testing.

Both bills passed the state Senate in March, but remained in committee in the House when the regular legislative session ended in April. Woelfel stood up on the Senate floor to protest the lack of progress of the bills in the opposite chamber.

“It’s beyond shameful,” Woelfel said at the time. “The average time for a forensic rape kit is 460 days from the day it reaches the lab until there’s a result given. When you add the time it takes to get the kit there and get it back, a rape victim has two years in purgatory before they even have the results.

“Of course,” Woelfel added, “there can’t be any prosecution of the rapist, who is probably out on bond doing God knows what while this is all pending in the court system.”

Woelfel said he intends to re-introduce both bills on the first day of the new legislative session.

“These bills address basic rights for survivors that will modernize our process, and I have every confidence that the Legislature will act swiftly to approve them,” he said.