Baltimore County seeking survivors of decades-old sexual assault cold cases

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TOWSON — Baltimore County officials are encouraging sexual assault survivors who received treatment at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center between 1977 and 1997 to reach out to a new hotline that will offer case updates and resources.

Survivors who reach out can either opt in or opt out of receiving information about sexual assault evidence in their cases that was saved but never tested for DNA identification.

More than 1,000 of these “cold case slides” have been sent to a lab for DNA testing since November. All of the slides are expected to be tested by the end of this year.

“Today we’re here to encourage those looking for answers to reach out to our expert partner advocates who will help guide them through the process, connect them with resources, and share next steps,” County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. said. “That will ensure that survivors have the resources and the information they need and deserve.”

Survivors can reach out to the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault by calling 833-364-0046 or emailing [email protected].

The cold case slides exist because of a GBMC emergency room physician, Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker, who preserved evidence from more than 2,000 sexual assaults on microscope slides beginning in the 1970s, before DNA testing was available. The slides were preserved at GBMC and are viable for DNA testing, which helped lead to the arrest of a 70-year-old alleged serial rapist last year.

Since November, 1,400 cold case slides have been subpoenaed by the Baltimore County Police Department, according to a news release. The slides will be tested by the end of the year with help from a $1.5 million grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services and a grant of up to $500,000 from the Hackerman Foundation.

Tuesday’s outreach is an effort to proactively give survivors a chance to say whether they do or do not want more information about their cases, said Amanda Rodriguez, executive director of TurnAround, the rape crisis center for Baltimore City and County.

“Survivors deserve to have choice given back to them,” Rodriguez said, “and they should determine how they want to engage with the system.”

Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said the untested slides were known to his office, but not previously examined because it was believed DNA testing would not make a difference in the outcomes of cases. Shellenberger said cases where the assailant was known to the victim, for example, don’t necessarily turn on DNA evidence and may have been set aside in the past because of prosecutorial concerns.

Shellenberger said he realized last year, however, that the untested slides might still include what he called “stranger on stranger” cases, where the victim did not know the assailant. (Most sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, data shows.)

Shellenberger previously thought that the slides in such cases had been tested, he said, but last year’s arrest of an alleged serial rapist led to the testing of the remaining slides being accelerated. Shellenberger said that his interest in the new round of testing is in identifying more “stranger on stranger” cases, though other advocates present Tuesday emphasized that assailants who are known to their victims may go on to assault other people.

“When we fail to analyze these kits, when we fail to analyze slides because we think they’ve all been analyzed, we are failing survivors and communities,” said Lisae C. Jordan, the executive director of MCASA.

“That’s why this initiative is so important,” Jordan said. “It recognizes the survivors, it recognizes their trauma, and it holds the potential for justice.”