Rape kit DNA protected under a new California law

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In California, DNA collected from sexual assault victims during an investigation can no longer be used for other purposes, including investigating other crimes. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law Friday.

The bill was introduced in California after the district attorney's office discovered that the San Francisco Police Department had used DNA collected from a victim during a sexual assault investigation to tie that victim to a property crime. In a sexual assault case, a victim's DNA is collected in order to exclude their genes from an investigation, but the district said the police department was adding that information to its general genetic database.

The victim whose arrest kicked off the revelations sued the...

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