Section 27 DNA Exception to Statute of Limitations 1
Chapter 41 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 97B½, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 97B1/2. (a) A hospital licensed pursuant to chapter 111 and all other medical facilities that conduct medical forensic examinations shall notify a local law enforcement agency at the time the evidence of a sexual assault is obtained and no later than 24 hours after using a new kit for the collection of sexual assault evidence.
(b) Local law enforcement agencies shall:
(1) Take possession of the sexual assault evidence kit from hospitals and other medical facilities that conduct medical forensic examinations within 3 business days of notification.
(2) Submit new sexual assault evidence kits to the crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory and has a population of more than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, within 7 business days of taking possession, except that non-investigatory sexual assault evidence kits associated with a victim who has not yet filed a report with law enforcement shall not be subject to the 7 day requirement. Non-investigatory kits shall be safely stored by law enforcement in a manner that preserves evidence for the duration of the statute of limitations for all sexual assault and rape cases; provided, however, that all kits shall be retained for not less than 15 years.
(c) The crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory and has a population of more than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, shall test all sexual assault evidence kits within 30 days of receipt from local law enforcement, notwithstanding the statute of limitations of the underlying offense.
(d) In cases where testing results in a DNA profile, the crime laboratory shall enter the full profile into CODIS and the state DNA database.
(e) Each sexual assault evidence kit shall be entered into the statewide sexual assault evidence kit tracking system pursuant to section 18X of chapter 6A.
Summary
This section, together with its related section, requires that all sexual assault rape kits be stored for a minimum of 15 years and provides an exception to the 15-year statute of limitations in instances in which DNA technology has identified a match.