San Francisco district attorney dismisses case against woman allegedly linked to crime from rape exam

Feb. 15, 4:15 p.m.: San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin dropped felony property charges filed against a woman Tuesday after decrying San Francisco police's alleged practice of using DNA from rape victims during searches for criminal suspects.

"It is my commitment going forward to never use DNA obtained in this unlawful way," Boudin said during a briefing. "Our conversations with the leadership at SFPD Crime Lab suggest that this is a routine practice not only in San Francisco but at other crime labs across the state."

A spokesperson for Boudin's office declined to comment further on the particulars of the case to SFGATE in an effort to protect the woman's privacy.

But as the revelation continues to make national headlines, San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen and California state Sen. Scott Wiener are calling for state and city bans on the practice.

Feb. 14, 4:45 p.m.: The San Francisco District Attorney's Office has come forward with allegations that the San Francisco Police Department used a woman's DNA previously obtained from a rape kit to arrest her for a property crime.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced the bombshell during a Monday press conference, as first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle. (SFGATE and The Chronicle are both owned by Hearst but operate independently of each other.)

Boudin alleges that he was informed of this police practice last week, The Chronicle reports.

If true, Boudin said, the revelation would further discourage survivors of rape and sexual assault in San Francisco from coming forward. SFPD has faced scrutiny in the past related to its mishandling of sexual assault cases. A 2014 KGO investigation found hundreds of untested rape kits spanning nearly a decade, and in 2019, a woman petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case against the Police Department for its mishandling of her rape.

"I am disturbed that victims who have the courage to undergo an invasive examination to help identify their perpetrators are being treated like criminals rather than supported as crime victims," Boudin said in a statement to SFGATE. "We should encourage survivors to come forward — not collect evidence to use against them in the future. This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings. This is legally and ethically wrong. My office is demanding that this practice end immediately, and is encouraging local and state legislators to introduce legislation to end this practice in California. We remain committed to doing everything in our power to support survivors of sexual violence."

San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott declined to confirm the allegations in a statement, saying that "our existing DNA collection policies have been legally vetted and conform with state and national forensic standards."

"We must never create disincentives for crime victims to cooperate with police, and if it's true that DNA collected from a rape or sexual assault victim has been used by SFPD to identify and apprehend that person as a suspect in another crime, I'm committed to ending the practice," he said in a statement.

The allegation is likely to intensify ongoing tensions between San Francisco police and the D.A.'s Office. Earlier this month, Scott announced that the Police Department would no longer cooperate with Boudin's office to independently investigate police misconduct after alleging that the office violated the memorandum by withholding information. A D.A.'s Office spokesperson denied the claims.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced earlier Monday that they would intervene to ensure an agreement between the two offices.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.