Cold case sexual assault survivors encouraged to come forward amid archived sex assault evidence

By David Collins, Greg Ng

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    TOWSON,maryland (WBAL) — Baltimore County launched a proactive campaign Tuesday to empower sexual assault survivors to come forward for an update on their cases.

County and community leaders announced an effort to reach out to cold case sexual assault survivors from 1977-1997 who were treated at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

This comes after the county pledged last year to expedite the testing of cold case sexual assault forensic evidence preserved on more than 2,000 microscope slides by GBMC emergency room physician Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker in the 1970s.

Authorities said a delay in analyzing the slides was caused by a lack of resources and money. In November 2023, officials announced a $1.5 million state grant and $500,000 from the Hackerman Foundation would contribute toward the county completing the testing by the end of this year.

WBAL-TV 11 News Investigates shared an exclusive look inside the GBMC Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) program located in a hidden place at the hospital, where sexual assault survivors are treated and processed.

County leaders are now calling on survivors to call the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault at 833-364-0046 or email notification@mcasa.org to learn more about their evidence.

“We are committed to doing everything possible to bring information, justice and long-awaited closure to sexual assault survivors,” Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said. “We encourage those looking for answers to reach out to our expert partner advocates who will guide them through the process, connect them with resources and share next steps.”

The county said survivors can opt in or out of receiving information about their sexual assault evidence to include next steps and support services from MCASA’s Sexual Assault Legal Institute for discussion of legal options and TurnAround Inc., Baltimore County’s certified rape crisis center.

“MCASA supports survivors and their rights to know about their DNA evidence and rape kit, whether the evidence was collected in decades ago or yesterday,” MCASA Executive Director Lisae Jordan said. “Forensic evidence can be crucial to prosecuting sexual assault cases. I want to be sure that you understand the women, the men, the children that undergo these exams, they should be seen as heroes. They have already gone through trauma. Then, they go to a doctor or a nurse of a health care professional and have another intrusive, invasive exam so the community can be rid of a sexual offender.”

“Our goal is to empower impacted survivors and to ensure their voice is central to this process,” TurnAround Executive Director Amanda Rodriguez said. “These survivors took meaningful steps, with hope, that someday justice would be served in their case — and now, there is a chance for them to realize that hope. Victim engagement is key. We want to give them back power in a situation where to date they have had none.”

Since the November announcement, the police department’s Special Victims Unit subpoenaed 1,408 cold case slides. As of April, the county said more than 1,000 slides were sent to a lab for DNA testing and will be processed as lab capacity allows.

“You are not alone. I urge all the survivors to contact our partner advocates for support and assistance,” Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said. “Our goal is to hold the perpetrators who commit these crimes accountable, but also empowering and providing a voice to all the survivors.”

Officials said that with the ongoing lab work, survivors can expect to be treated with dignity.

“One of the first things that they can expect is an apology from our advocates. We are sorry that they were left without knowing what happened to their evidence for so long. Then, we discuss the project and how or if they want to be contacted moving forward,” said Laura Jessick, with the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“We hope to have all the slides tested by the end of this year, and we hope, when this project is done, it will bring a sense of closure to the victims of these crimes,” Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger said.

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