US rape victim leads project to catch predators

US rape victim leads project to catch predators

Natasha Alexenko and her friend Trevor Ballin, the creative director for fashion designer Derek Lam, in New York. -- PHOTO: AP NEW YORK - NATASHA Alexenko wants more rapists in prison. A sexual assault survivor who waited 15 years to see her assailant brought to justice, Ms Alexenko - who is featured in an upcoming HBO documentary on sex crime prosecutions - insists authorities often have the evidence to convict predators, but it goes untested for years. It happened to her. The Long Island woman is the founder of and spokesman for the new Natasha's Justice Project, which seeks to advocate for rape victims and erase a nationwide backlog of untested sexual assault kits, also known as rape kits. The backlog could be in the tens of thousands, according to some estimates. 'You'd be surprised how many people are not aware of the fact that an individual is sexually assaulted, we ...

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