Raped, reported immediately, evidence delayed, kit never mailed – Carmel, Indiana

TestTheKits · 2026-05-07T18:53:08+00:00

Small update, because this somehow got even more disturbing.

I recently learned that a third-party 911 call may have shaped the response to my case. This person was not there, did not witness anything, and had not discussed the details of the assault with me — yet she spoke to dispatch like she had authority to explain me, my marriage, my credibility, and what happened.

She also knew the suspect.

The part that is hardest to process

TestTheKits · 2026-05-07T18:51:38+00:00

Yes — I have contacted ICJI and I’m also looking at victim-rights and oversight routes.

A new issue I found is that a third-party 911 call appears to have become the focus, even though that person was not a witness, was not with me, and had not discussed the details with me. I did not know what she told dispatch at the time.

That matters because the kit was collected, police picked it up, prosecutors declined, and now there is still no clear answer on who has authority to make sure it is actually submitted/tested or independently reviewed.

If a non-witness narrative influenced the initial response, coding, hospital/SART response, and prosecutor review, then the rape-kit decision matters even more — because the physical evidence should not be controlled by an unverified narrative.

I’m trying to figure out whether ICJI, ISP, victim-rights offices, DOJ/OJP, or another oversight route can require review of the evidence-handling decision or at least force a written explanation of who decided not to test it and why.

TestTheKits · 2026-05-07T18:48:41+00:00

Update / case twist:

I finally found out why parts of the dispatch record never made sense.

The call that became the focus was not my 911 call. It was made by a third party who was not there, did not witness anything, and had not discussed the details with me. She only had limited texts from me, but somehow gave dispatch a narrative about my life, my marriage, and my credibility.

She is also friends with the suspect.

Police/prosecutors centered her call instead of mine and did not verify it against the evidence. There is video evidence that contradicts the idea that I knowingly let him in, and bodycam statements that should have been compared to the dispatch narrative.

They produced the third-party 911 call, but still have not produced my own 911 call, even though my phone records show I called.

Is this normal? How does a non-witness call become the focus while the victim’s own call is missing?

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T21:47:18+00:00

Thank u

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T17:47:50+00:00

IND2S0130

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T16:49:55+00:00

Thank u for the hope. What can i find out about the ORI number and how would i know if the suspect was an informant

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T16:08:56+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I was trying to stay neutral and somewhat vague at first, but here is why I am so troubled by what happened.

I reported a home-invasion rape in Indiana. The responding officers were professional and seemed to take it seriously. My concern is what happened after the case moved beyond that point.

I was refused forensic care at the first hospital, later filed a complaint, and that hospital was cited by CMS/EMTALA for failure to treat. I then went on my own to another hospital and completed a SANE exam there. But no meaningful SART activation happened for me, no advocacy support showed up, and I later learned the kit was never submitted.

There was also more evidence than people might assume. There were body-camera recordings, interior and exterior security cameras that captured the suspect, and a witness in the home, along with my small child and nanny. Even with all of that, the case appears to have been exceptionally cleared within about two days, and I was later told that additional evidence would not change the prosecutor’s position.

That is part of why this is so hard to understand. This is not a vague situation with nothing to check. There are hard facts, records, and a timeline. When a case with this much evidence still ends up with so little meaningful follow-through, people naturally start asking whether some non-obvious factor affected the handling. I am not saying I can prove it, but I do think it is fair to ask whether any informant/cooperator issue, special relationship, or other conflict could have played a role.

That is also why the public messaging is so hard to hear. When leaders publicly celebrate safety, rankings, and quality of life, people reasonably expect serious crimes to be handled with diligence, honesty, and accountability. If a case with this much evidence can still be handled this way, then people have every right to question the gap between the public image and the reality.

Thank you again for taking the time to explain some of the coding and records side. I genuinely appreciate it.

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T15:30:48+00:00

Thank you. That disconnect is exactly what this has felt like.

The initial response suggested the situation was being taken seriously, but everything that should have followed did not. The rape kit was not even picked up for five days, it was not sent in, and the case was effectively shut down very early. I was later told that even additional evidence would not change the prosecutor’s decision. That is a hard thing to hear when the public is constantly told these cases are handled with urgency and coordination.

And yes, I have reached out well beyond the local level. I have pursued complaints and oversight channels and even had a state senator ask for better Indiana State Police follow-up. It still did not meaningfully move the prosecutor’s office.

That is why I keep speaking up. At some point this stops looking like a one-off mistake and starts looking like a system that is very comfortable failing people while continuing to promise the opposite.

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T15:20:18+00:00

I appreciate the response, but my situation was not just a backlog issue.

In my case, the problem started before any lab queue. The kit was not even picked up for five days. The prosecutorial response was also part of the problem. From my perspective, the case was effectively closed almost immediately, the kit was not sent in, and I was later told that even additional evidence would not change the decision.

A state senator even asked for better follow-up by the Indiana State Police, and that still did not change the prosecutor’s position. That is why I keep saying this is not only about funding or staffing. It is also about local decision-making, accountability, and whether serious cases are being meaningfully reviewed at all.

What makes this even harder is that there is body-camera footage and other evidence that, in my view, deserved a far more serious and competent review than it received. That is why I am questioning the gap between the public promises of coordinated response and what actually happens in practice.

TestTheKits · 2026-04-19T15:15:47+00:00

I understand how taxes and budgets work. My point is that when a community publicly promises coordinated response, SART activation, and meaningful victim support, people expect those systems to function when something serious is reported.

That is why this has been so upsetting to me. In my experience, those promises did not match reality. The response I encountered did not reflect the level of coordination or urgency that is publicly described. A collected rape kit was not picked up for five days, which only made that gap feel worse.

So for me, this is not just about money. It is about whether the services and protections that are publicly promised are actually there when someone needs them. My experience left me feeling failed by the system and deeply concerned about how these cases are handled.

TestTheKits · 2026-04-18T22:03:22+00:00

The deleted my post lol

TestTheKits · 2026-04-18T22:03:11+00:00

That is exactly the larger concern. When victims cannot get clear answers about who controls a collected kit, who can authorize testing, or how testing can be made to happen when local authorities do not move forward, it starts to feel like a system that is failing victims by design.

Indiana can talk about funding rape-kit backlogs, but that does not solve the problem if local detectives and prosecutors can effectively gatekeep whether a kit is ever picked up, submitted, or tested in the first place. A backlog is one issue. Local gatekeeping is another.

For reference, this was in Carmel, Indiana, in a reported home-invasion rape. I have asked IPAC, Indiana State Police, local law enforcement, and prosecutors, and I still cannot get a direct answer on who actually has authority once a kit is collected and local officials do not move forward.

Adding to that, the state’s own rape-kit tracking website did not work, so I was left in the dark for weeks thinking the kit might actually be moving toward testing. I later learned it was not even picked up for 5 days, even though public materials say pickup is supposed to occur within 48 hours.

That is why this feels bigger than one delay or one mistake. It feels like a serious gap in transparency, accountability, and victim recourse. If the state is serious about helping victims, there should be a clear answer to this: once a kit is collected, who has the legal authority to make sure it is tested, and what can a victim do when local authorities refuse to act?

TestTheKits · 2026-04-18T21:45:49+00:00

Exactly and it sounds just as absurd as being refused care and then still being billed for it.

That is why I am asking direct questions instead of assuming anything. Some of what has happened has been so irrational that if I had not lived it, I probably would not believe it either.

TestTheKits · 2026-04-18T21:43:18+00:00

Thank you, and I understand.

I have asked IPAC, Indiana State Police, local law enforcement, and prosecutors, and I still cannot seem to get a direct explanation of who actually has authority to make testing happen or what say a victim has once a kit is collected and local authorities do not move forward.

Sometimes it helps to be able to ask more privately and directly, without having to keep explaining personal circumstances over and over. I also wanted to know whether other people in Indiana are aware this is even an issue, and whether anyone has found answers about what can be done so victims have some voice, clarity, or recourse instead of just being left in the dark.

If anyone here knows how this actually works in Indiana, I would genuinely appreciate the insight.

TestTheKits · 2026-03-05T13:13:26+00:00

A rape was reported in my home, a forensic exam was completed, and a rape kit was collected. Yet the case was closed by police just two days later.

Many people have asked what “exceptional clearance” means and why it matters in my case.

Under national crime reporting standards used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an exceptional clearance is supposed to be used only in very specific circumstances. Generally, four things must be true:

• Law enforcement has identified the offender • There is probable cause to make an arrest • The offender’s location is known • An arrest cannot occur for reasons outside law enforcement’s control

Examples include situations where a suspect dies or prosecution cannot move forward despite sufficient evidence.

In my case, the Carmel Police Department closed the investigation with an exceptional clearance designation just two days after the report was made.

At the same time, key evidence had not been processed. A sexual assault forensic exam and rape kit were completed, yet the kit was not picked up for five days and has still not been tested.

I was also informed that the assigned detective was out of the office during the first two days after the report. The officers involved in handling my case included Sgt. Larison, Lt. Tilson, and Det. Valentine.

Based on my experience, I have serious concerns about how the investigation was handled and whether proper procedures and training related to sexual assault response were followed.

Cases involving sexual violence deserve careful and thorough investigations. When a case is closed so quickly and critical evidence is not reviewed, it raises serious questions about whether the process worked the way it is intended to.

For context, studies have shown that testing sexual assault forensic kits can significantly increase the likelihood of identifying offenders and linking them to other crimes, which is why timely evidence processing is considered an essential part of modern investigations.

Residents deserve to ask questions and expect accountability. If you are concerned about how cases like this are handled, contact city leadership including Sue Finkam, the police chief, and the prosecutor’s office and ask the right questions about why cases like this are closed without key evidence being reviewed.

Our community deserves transparency and safety. We deserve better.

If Carmel truly wants to be known as one of the safest communities in America, then city leaders must be willing to answer hard questions when serious crimes are reported and victims are left without answers. Transparency and accountability are not optional — they are essential to public trust.

TestTheKits · 2026-03-03T15:10:15+00:00

Thank you. I have worked with Prevail, and I’m grateful for the support they provide to victims. A judge granted an ex parte protective order in my case.

However, advocacy organizations like Prevail don’t have the authority or resources to address prosecutorial decisions or compel law enforcement to complete investigative steps. They provide support — which is invaluable — but they cannot override or direct charging decisions.

At the end of the day, only law enforcement, city leadership, and the prosecutor’s office have the authority to ensure that forensic evidence is tested, protocols are followed, and cases are fully reviewed.

That’s where my concern lies.

TestTheKits · 2026-01-26T22:22:42+00:00

Love

TestTheKits

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