Website to help Utah victims track sexual assault kits' progress

The website is expected to launch in early 2018

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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials says a new federal grant will allow the state to offer more resources to victims waiting as their sexual assault kits are going through the testing process.

Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Coordinator Krystal Hazlett said Tuesday that Utah's Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice received $2.2 million grant in October.

Hazlett says the grant will extend the initiative's outreach from 11 agencies to more than 130 agencies that may be unsubmitted sexual assault kits.

The money will also allow the group to launch a website where victims will be able to track the progress of their kits.

The website is expected to launch in early 2018.

Last summer, the initiative set up a hotline where victims could call and ask about the status of their kits.

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