Mariska Hargitay is channeling the spirit of Olivia Benson. The Law & Order: SVU star has long been an advocate for victims of sexual violence through her Joyful Heart Foundation. But she eventually took her work a step further by helping to solve real-life crimes.
Mariska Hargitay helps prosecutor get justice for victims of sexual assualt Dateline reporter Andrea Canning spoke about Hargitay’s good deed during a recent appearance on Today (via YouTube ) . Canning, who was promoting her new Dateline True Crime Weekly podcast, explained that Kym Worthy, a prosecutor in Michigan’s Wayne County, had discovered a backlog of more than 11,000 untested rape kits. “She made it her mission to get all of them tested,” Canning said.
But the county, which is home to Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, didn’t have the money to perform the tests. That’s where Hargitay came in. “She helped them raise the money to get this done, and it’s having a ripple effect across the country.
It’s making changes everywhere — for police departments, for prosecutors’ offices,” Canning said. The efforts have produced real results. “[Worthy] deserves the biggest pat on the back for this,” Canning said.
“Thousands of cases were solved. They found 22 serial rapists among these kits.” The ‘Law & Order: SVU’ has spoken out about the rape kit backlog before For years, Hargitay has been urging police and prosecutors to clear the backlog of untested rape kits.
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