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Attorney General orders a halt to marketed sexual assault kits

August 30, 2019
<p>Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press conference at the G. Mennen Williams Building in Lansing on Feb. 21, 2019.</p>

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks during a press conference at the G. Mennen Williams Building in Lansing on Feb. 21, 2019.

Photo by Anntaninna Biondo | The State News

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office warned Michigan consumers of recently released "Me Too Kits," claiming they violate several sections of Michigan's Consumer Protection Act.

“We are very concerned about these sales and the representations made to induce them,” said Nessel.

Brooklyn, New York-based Me Too Kits Company marketed the kits as a method of gathering evidence after a sexual assault at home. Nessel's office sent a Notice of Intended Action, ordering the company to cease and desist unlawful business practices.

Sexual assault evidence kits are free to anyone within 120 hours after an assault.

Evidence collected from the kits would not provide a necessary chain of custody in a criminal trial, Nessel said.

She said it is unlikely any private lab would have access to the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national DNA data base created and maintained by the FBI, which significantly limits the ability to identify perpetrators or repeat offenders.

Nessel's office said commercial "at home" kits fail to take into account the potential health risks of sexual assault, including injuries, infections, diseases, medications, sexually transmitted diseases and mental health risks.

The Notice of Intended Action accused Me Too Kit Company of the following practices:

  • Dishonest representation of services.
  • Causing a probability of confusion or misunderstanding of legal rights to a transaction.
  • Omitting a material fact which misleads consumers.
  • Failing to reveal facts that are material to the transaction in light of positive representations of fact.

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