Her ordeal helped change SC law. Now she wants to ensure rape kits are used to convict.

On April 11, 2018, I received a call from Sgt. Stokes of the Louisville, Kentucky, police department’s Sex Crimes Unit. I could tell by his voice that something was wrong.

“Evelyn,” he said, “I hate to tell you this, but the evidence in your case was destroyed on June 30, 1982.”

Silence. His last words were “this never should have happened.”

The destroyed evidence was mine and my friends’ rape kits and the blindfolds used on us on Feb. 29, 1980, when we were abducted, driven to an unknown house, forced to remove our clothes and jewelry, thrown on the floor like trash, raped, sodomized and beaten by several unknown men all night long.

The next day we were driven to a place, fully expecting to be killed (and not really caring at that point), left alone, naked and badly beaten.

When the police found us, we were taken to the hospital where our wounds were treated, and a sexual assault exam was done. I still remember the cold steel of the exam table on my naked, bruised, exhausted body and the pain of having a small comb rake through my pubic and head hair.

The last thing any victim of rape wants is to be touched by anyone, and the only reason they justify the loss of dignity and discomfort of that exam is because they believe it will help identify their assailant.

Why else would an exam and sexual assault kit be so carefully collected?

After the initial shock wore off from that phone call, I felt a sense of determination that I hadn’t felt since that night when we tried to escape. I thought of my two daughters and what I would do if this happened to one of them.

I would say, “No, we are not going to accept this, we must do something to change this epic failure of our law enforcement and justice system.”

I reached out to the Julie Valentine Center in Greenville. I needed emotional support from revisiting that trauma, and I knew I had to share my story with someone who might be able to help prevent this from happening to other victims.

There had been news stories from all over the country about the backlog of rape kits. Thousands upon thousands had been sitting on shelves in warehouses, never tested, never even accounted for. Who knew how many had been destroyed like mine?

I began working with the Julie Valentine Center to gather statistics and educate legislators on the failure of local and state law enforcement’s handling of sexual assault kits.

It was astounding how many kits we discovered were A) sitting in labs across the state; 2) unaccounted for; and 3) how few had been tested compared to the number collected.

Shauna Galloway-Williams, the center’s CEO, and I made numerous trips to Columbia where I testified before House and Senate subcommittees and told my story over and over – every time with sweat rolling down my back.

Due to our efforts, the Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System (H 3309) was passed unanimously and signed into law on May 14, 2020!

It forced accountability of law enforcement, crime labs and medical facilities and most importantly, gave hope to survivors to know their kit wasn’t going to be destroyed or ignored.

Implementation of the tracking system faced delay after delay. In 2024, it finally went live across South Carolina for law enforcement agencies, medical facilities, and prosecutor’s offices.

I wish I could say that I have heard good things, but I haven’t.

A legislative audit of the State Law Enforcement Division’s implementation of the tracking system outlined many issues (which SLED disagreed with in its response to the report completed last October).

Some days I just don’t have the energy to keep fighting. Other days, I don’t want to stop pushing back.

I have to sustain hope that the identified issues will be addressed and that we all continue to push for timely testing of the evidence survivors of rape provide in the wake of such intimate violations.

I lost a huge part of my life because of what happened in 1980.

I am now stronger and proud I was a part of a major reform to empower survivors to demand accountability by those we entrust our literal DNA to.

Protect those sexual assault kits as the real evidence they are, test them, use them to prosecute and to convict those who commit these violent crimes before they hurt someone else.

If you have experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. Visit sccadvasa.org/get-help to find support near you.