The first person to face charges stemming from a backlog of untested rape kits is standing trial in Winnebago County.
Prosecutors say Aaron Heiden of Appleton sexually assaulted a woman 11 years ago, and DNA links him to the case. They say after her sexual assault kit was tested, DNA on her fingernail clippings matched the 30-year-old Heiden.
He was charged with single counts of second-degree, and third-degree sexual assault in February of last year.
His trial is starting today, and it’s scheduled to last for four days.
Prosecutors around the state have also charged other suspects, based on results from untested kits, but Heiden became the first, in February of last year.
The state justice department spent a couple of years clearing the backlog of kits. The final tests were finished in September of last year.
