‘Law & Order: SVU’ Star Mariska Hargitay Helped Michigan Prosecutor Solve Thousands of Sexual Assault Crimes

Law and Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson on the show, assisted a prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan in solving thousands of unsolved sexual assault crimes.

During an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Andrea Canning, a correspondent for NBC’s “Dateline” explained that Hargitay “stepped in” to help raise money for Kym Worthy, a prosecutor in Wayne County, to test “over 1100 rape kits” that had been sitting a police evidence room. As a result, more than 20 “serial rapists” were discovered.

While talking about an upcoming episode on the podcast Dateline True Crime Weekly, Canning spoke about how Worthy discovered untested rape kits in a police evidence room, and “made it her mission to get” them all tested.

“We also have a story of Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy who discovered that over 1100 rape kits were sitting on a shelf in an evidence room – police evidence room,” Canning said. “Never tested.”

“So, she made it her mission to get all of them tested,” Canning added. “She deserves the biggest pat on the back for this. Thousands of cases were solved, they found 22 serial rapists among these kits.”

Canning added that Hargitay “stepped in” to help raise the money to have the kits tested.

“It’s having a ripple effect across the country. It’s making changes everywhere,” Canning continued. “For police departments, for prosecutors offices. So, hats off to Kym Worthy.”

This comes after a little girl searching for her mom approached Hargitay in April, as she was dressed as a police officer while filming episodes for season 25 of the show, according to People.

Hargitay assisted the child in searching for her mother, and production was reportedly paused “for 20 minutes” until the girl was reunited with her mother.

The actress has been an advocate for women who have been victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. In 2004, Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation.

“Since 2004, Joyful Heart has been a leading national organization with a mission to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever,” the foundation’s website says.