It's become a major issue in the campaign for Ohio Attorney General.  The backlog of thousands of DNA samples from rapes cases.

The backlog has been there for decades, but some progress is being made when it comes to testing.

The question is can some local rape cases that have gone unsolved for years now be prosecuted?

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine admits that when he took office there was a problem with a backlog of evidence, especially when it came to rapes.

As an effort to improve efficiency, DeWine's Office initiated the Sexual Assault Kit Testing Initiative.  BCI's Crime Lab has tested more than 5,000 as of October 2014.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine tells 21 News, "So far we've tested about 5300 (rape kits).  We're getting matches on over one-third or actually 37%.  There's already been 205 people indicted and not one of these people would have been indicted except for our initiative to start that testing again."

Five Valley communities took advantage of the DNA testing and submitted rape kits.   Two have received hits.

According to the Ohio Attorney General, 14 hits or matches to suspects have been made in Youngstown cold case rapes, and one match for the Warren Police Department.

Prosecutors say they are definitely willing to take the steps needed to get the cases to the courtroom.  

Dawn Cantalamessa is a Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor, "We have 20 years from the time it happens in order to prosecute a rape, so we definitely can look at prosecuting it."

But a lot of work would go in to trying to put cases together that may have sat idle for years, even decades.

"If it came up that we got a hit on one of these cold cases -- we can open that investigation back up.  Make sure that we have everyone still around, including the victim, any witnesses, whether they would be just evidence based witnesses, or chain of custody witnesses.  Once we make sure we have everybody, then see what we could do with it," Prosecutor Cantalamessa said.  

And testing like this can pay off.   The Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Attorney General's Office Attorney played a critical role in 2007 helping two Youngstown Detectives get justice in the Benny Adams murder case.  That's after the detectives preserved DNA evidence for 22 years in the slaying of a YSU co-ed. 

"You know in that case because of the 1985 law applied we weren't able to prosecute him for the rape, but the evidence from the rape kit is what solved that murder," Cantalamessa said.

One major problem however, Youngstown Police tell 21 News, so much time has passed in some cases that victims no longer want to move forward.

In those cases where the victim  does not want to testify, the testing will be done, and the results put into an offender database.