Officials announced that evidence from 6,663 untested rape kits in Houston has produced 850 hits in the FBI's national DNA database, the Associated Press reports. Charges have already been filed against 29 people since the $6 million effort to clear the backlog was launched in 2013.

According to the AP, testing of the thousands of kits, some nearly three decades old, was completed in the fall. "This milestone is of special importance to rape survivors and their families and friends because it means their cases are receiving the attention they should have years ago," Mayor Annise Parker said.

Of those charged, six are alleged to have committed other rapes while their DNA went untested, the Houston Chronicle reports. "It did happen unfortunately," District Attorney Devon Anderson said. "We are eagerly looking forward to prosecuting those rapists, those repeat rapists."

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