The state attorney general announced Tuesday that a recent investigation found the Brooklyn Hospital Center was improperly charging sexual assault victims for rape kits.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the hospital charged victims for 85 of 86 forensic rape exams conducted between January 2015 and February 2017.

The victims were sometimes billed directly or other times indirectly through their insurance plans.

State law requires such exams to be free of charge to the patient and billed to the state.

Schneiderman says the hospital has reached a settlement to refund those victims and establish a policy to prevent similar incidents in the future. The hospital is says it regrets the breakdown in its billing process.

The attorney general says he also sent letters to 10 other hospitals in the state seeking information on their rape kit policies.