Module 5
Medical Forensic Sexual Assault Examinations: What Are They, and What Can They Tell the Courts?

Precision of Evidence Collection

The instructions for each step of evidence collection and kit storage are extremely precise.

  1. If the patient has not yet changed and your jurisdiction includes this step, the victim undresses while standing on a sheet of paper so that any evidence that falls from the victim’s clothing and/or body can be collected.
  2. The victim’s clothing is collected.
  3. The SANE uses a swab, similar to a Q-tip, dipped in distilled water to collect fluids, dried secretions and drainage from the victim’s lips, cheeks, thighs, vagina, penis, anus, breasts, and buttocks. Which parts of the victim’s body are swabbed is guided by the narrative of the assault and the medical history that the victim provides to the SANE. The SANE swabs any part of the victim’s body that the victim reports may have been exposed to saliva or semen. 
  4. The SANE uses an alternative light source that causes semen to fluoresce to identify and swab other areas of the body from which a possible DNA sample may be collected.
  5. The SANE scrapes or swabs under the victim’s fingernails and/or takes clippings of the victim’s fingernails if the victim reports scratching the perpetrator.
  6. A comb is used to collect any hair and fibers that transferred from the assailant’s hair, body, and clothing and from the site of the assault.
  7. Each piece of evidence, swab, and scraping must be individually packaged, sealed, and labeled. As each piece of evidence is collected the SANE places it in the appropriate packaging and labels each item with the type of evidence collected, the date, and her initials.
  8. Between each step the SANE changes gloves to avoid cross contamination of evidence. 

After the examination is complete, patients are asked whether they wish to release the kit to law enforcement or have it stored for possible future release. If they want it stored they must be told for how long the hospital in that jurisdiction will store the evidence collection kit before destroying it. This lets victims know how long they have to make a decision about reporting to law enforcement with the evidence kit intact.

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