Tested at Last: How DNA Evidence in Untested Rape Kits Can Identify Offenders and Serial Sexual Assaults

An increasing number of U.S. law enforcement agencies have disclosed that they have large numbers of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs; also called "rape kits") in police property storage. Whether previously untested SAKs should be tested for DNA evidence has been the subject of considerable public debate. 

To inform policy and practice regarding rape kit testing, the current study tested a sample of 900 previously unsubmitted SAKs from Detroit, Michigan, and documented the DNA forensic testing outcomes associated with those kits. 

We assessed how many SAKs yielded DNA profiles eligible for upload into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the federal DNA criminal database; how many resulted in a DNA match (termed a "CODIS hit"); and how many of those hits were associated to other sexual assault crimes (i.e., serial sexual assault hits). 

Overall, there were 259 CODIS hits, 69 of which had DNA matches to another sexual assault case. The potential utility of a DNA profile and CODIS hit may vary depending on whether offender was known or unknown to the victim, so we examined these outcomes separately for SAKs associated with stranger- and non-stranger-perpetrated sexual assaults. 

We also present six case study examples of how DNA testing and CODIS hits helped identify serial sexual assaults in both stranger and non-stranger sexual assault cases. Implications for rape kit testing policies are discussed.

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By:  Campbell R1, Feeney H2, Pierce SJ2, Sharma DB2, Fehler-Cabral G3.

• 1Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA rmc@msu.edu.
• 2Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
• 3Harder + Company Community Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 
• J Interpers Violence. 2016 Mar 27. pii: 0886260516639585. 

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Debunking Three Rape Myths

BACKGROUND:

Stereotypes and prejudicial misconceptions are prevalent regarding sexual assaults and victims' responses. These are collectively referred to as rape myths. This study examines three rape myths purporting that sexual assault victims (1) immediately report the crime, (2) experience severe physical and/or anogenital injuries, and (3) forcefully resist their assailant.

STUDY DESIGN:

This is a cross-sectional descriptive study examining presence of physical or anogenital injury, level of physical resistance during a sexual assault, and time to sexual assault report. Study subjects were female sexual assault victims examined by a sexual assault nurse examiner at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2011 and 2012.

RESULTS:

Sexual assault nurse examiner reports for 317 subjects met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Twelve (4%) victims experienced physical injury requiring medical intervention. Thirty-four (11%) sustained anogenital injuries requiring medical intervention. Overall, 253 (81%) victims did not actively resist at some point during the assault, with 178 (57%) victims never actively resisting. Nearly half (129, 43%) did not appear in the emergency department for 12 or more hours from the time of the assault.

CONCLUSION:

Women who seek emergency department assistance after a sexual assault take a variable amount of time to present to the emergency department, rarely experience moderate or severe physical or anogenital injury, and commonly do not exert strong physical resistance against their attacker during at least part of the assault.

Below:  Delay from the end of assault to ED presentation

Below:  Patient and Assault Characteristics

Below:  Univariate Predictors of Three Key Outcomes

Below:  Frequency of Any Injury During the Assault, Shown Separately by Level of Resistance

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/f1lP0Z

By:   Carr M1, Thomas AJ, Atwood D, Muhar A, Jarvis K, Wewerka SS.

• 1Author Affiliations: 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Regions Hospital; 2Health Partners Institute for Education and Research; 3Medical College of Wisconsin; 4University of Minnesota Medical School; 5Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, Regions Hospital; and 6Critical Care Research Center, Regions Hospital. 

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The National Problem of Untested Sexual Assault Kits (SAKs): Scope, Causes, and Future Directions for Research, Policy, and Practice

Victims of sexual assault are often advised to have a medical forensic exam and sexual assault kit (SAK; also termed a "rape kit") to preserve physical evidence (e.g., semen, blood, and/or saliva samples) to aid in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Law enforcement are tasked with submitting the rape kit to a forensic laboratory for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis, which can be instrumental in identifying offenders in previously unsolved crimes, confirming identify in known-offender assaults, discovering serial rapists, and exonerating individuals wrongly accused. 

However, a growing number of media stories, investigative advocacy projects, and social science studies indicate that police are not routinely submitting SAKs for forensic testing, and instead rape kits are placed in evidence storage, sometimes for decades. 

This review article examines the growing national problem of untested rape kits by summarizing current research on the number of untested SAKs in the United States and exploring the underlying reasons why police do not submit this evidence for DNA testing. 

Recommendations for future research that can guide policy and practice are discussed.

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By:   Campbell R1, Feeney H2, Fehler-Cabral G3, Shaw J4, Horsford S5.

• 1Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA rmc@msu.edu.
• 2Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
• 3Harder+Company Community Research, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
• 4National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, USA.
• 5School of Marriage and Family Sciences, Northcentral University, Scottsdale, AZ, USA. 

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