Analysis of clinical forensic examination reports on sexual assault

Abstract

Medical-forensic examination of sexual assault victims and alleged offenders is a common task of many forensic institutes. In the current study, the results from samples taken at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Hanover Medical School, during a period from 2005 to 2007 were retrospectively evaluated. In total, 292 victims (283 females and nine males) and 88 suspects were examined. At the time of the assault, 41.8% of the victims and 43.2% of the alleged perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol. Injuries were found in 84.9% of the victims and 39.8% of the suspects. Thirty victims (10.3%) reported having been choked or strangled. Cytology was performed in 218 victims. In 81 cases (38.0%), sperm could be detected in vaginal swabs up to 3 days post-assault. In seven (18.9%) out of 37 anal samples, evidence of sperm could be found 24 h post-assault. None of 22 oral samples was positive for sperm. Out of 301 sexual assault cases, 171 could be proved by means of medical-forensic examination. In summary, our evaluation shows that an early medical-forensic examination of both victim and suspect can secure numerous medical findings. Furthermore, persons intoxicated by alcohol, handicapped persons and persons with psychiatric disorders are more vulnerable to become a sexual assault victim.

Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation of Sexual Crime Cases

“…In covenant with other studies (9,14,15), the majority of the sexual crime cases were female (87.9%) in this study. However, it should be kept in mind that male cases report a sexual crime less often (15).…”

“…Consistent with the current literature, the suspect was someone known by the case in the majority of cases (72.8%) (14,15). The high percentage of suspects, which are known by the cases, can explain the high rate of repeated abuse, because it is more likely to be a repeated case, if the alleged perpetrator lives in the same household or is frequently in the case`s home (15).…”

“…However, it should be kept in mind that male cases report a sexual crime less often (15). The majority of the cases resided of children and adolescents (57.6% were younger than 18), like Grossin et al (14).…”

“…The high percentage of suspects, which are known by the cases, can explain the high rate of repeated abuse, because it is more likely to be a repeated case, if the alleged perpetrator lives in the same household or is frequently in the case`s home (15). Saint-Martin et al (4) also documented that the majority of rape incidents occurred in the case's or offender's home, which can be explained by the fact that the offender is often someone known to the case.…”

Factors Associated with PTSD in Cases of Sexual Assault

“…The offenders are mostly known by the victim and the place is generally a house [14][15][16][17][18][19]. In our study 81.7% (n=143) of the victims are female.…”