Sexual Assault: Obtaining DNA From Evidence Collected up to a Week Later - Panel at the 2009 NIJ Conference

• NCJ Number: 235106
• Author(s): Jack Ballantyne; Patricia M. Speck; Mechthild Prinz
• Date Published: June 2009
• Length: 10 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance; Instructional Material; Conference Material

Annotation

This audio and its transcript cover presentations at the 2009 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference from a panel on obtaining DNA from evidence collected in sexual assault cases up to a week after the alleged assault.

Abstract

Jack Ballantyne - professor of chemistry of the University of Central Florida and associate director of research at the National Center for Forensic Science - discusses a project in which he is involved that is attempting to extend or examine the period at which forensic scientists can still obtain the male genetic profile from the male donor in a rape case after sexual intercourse. He notes that for a period of between 24 and 48 hours after intercourse, it is difficult, but not impossible, to obtain a standard DNA profile. Research in this area is discussed. Patricia M. Speck - assistant professor and public health option coordinator at the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center - discusses the role of the sexual assault nurse examiner in collecting forensic DNA evidence in the course of the medical examination of rape victims. Mechthild Prinz - director of the Department of Forensic Biology of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City - discusses the implications of extended post-coital intervals for screening methods for semen-like alkaline phosphates, p30 ELISA, sperm surge, and strip assays.