Understanding Sex Offenses and Investigations: A Comprehensive Study

1. TEN Sex-related Offenses

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES • List and explain the classifications of sex offenses • List and explain the four types of sexual murder • Discuss interview procedures and investigative questions for sexual assault cases • Explain why women do not report rape to the police and the motivation for false rape allegations • Outline the types of physical evidence collected in rape and sexual assault cases • Discuss the importance of condom trace evidence • Identify the use and effects of Rohypnol and GHB • Assess investigative and evidence collection techniques for drug-facilitates sexual assaults • Recognize common characteristics of sexual asphyxia, or autoerotic death • Describe a psychological autopsy 10-1

3. CLASSIFICATION OF SEX RELATED OFFENSES • Serious Sex Offenses • Sex offenses of this type, such as rape or sexual battery as it is also called, are high-priority offenses • Nuisance Sex Offenses • Included in this classification are such acts as voyeurism and exhibitionism • Sex Offenses Involving Mutual Consent • Sex offenses of this nature involve consenting adults whose behavior is deemed illegal by various state and local laws 10-2

4. RAPE-MURDER CLASSIFICATIONS • Keppel and Walter developed a model for understanding rape-murder by examining: • behaviors • homicidal patterns • and suspect profiles • of convicted sexual murders (Source: Robert D. Keppel and Richard Walter, “Profiling Killers: A Revised Classification Model for Understanding Sexual Murder,” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 1999, Vol. 43, No. 4, p. 420.) 10-3

5. RAPE OR SEXUAL BATTERY • A legal term defining the crime of a person having sexual relations with another person under the following circumstances: against the person's consent; while the other person is unconscious; while the other person is under the influence of alcohol; with a person who is feeble minded or insane; and with a child who is under the age of consent as fixed by statute. 10-4

6. INTERVIEW PROCEDURES AND INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS/SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES • Type and sequence of sexual acts during an assault • To determine the motivation behind a rape, it is imperative to ascertain the type and sequence of the rape • Verbal activity of rapist • A rapist reveals a good deal about himself and the motivation behind the assault though what he says to the victim • Verbal activity of victim • The rapist may make the victim say certain words or phrases that enhance the rape for him 10-5(a)

7. INTERVIEW PROCEDURES AND INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS/SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES (cont'd) • Sudden change in rapist's attitude during the attack • The victim should be specifically asked whether she observed any change in the attitude of the rapist during the time he was with her • Theft during rape • Almost without exception, police record the theft of items from rape victims • Delayed reporting • If the victim has delayed making a complaint, the investigator should establish the reason 10-5(b)

8. RAPE VICTIM • The teenager victim in this case was: • raped • mutilated • had her arms chopped off (AP Photo/Tampa Tribune, David Kadlubowski) 10-6

9. WHY WOMEN DO NOT REPORT RAPE TO THE POLICE • Lack of belief in the ability of the police to apprehend the suspect • Worries about unsympathetic treatment from police and discomforting procedures • Embarrassment about publicity, however limited • Fear of reprisal by the rapist 10-7

10. WHY DO WOMEN SOMETIMES MAKE FALSE RAPE ALLEGATIONS? • Prostitutes who have not been paid • Females caught in the act of sexual intercourse by relatives, friends, or law enforcement officials • Women who cannot explain an unwanted pregnancy • Women who want to cause difficulty for some man because of a real or imagined interpersonal conflict 10-8

11. THE VICTIM AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE • Instructions to the Victim • The officer responding to a reported sexual assault should make a great effort to ensure that any evidence that may be on the victim is secure • Semen and Hair Evidence • Semen that contains sperm and hair with the root attached can now be identified as coming from a specific individual as a result of DNA typing • Information for the Examining Physician • The physician responsible for examining the victim should be provided with all of the available facts before the physical examination • Collection of the Victim's Clothing • The victim's clothing should be collected as soon as possible 10-9(a)

12. THE VICTIM AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE (cont'd) • The Role of the Investigator in Securing the Rape Scene • It is the criminal investigator's job to collect, catalog, and store physical evidence for later analysis in the laboratory • Incidence of Errors in the Collection of Evidence • In spite of the importance of proper handling, evidence still continues to be mishandled • Sexual Battery Examination • Most hospitals of crisis center responsible for the collection of evidence from sex-offense victims have developed sexual battery examination kits 10-9(b)

13. SEXUAL BATTERY EXAMINATION KIT • Sexual-battery examination kits contain items such as: • blood vials • paper bags • sterile dacron-tipped applicators • envelopes for swabs taken (Courtesy Pinellas County, Florida, Public Health Unit, Sexual Assault Victim Examination Program) 10-10

14. THE VALUE OF CONDOM TRACE EVIDENCE • Condom trace evidence can assist investigators in several ways. • In Providing Corpus Delicti. Trace evidence may help prove the crime occurred. • In Providing Evidence of Penetration. Condom traces found inside a victim can provide evidence of penetration. • In Producing Associative Evidence. Recovered condom traces may correspond to those found in certain brand or used by a certain manufacturer. • In Linking the Acts of Serial Rapists. A serial rapist likely will use the same brand of condom to commit repeated acts. 10-11

15. DRUG FACILITATED SEXUAL ASSAULTS • Rohypnol (street name Roofies), known as the drug flunitrazepam, belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines • It produces a spectrum of effects including skeletal muscle relaxation, sedation, and reductions in anxiety • GHB. Gamma hydroxybutyrate or GHB (also known as Gamma-OH, Liquid Ecstasy, Georgia Home Boy, or Goop) • It is another central nervous system depressant that is used to perpetrate sexual assaults 10-12

16. ROHYPNOL • Drug used by sex offenders at: • parties • bars • clubs • social drinking locations (Courtesy Sergeant Christopher McKissick and Detective Tyler Parks, Port Orange, Florida, Police Department) 10-13

17. INVESTIGATING AND COLLECTING EVIDENCE IN DRUG-FACILITATED SEXUAL ASSAULTS • Evidence Collection and Processing • Because victims may be unaware, or only suspect, that an assault has occurred, law enforcement has the critical task of gathering as much physical evidence as soon as possible • The Investigation • Law enforcement officers cannot rely on forensic toxicology reports alone. Accounts from any people at the scene will be important • Evidence • At the proper time a warrant can be obtained for the search of a suspect's residence, car, or place of work for evidence of Rohypnol or other drugs 10-14

18. AUTOEROTIC DEATH • Death from accidental asphyxiation occurring as a result of masochistic activities of the deceased. Also called sexual asphyxia. 10-15

19. AUTOEROTIC DEATH • In autoerotic death cases the investigator will typically find: • a white male partially suspended and nude • dressed in women's clothing or undergarments • or with his penis exposed 10-16

20. PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY • An analytical statement prepared by a mental health professional based upon the decedent's thoughts, feelings and behavior. Its purpose is to form a logical understanding of death from tangible physical evidence, documented life events, and intangible often musive emotional factors. 10-17