Abstract
The literature on sexual assault cases describing the persistence and detection of spermatozoa in combination with acid phosphates (AP) test results on samples from different female anatomical locations is limited. Samples from the victim's genitals were collected for the detection of semen in 181 of the 371 cases of alleged rape examined by our laboratory in 2010. All the swabs from vulva, vagina and cervix, in addition to samples from the female lingerie, were tested with AP and underwent Christmas tree staining followed by microscopy to confirm the presence of spermatozoa. In 67 cases (37%) spermatozoa from a presumed perpetrator were detected in one or more samples, including 9 cases in which spermatozoa were found only in the female garment. For a selection of samples differential extraction and quantification (Quantifiler ® Duo) were performed prior to the DNA analysis (AmpFℓSTR ® SGM Plus ®) in order to determine the DNA profiles. The average time between the alleged assault and the medical examination was 12.4 h, with some variation between the three different sampling areas. 74 samples (46%) with microscopically verified spermatozoa displayed a negative AP reaction, and the results indicate that vulva samples more frequently produce a negative reaction despite verified spermatozoa compared to samples from vagina and cervix.
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