Reference no: EM131602291

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Rape is defined as a crime of having sexual relations with a person against her or his will; with a person who is unconscious or under the influence of alcohol; or with someone who is insane, feeble-minded, or under the age of consent. An example of rape could be a male taking advantage of a female who is clearly too intoxicated to consent or even a female teacher taking advantage of a student who is under the age of consent. The investigation of the rape incident begins with an interview of the rape victim where the investigator is provided details on who, what, when, where and why of the crime. A lot of physical evidence is gathered from both the victim and the area where the crime was committed. The officer that responds to the call tries their best to ensure any evidence on the victim can be secured without tampering. The officer should encourage the victim to avoid any showering or cleaning of the area and to not change her clothes. The investigators may bag the victims hands to ensure that there is no evidence lost until they can get somewhere to gather it appropriately. The crime scene should not be altered in any way as there could be a loss of DNA evidence from their clothing or the scene itself. A case in the textbook gives an example of why preserving the crime scene is so important: A 30 year old woman was living alone when she came home one night to check all of the windows and doors to make sure that they were locked. After this was done, she went to bed where she was awakened a short while later to a man holding a knife to her throat and warned her not to move. She was then raped and he ordered her to go to the bathroom and to use a douche. She was then instructed to flush the toilet and the suspect ran out of the front door. The man had been using a key to get into the front door that he obtained from a family member who rented the victim's house a few months prior.

Sex-related offense is the branch of offenses describing sexual acts against adults, children, males, and females. Included in this branch of crime (if you will) is rape, incest, molestation, lascivious acts, sexual abuse against a child, elder sexual abuse, and all other sex crimes that cause another person to be victimized sexually. For example, a woman is drugged and raped at a party. When investigating a deceased victim, investigators rely on their initial impression of the scene; the victim's clothing, position, any items found, and the presence or absence of injuries related to sexual activity in order to determine if sexual activity played a role in the death (Swanson et al., 2012, p. 269). When the victim is alive they are interviewed, which is a very delicate process and requires compassion and empathy. Sex-crime victims have just experienced a trauma and should be treated with respect, and handled in a way in which will not result in the re-victimization of the victim. The investigator attempts to retrieve any conversation or verbal language the rapist used, as the terms used could lead to a suspect. They are also interested in the tone and attitude of the rapist. Investigators are interested in any acts the victim was forced to take, or words the victim was forced to say, as this helps to determine the rapists' motivation (Swanson et al., 2012, p. 272). Also of interest is if anything was taken from the victim. This knowledge could also be telling of the suspect. Additionally, the time frame of the rape, as well as how long it took to report the crime is of interest. It is also important, if there was a delay in reporting, the investigator discover the reason for the delay. The longer the crime goes unreported the less likely the suspect will be discovered and apprehended. Investigators collect physical evidence such as hair and semen which can be used to identify the suspect, and can also be used to identify the victim in cases where the victim's identity is unknown. The victim will also be asked to undergo a physical examination performed by a medical professional, and to give the clothing they were wearing during the rape to the investigators as evidence. Other DNA evidence that may be collected include a buccal swab (the skin cells on the inside of the mouth), saliva, and any evidence that may be located on the victim's clothing. Condom trace evidence can help to prove corpus delecti, provide evidence of penetration, produce associative evidence, and can also be useful in linking acts of serial rapists (Swanson et al., 2012, p. 284). Additionally, there may be drug evidence found at the scene or in the victim's system which can help to show that the victim was drugged or under the effects of a substance during the rape. It can prove that the sex was not consensual.