Jan
11
Sexual Assault Examinations Without Police Involvement: A Guide to Texas’ New Law
Tags: forensics, public policy
Filed Under News | By Torie Camp
KVUE’s Noelle Newton interviewed me about no-report sexual assault exams. Here is some background information about the new law.
Sexual Assault Exams Are Now Available Without Police Involvement
If a sexual assault victim is not ready to get police involved, she or he still has the option to have a sexual assault examination conducted. No police report is required.
What is a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam?
A sexual assault examination (also called a medical forensic exam) is a procedure conducted by a medical professional to treat and diagnose a victim of sexual assault while also collecting evidence of the crime.
“Non-report sexual assault exam” refers to the same examination, except the survivor can choose to involve police much later or not at all. There is no law requiring medical facilities to report sexual assaults of adults to law enforcement, so the decision to report is entirely the survivor’s.
Why is a Sexual Assault Exam Important if the Victim Doesn’t Report?
Privacy is of paramount importance to most sexual assault survivors. Survivors often need time to prepare themselves before reporting since criminal investigations and prosecutions are often invasive and exhausting.
However, the immediate collection of forensic evidence is extremely important in sexual assault cases. It can mean the difference between a conviction and a dismissal – or even failing to identify the perpetrator at all. Evidence a perpetrator leaves behind after a sexual assault is especially vulnerable to contamination or being washed away. An immediate sexual assault exam allows for the collection of corroborating evidence to support a victim’s allegations in the criminal justice system.
Non-report sexual assault examinations balance the needs of the victim and the criminal justice system by allowing survivors to preserve important evidence to use against their attackers and still take the time they need to decide whether to report.
Victims who are unsure about reporting their attacks to authorities may seek more information about the reporting process from their local sexual assault prevention and assistance programs. These programs provide survivors with support, confidential services, and an advocate to accompany victims to the emergency room.
Is a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam Confidential?
Yes. Any evidence collected during a non-report exam remains confidential. To protect victim privacy, the evidence is assigned a unique identifier instead of the victim’s name.
The unique identifier is then used to identify the evidence, not the victim. Only if the victim chooses to report the sexual assault at a later time is the Department of Public Safety able to link the evidence to the victim.
Who Can Get a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam?
Any victim of sexual assault who does not wish to involve the police can receive a non-report exam, as long as she or he:
- is at least 18 years old,
- arrives at the medical facility within 96 hours (four days) of the assault and
- consents to the exam.
If a child (anyone 17 years of age or younger) has been sexually assaulted, that must be reported to law enforcement under Texas’ mandatory reporting laws.
How Long Does a Victim Have to Decide Whether to Report and Release the Evidence?
The Department of Public Safety will store any evidence collected during a non-report sexual assault exam for two years from the time it is collected. If the victim has not reported the assault at the end of two years, DPS will destroy the evidence.
NOTE: The statute of limitation for sexual assault of an adult in Texas is 10 years. Sexual assault where there is DNA evidence and sexual assault of a child have no statutes of limitation. The fact that DPS only stores evidence for two years does not affect the amount of time a sexual assault survivor has to report an assault to police.
How Much Does a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam Cost?
A sexual assault examination has two parts: the medical portion and the evidence collection (“forensic”) portion. The law expressly states that sexual assault survivors never have to pay for any procedures or services related to evidence collection nor for the evidence collection kit (see Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 56.065(h)(2)). Under no circumstances should a survivor receive a bill for services related to evidence collection.
The Department of Public Safety pays for the “forensic” portion of the exam and then seeks reimbursement from Office of the Attorney General’s Crime Victims’ Compensation fund.
However, victims will also receive medical treatment that is unrelated to evidence collection (e.g. medication, stitches). Medical facilities will still bill victims for those portions of the exam that are purely medical.
In contrast, victims who do report to police at the time of the exam can receive reimbursement for the medical portions of the exam through the Crime Victims’ Compensation program. Victims who do not report to the police are not eligible to receive reimbursement for the medical portions of the exam through the Crime Victims’ Compensation program.
How Does a Victim Get a Non-Report Sexual Assault Exam?
If a victim is at least 18 years old, she should go to a medical facility that provides sexual assault examination services and request an exam. If she does not yet wish to report the assault to police, she should also notify the facility of that. They may still contact a sexual assault advocate from a rape crisis center for the victim.
If the victim goes to a facility that does not provide sexual assault examinations, the law requires that facility to refer the victim to one that does.
Contact your nearest sexual assault center to find out which local medical facilities provide sexual assault examinations. To find contact information for sexual assault centers throughout Texas, visit TAASA’s online center locator, or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. The facilities that provide exams in the Austin area are: St. David’s, Austin; St. David’s, Round Rock; Scott & White, Round Rock; St. John’s, Taylor; Llano Memorial; Smithville Regional; and Texas Medical Center, San Marcos.
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2 Responses to “Sexual Assault Examinations Without Police Involvement: A Guide to Texas’ New Law”
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I need information regarding the new law on the statue of limitations for childhood sexual abuse. I do under that that as of Sept. 2009 the statue was chanaged and there is no limit now. I also understand that crimes not reported within the time limit when the abuse happened will not be eligible for prosecution with the present. The law at the time of the crime stated that sexual abuse cases will not be considered after ten after the victim’s 18th. birthday. Please help. any information will be helpful. Is there a way that we can get a copy of the new laws incliding any amendments? Thank you
Angelita Alvarado
Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. The statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse did not change this past September, although you may be recalling some changes that became effective in September of 2007. In 2007, the law was changed to eliminate the statute of limitation for most cases of child sexual abuse/assault. While this did not revive any limitation periods that had already expired, it did extend the limitation period for victims whose clocks were still ‘ticking.’ For example, if a victim was under 28 years old, and so within the 10 year statute of limitations when the new law became effective, they now have no limit and can bring charges at any time. However, if a victim was 28 years old or older, and so outside the statute of limitations when the new law became effective, the courts remain closed to them. The bill that extended the statute of limitations (and did many other things as well) was called Jessica’s Law (HB 8 – 80th Legislative Session).