1. Semen Analysis

2. While precise legal definitions vary by states and jurisdictions, rape is the term commonly used to mean non-consensual sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal or oral penetration.
MD Criminal Law Title 3. Other Crimes Against the Person
Subtitle 3. Sexual Crimes
§ Rape in the first degree
§ Rape in the second degree
§ Sexual offense in the first degree
§ Sexual offense in the second degree
§ Sexual offense in the third degree
§ Sexual offense in the fourth degree

4. It is estimated that one in 5 women and one in 71 men are raped in their lifetimes in the United States. Together, that's more than 23.6 million survivors.

5. Outline Biological characteristics of semen Spermatozoa
Detection of semen
Presumptive vs confirmatory tests
Presumptive tests for semen
Detection of sperm
“Christmas Tree” stain
Confirmatory test for semen

6. Biological Characteristics of Semen
Typical ejaculation
2-5 ml of semen, 160 million sperm
3 pg DNA/sperm = 480,000 ng DNA/ejaculate
Only 1 ng DNA needed for STR typing!
Seminal fluid
Medium for ejaculation
Enzymes and other proteins
Acid Phosphatase (AP), Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), and semenogelin
Sperm cells- Spermatozoa

8. Gathering Evidence Semen is an extremely good source of DNA
BUT…
Not all semen stains contain sperm
Vasectomy- blocks sperm from being ejaculated
Semen still produced
DNA typing probably not possible
Infertility
Depending on severity, DNA typing may be possible

9. Spermatozoa Three distinct regions:
Head – acrosome and nucleus (with haploid DNA)
Middle Piece (mitochondria)
Tail (flagella; mobility)

10. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Semen fluoresces under ALS
UV light
Crime Lite (500 nm)
Lots of false positives
Alternative light source

11. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Acid phosphatase enzyme
Advantages
High levels in fresh semen stains
Very fast, inexpensive
Can be done in the field
Limitations
Activity may be weak or absent in older stains
Also present at low levels in vaginal fluid and bacteria
Not species-specific

12. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Overlay method
Spray filter paper with distilled water
Lay the paper down over the suspected semen stain
Leave in contact with stain seconds
Remove paper circle from stain and spray with AP spot solution
Look for a rapid color change to purple
Positive acid phosphatase overlay assay

13. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Spot test method
Wet sterile cotton swab with distilled water
Roll swab across stain
Saturate swab with AP solution

14. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
Major protein in seminal fluid
Also detected in urine, fecal matter, sweat, milk but at much lower levels
Half-life of dried stain: 3 years
Detected with immunochromatographic test strip assay

15. Presumptive Tests for Semen
Immunochromatographic test strip assay
Rapid and simple
Specificity still under debate
Rapid Stain Identification (RSID-Semen)

16. Positive RSID™ semen test
human semenogenlin
monoclonal gold-labeled murine anti human semenogelin antibody to epitope 1
monoclonal unlabeled murine anti human semenogelin antibody to epitope 2
polyclonal unlabeled goat anti murine antiglobulin C

17. Negative RSID™ semen testC
Negative RSID™ semen test

18. Conclusive Detection of Sperm
Microscopic examination
“Christmas Tree” stain
Nuclear Fast Red stains nuclei red
Picroindigocarmine stains tails green
Acrosomes don’t stain well in primate sperm

20. Preserving evidence
Victims should make every effort to save anything that might contain the perpetrator’s DNA, therefore a victim should not:
Bathe or shower
Use the restroom
Change clothes
Comb hair
Clean up the crime scene
Move anything the offender may have touched

21. On February 7, 2014, Maryland Delegate Heather Mizeur introducedlegislation that would require each law enforcement agency to report the total number of untested rape kits in its custody to the Governor's Office on April 1 of every year. HB 1341 would also require health care providers who conduct rape kit examinations to provide the survivor with contact information for the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over her or his case. When an agency receives a request from a survivor for information about the status of the kit, they would have to respond within 30 days with the status and any results of analysis. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass before the end of the legislative session. 

22. Rape Kit Backlog http://www.endthebacklog.org/
“We cannot be sure of the total number of untested kits nationwide because most jurisdictions do not have systems for tracking or counting rape kits. Only three states—Illinois, Texas and Colorado—require law enforcement agencies to count, track and test their untested kits. There is no federal law mandating a nationwide movement toward tracking and testing rape kits, despite efforts by some members of Congress to pass such legislation.”