Forensics testing, interviews elongate sexual assault investigations
Central Michigan University campus police have been investigating a sexual assault complaint in Carey Hall since Nov. 6.
Lt. Cameron Wassman said it will take several weeks for DNA testing from the incident to return when the investigation began.
“Sometimes these cases are not cut and dry,” Wassman said. “It all depends on the evidence involved with each case. What the public sees on ‘CSI’ is not generally how things go, unfortunately.”
CMU police formed a team of officers called the Special Victims Investigation Cadre in April 2015 to focus on investigating sexual assaults on campus.
Sexual Assault Resources
Have you or someone you know been sexually assaulted? The following numbers are organizations to get in contact with to seek help, file a report or meet with other survivors.
- Central Michigan University Police Department: (989) 774-3081
- Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates: (989) 774-2255
- Mount Pleasant Police and Fire Department: (989) 779-5100
- CMU Counseling Center: (989) 774-3381
- McLaren-Central Health Center: (989) 772-6700
CMUPD Lt. Larry Klaus said investigative protocol states an initial interview is conducted by a patrol officer. One of the officers from SVIC will follow up with a more in-depth interview, where police ask about the victim-suspect relationship, whether alcohol or drugs were involved and if penetration occurred. This helps determine what degree of criminal sexual conduct the suspect is charged. Digital evidence may also be collected, including messages sent between the suspect and complainant.
If the assault is reported shortly after it occurs, police refer the complainant to a sexual assault nurse examiner at McLaren-Central Michigan, who can treat the victim and collect evidence for police. Evidence collected may include hair, semen, saliva and bruising.
Klaus said he prefers if the complainant has a couple days to sleep before cadre members interview them.
“It helps them put the pieces of the puzzle together a little better,” Klaus said. “Due to the trauma involved, sometimes the story’s just not very coherent and kind of scattered.”
Once evidence is collected, it can take four to six weeks or more for lab results to return. Lauren Lu, a forensic scientist at the Michigan State Police Lansing Lab, said rape kits received from police departments must go through one of two testing methods. The first and primary method involves searching for male DNA in the evidence. If semen is found, the lab determines further testing based on the suspect’s charges.
Lu said this method does not work for same-sex assaults or assaults on men by women. Another method is sometimes used in these cases, focusing on body fluids such as blood, semen and saliva.
After testing is complete, the results have to be reviewed by a supervisor and an analysts to ensure accuracy.
Michigan State Police are looking for new methods of testing to reduce the time to test DNA, Lu said. She declined to comment on those methods because they have not been validated.
Once lab results are in and an arrest is made, police can file a complaint with the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office.
County Prosecutor Risa Hunt-Scully said juries and judges may accept rape myths, making it more difficult to convince them an assault occurred. Klaus said due to trauma of the assault, victims may struggle to tell their stories coherently and their behavior may be cited as suspicious.
“One of the most difficult parts of my job is declining to prosecute a sexual assault complaint when the victim wants to press charges,” Hunt-Scully said in an email. “This is especially true when I believe that a sexual assault most likely occurred, but don’t believe it could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury.”
