ABSTRACT
The tremendous number of possibilities regarding the identity, type, and general character of evidence that may play a critical role in sexual assault investigations seems to grow with experience rather than to cap out. While this is really no different than in other violent crime investigations, one need only spend a moderate amount of time dealing with these cases to appreciate the variation and complexity of the evidence that can be important. Body fluids, fabric impressions, hairs, latent fingerprints, shoe prints, tire-tread impressions, cosmetics, bite marks, tool marks, fibers, cordage, paints, tape, glass, soil, and documents may seem a long list, but it is certainly incomplete in considering the types of evidence that may play vital roles. The wide variety of evidence makes it necessary for the investigator to avoid focusing on expected evidence in sexual assault cases. Such thinking can result in evidence overlooked and thus a potentially deficient investigation.
