Columbia Sexual Assault Investigations

Generally, sexual assault cases start when the alleged victim of sexual assault contacts law enforcement, reports and files a complaint, and reports that a crime occurred against them, providing whatever details that are related to that specific case. However, there are times when a third-party contacts law enforcement.

As soon as you have been accused or charged with sexual assault, you should seek the guidance of an experienced legal professional. A skilled attorney could lead you through Columbia sexual assault investigations and help you fight your case.

What Columbia Agencies Or Divisions Handle These Investigations?

Which agency or division handles such investigations depends on the jurisdiction, and if it is in Lexington County, the Sheriff’s Department there may handle the case. As far as divisions, if it is a criminal solicitation of a minor, distribution of child pornography, or dissemination of obscene material, that will be in the Internet Crimes against Children Division of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, based in Columbia.

It all depends on the nature of the crime and where it occurred, but most often, it will be state-level police. In some cases, a federal agency could get involved, typically with child pornography and the distribution of child pornography, and the FBI does get involved in those cases sometimes when it is related to a federal distribution.

How Are Sexual Assault Cases Investigated In Columbia?

Law enforcement in Columbia is generally aggressive in sexual-assault cases, and once a complaint is made about a sexual assault, the lead investigator will conduct a very thorough investigation of the allegation. It starts with trying to collect witness statements, obtaining any physical or forensic evidence that would be available and putting all that evidence together to determine whether all the elements of a crime have been met and would be enough to satisfy the police officer’s belief that there was probable cause to draft an arrest warrant to submit to a magistrate judge for review as to whether it should be signed and issued for someone’s arrest.

As far as the investigation, trying to get witness statements is generally the very first thing law enforcement will do. If there is a SANE sexual assault kit, try to collect any physical or forensic evidence that would be relevant to the case, which is the cornerstone of those cases.

What Is Included in a Forensic Medical Exam?

Forensic medical examinations occur in many different respects, but for sexual assaults, it is generally a sexual assault-type examination involving a kit that is used to collect the evidence of rape, in which they check for things such skin under their fingernails. There also is a different type of DNA test as far as whether it exists in different places depending on the allegations and on a case-by-case basis, in which special DNA swabs are conducted. The evidence they are looking for specifically can be skin, saliva, and semen, and any type of other physical evidence that may get used on a forensic level to match DNA of the alleged attacker.

Other evidence would be bruising, cuts, scrapes, and to trying to match them up to support the allegations about the type of sexual assault that occurred. When matched up with the information, those injuries will either help support the alleged victim’s allegations or will hurt them, particularly if there are no injuries. Forensic medical examinations are important for the accused and the accuser because it helps provide additional evidence to prove one way or the other whether a person is innocent or guilty.

Evidence in a Sexual Assault Case

Other evidence that can be used sometimes, although it is not admissible in court, is a polygraph examination, which prosecutors often would like to have a suspect or defendant take. Whether one would be conducted depends on the lawyer and the accused individual. Additionally, the prosecutor will like the see the results to decide whether the information is supported by additional evidence. A sexual assault nurse examination rape kit is done in many rape-allegation cases, if the accuser has gone to the hospital or does so within a reasonable amount of time and has not taken a shower in the meantime, which would destroy evidence.

DNA testing is decided during a Schmerber hearing, one that determines whether there is probable cause to collect DNA evidence from the defendant to compare with DNA samples collected by the police. All of them are incredibly important in either strengthening the prosecution’s case or making it weaker in the sense that it helps the defense and bolsters the defense argument that they are not guilty of a crime.

How Does The Investigation Proceed In a Case If There Is No Physical Evidence?

Unfortunately, many rape cases leave no physical evidence and it is a pure credibility case, the epitome of a he-said, she-said argument because when there is no physical evidence or supporting witnesses, it is just the accuser making the allegation and the accused having to defend against it. Ultimately, that is why someone should hire an experienced criminal-defense attorney who knows how to conduct an independent and thorough investigation, to build the best defense possible. They will be able to determine whether a private investigator or an expert witness is needed, and whether there is physical or forensic evidence available for testing, surveillance camera footage, all the small things, the fine-toothed-comb approach. That is building a defense by being as thorough as possible and doing the job that the arresting officer, the lead investigator, should have done.

Learn More About Columbia Sexual Assault Investigations

Often, in sexual assault cases, a prosecutor will try to paint the entire picture of what occurred and lock them into that statement. That is why it is so important when someone has the constitutional right to remain silent, that they should exercise that right until they have had the ability to speak with a lawyer and get the advice of experienced counsel.

An attorney can tell them the strengths and weaknesses of providing a statement, the cost, and benefit of whether it is in the person’s best interests to proceed with providing a statement to law enforcement. And in many cases, it is not in their best interests. Call today to discuss Columbia sexual assault investigations and how an attorney could help.