THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280414
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 96 lines
Jeannine Z. Leonard, head nurse of the emergency department at Chesapeake General Hospital, breaks the seal on a white cardboard box.
The cover and sides are stamped with forbidding official lettering: ``Commonwealth of Virginia Physical Evidence Recovery Kit.''
Leonard pulls out several folded, white paper bags and envelopes, each one for a piece of clothing, a swab of body fluid, a strand of dental floss.
This kit for collecting evidence in rape and sexual assault cases is standard equipment in all emergency rooms.
What goes into those bags and envelopes is vitally important for catching rapists, and eight nurses at Chesapeake General Hospital are learning to do a better job of collecting the material. With special training and new equipment, they hope to help law enforcement officials build strong cases. They also want to do a better job meeting victims' needs.
The new program, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, hasn't started yet. It wasn't in place last week, when two girls attending a slumber party in the Camelot neighborhood were sexually assaulted. But some of the trained nurses were involved in helping the victims who were brought to Chesapeake General.
A girl also was killed in the attack in which three people were stabbed. A funeral service for Michelle Harper, 17, was held Tuesday.
Once the program starts, law enforcement officials from throughout South Hampton Roads may bring most rape victims to Chesapeake General for gathering evidence. The program was started in California and has been used in Northern Virginia, said Leonard, who is one of the coordinators.
As part of their 80 hours of training, the nurses have accompanied police on rape cases and visited crime labs to see how the evidence collected in the emergency room is used. They've watched cases in court. They will visit gynecologists' offices to learn more about conducting pelvic exams.
``I believe the proper collection of evidence would make the job a lot easier for the woman if she wanted to prosecute. Or you could prove someone's innocence,'' said David Webber, a registered nurse and the program's only male participant.
The nurses will use new equipment like the colposcope, a sort of a camera that can identify tiny abrasions on the genitals. Nurses use a blue dye that clings to any tissue that's been rubbed raw. The colpo-scope, which cost the hospital about $10,000, magnifies images up to 20 times, detecting marks too small to be seen.
While the nurses work to find good evidence, they also must consider the emotional needs of the victim.
Evidence gathering can be uncomfortable and frightening. For example, nurses may have to comb the pubic area looking for hairs from the attacker. They may use dental floss or collect mouth wash to find material left in the victim's mouth. In training, the nurses watched videos of victims devastated by their hospital experience.
``It's almost like being raped again,'' said Leonard. In the emergency room, ``There are so many times, in order to protect your own feelings, you just have to get technical. . . This is a little different.''
At the same time, nurses must be unbiased to be useful to police.
``Our job is not to say that you were raped, or who raped you,'' she said. ``There are people out there who cry rape who may have not been raped.''
Victims may be women, men or children.
The program works like this:
A victim is given any needed medical attention and one of the specially trained nurses is paged. The nurses will be on call at times other than their normal shifts, so they can devote all their attention to the victim.
The nurse responds within 30 minutes. The nurse interviews the victim, determines in conjunction with the police what needs to be collected, gathers the evidence into a box and seals the box to prevent tampering.
If an attacker is arrested and tried, the nurse serves as an expert witness in court. The jurisdiction reimburses the hospital for the services.
The nurses also may be asked to collect evidence from suspects.
It's unclear whether Chesapeake General's program would be used for all of South Hampton Roads. Ideally, said Leonard, the hospital will arrange for police from all Southside cities to bring most rape victims to Chesapeake General. Those who need emergency treatment would be brought to the closest or most appropriate hospital. Victims will have the option of going to a local hospital if they prefer.
The hospital has been negotiating with officials in all the cities, although no contracts have been signed.
Law enforcement officials in Virginia Beach say they're excited about the program, since it promises consistently good evidence collection.
``Virginia Beach is going to be participating in the program as much as possible,'' said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Cynthia Shepherd. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
CANDICE C. CUSIC
The Virginian-Pilot
Jeannine Z. Leonard, head nurse of the emergency department at
Chesapeake General, is illuminated by a colposcope, that can be used
to collect evidence in cases of rape.
RAPE AND ATTEMPTED RAPE 1995
SOURCE FBI, Uniform Crime Statistics
VP Chart
[For a copy of the chart, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: RAPE FORENSIC EVIDENCE by CNB