RecommendPOSTED: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009
New camera at St. Joseph Hospital should aid rape prosecutions
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closeBELLINGHAM - Police and prosecutors have a new tool to aid in the investigation and prosecution of rape and other sex crimes in Whatcom County - a state-of-the-art digital camera St. Joseph Hospital recently acquired.
Nurses at the hospital were trained to use the $20,000 camera system Jan. 16 and have used it on one patient so far, said Kathy Hanbury, a sexual assault nurse examiner with the hospital.
St. Joseph is the first hospital in the state to use the camera system and one of 50 facilities nationwide to use the technology, Hanbury said.
Nurses will use the camera to take high-resolution images of body cavities that may have been injured during a rape or sexual assault, and then transmit the images over the Internet to detectives and prosecutors, Hanbury said.
The camera replaces the colposcope - a lighted magnifying device that gynecologists also use - in sexual assault examinations. The camera is smaller than a colposcope and captures higher-resolution images but, unfortunately for the victims, isn't any less invasive, Hanbury said.
"It takes such clear photos," Hanbury said. "It's multiple, multiple times better than a colposcope."
Hanbury said the images are transmitted securely and have a level of encryption that's higher than the military's.
The camera will aid in investigations and prosecutions of sex crimes because its level of detail will capture even the subtlest injuries a victim suffered during an attack, said Karen Burke, the executive director of Bellingham's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services.
Since the images can be sent electronically, prosecutors can submit them to forensic specialists to get expert opinions for use during trials, said Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mac Setter, who handles many of the sex crime prosecutions for the Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office.
Images of physical injuries suffered during a rape or sexual assault can be a powerful persuader for juries, Setter said.
"Show and tell is a powerful thing," Setter said. "We're a visual people."
However, Setter acknowledged that the camera's uses will be limited in some criminal prosecutions since many victims don't suffer physical injuries during the attack.
In the majority of rapes, the victim knows the attacker, Burke said, and thus threats, coercion, alcohol and drugs are often used instead of physical force.
"It is new, but I'm not sure what the impact will be," Burke said. "Very frequently there's no visible injuries. I'm really excited that it can help document those subtle injuries. Anything that can aid in prosecutions is great."
Comments: 
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you've got serious mental problems, please resume your treatments.
Sexual abuse is not OK even if it a pseudo medical procedure, or a religious rite. It is the worst kind of rape, and that's why this camera will help document it.
i'm deeply sorry for your daughter being forced to experience that madmomma, garmois that is a medical and religious procedure and has no place in this forum(was your cut perhaps a little more extensive than most)?
sadly most rape victims will not avail themselves of this camera for that exact reason judy. this is and will continue to be a useful tool but will not appreciably influence rapists. we need to change the way rape is viewed, starting with judges equating rape with getting drunk, judges that forbid the word rape from trials and insisting that "intercourse" be used instead, and people caring more about the rapists reason for raping than the victims and possible future rapists spawned from the human filth. the one that raped and murdered my sister gets catered meals and cable t.v. for the rest of his life, some of my friends can't even afford these services yet we all pay for his comfort.
madmama, no wonder you're so mad. i'm sorry for your and your friend's daughters' violent experience. that's absolutely awful.
just think of the things you could do with a camera like this
Did your daughter get to keep all her body parts? Most men that are sexually abused as infants don't.
Great idea, now if only make a deal Max (Sutter) would prosecute these creeps. My daughter was raped but no charges where filed because she did not have a wittness. I want to know how many freakin wittnesses are around during a rape? Yes she had bite marks and bruising but Max said it was a he said, she said situation. My best friends daughter was kidnapped and raped at 13 and taken to mexico, and this jerk got 14 months. What good will a camera do if you can't get the prosecuter to do anything?
I hope this will be useful in prosecuting rapists. I know that rape is a serious matter and not something to be taken lightly, but this is a really weird article. A rape victim goes through enough trauma by the attack on her, I'm not so sure how she would feel about such an intrusive procedure. What's also ironic is this article is published the same time as the internet heist of credit card numbers.
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How very kind of you. Will your kids hate you when they find out what you did to them?