No DNA evidence was found on a little girl who was raped and left for dead, allegedly by a family friend.
A doctor who examined the nine-year-old three days after she was assaulted said she compiled a crime kit on the child’s injuries and evidence gathered during the rape examination.
But she told the court that the tests came back negative for DNA samples.
The doctor explained that this could have been caused by several factors:
* Seventy-two hours had passed between the brutal attack and the rape examination;
* Hair, if left behind on the child, could’ve fallen off;
* If she scratched him, traces of her attacker’s skin under her nails may have been washed away if she cleaned her hands;
* The absence of sperm could be the result of her attacker wearing a condom, not ejaculating inside her or she may have wiped any trace of sperm away when she went to the bathroom.
Dr Jeanmari King was testifying in the Western Cape High Court where convicted rapist Stephen “Foxy” Isaacs is on trial for the sex attack on the young girl.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape, assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm and attempted murder related to the attack on the girl in Darling on October 22, 2010.
King on Thursday told the court that the medical superintendent at the Swartland Hospital instructed her to examine a patient soon after she arrived for duty the morning of Monday October 25, 2010.
King said she started by noting down the girl’s external injuries.
She told trial Judge Lee Bozalek that the young girl had deep cuts to her chin and right cheek and that there were small wounds and scratches to the left side of her forehead and her left eye was swollen and bruised.
She said there were multiple abrasions across the child’s entire body, especially on her back and buttocks.
King said there were three small burns on the girl’s body – she believed these were cigarette burns.
There were also deep cuts on the young girl’s left elbow and arm.
The doctor told Bozalek the girl’s injuries were consistent with being dragged with her face on the ground.
King told the court that the child was co-operative and very well-mannered.
She said the girl was mature for her age. She was nine at the time of the alleged attack.
King testified that the injuries to the girl’s vagina and private parts were traumatic and severe.
She said the child’s clitoris was swollen and covered in a white discharge that was probably the result of a sexually transmitted disease passed on in the rape.
The clitoris was swollen and bruised and there was bleeding under the skin.
The girl’s hymen was torn and the area between the vagina and the anus was covered in bruises.
She told the court she could not examine the child’s vaginal cavity because it would cause further trauma to the child.
There was no evidence of anal penetration.
King also testified that the absence of strangulation marks on the child’s neck didn’t mean that the girl wasn’t strangled.
She said there was seldom evidence left behind when hands were used to strangle or choke a person.
*This article was published in the Daily Voice