Drug-facilitated sexual assault in Ontario, Canada: Toxicological and DNA findings

Du Mont, Janice; Macdonald, Sheila; Rotbard, Nomi; Bainbridge, Deidre; Asllani, Eriola; Smith, Norman; Cohen, Marsha M.

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2010.05.004

« Previous Next »Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 17, Issue 6 , Pages 333-338, August 2010

Drug-facilitated sexual assault in Ontario, Canada: Toxicological and DNA findings

Janice Du Mont, EdD (Research Scientist, Associate Professor)
- Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Correspondence: Women’s College Research Institute, 790 Bay Street, 7th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1N8, Canada. Tel: +1 416 351 3732x2705; fax: +1 416 351 3746.
Sheila Macdonald, MN (Provincial Coordinator)
- Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres, Toronto, Canada
Nomi Rotbard, MPH (Research Associate, PhD Student)
- Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY, USA
Deidre Bainbridge, BSc (Nurse Practitioner)
- Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Care Centre, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Eriola Asllani, BSc (Data Analyst)
- Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Norman Smith, PhD (Associate Professor)
- Therapeutic Drug Monitoring & Toxicology, Clinical Biochemistry, St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Marsha M. Cohen, MD (Research Scientist, Professor)
- Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Received 6 July 2009; received in revised form 2 March 2010; accepted 13 May 2010.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which persons reporting sexual assault to a hospital-based treatment centre may have been covertly drugged and to provide information about whether a sexual assault may have occurred.

Each consecutive adolescent and adult presenting at a sexual assault treatment centre was screened for drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA). Urine was collected and tested for central nervous system active drugs. Oral, vaginal, and/or rectal swabs were tested for male DNA. Unexpected drugs were defined as those not reported as having been voluntarily consumed within the previous 72h. Positive swabs for unexpected DNA were determined by whether the person reported having had consensual intercourse in the previous week.

A total of 184 of 882 eligible participants met suspected DFSA criteria. Mean age was 25.8 years (SD=8.5), 96.2% were female and 64.7% White. Urine samples were positive for drugs in 44.9% of cases, alcohol in 12.9%, and both drugs and alcohol in 18.0%. The drugs found on toxicological screening were unexpected in 87 of the 135 (64.4%) cases with a positive drug finding and included cannabinoids (40.2%), cocaine (32.2%), amphetamines (13.8%), MDMA (9.2%), ketamine (2.3%), and GHB (1.1%). Male DNA was unexpected in 30 (46.9%) of 64 cases where it was found.

Among those persons presenting to a sexual assault treatment centre with a suspicion of DFSA, the presence of unexpected drugs and male DNA was common, lending support for their contention that they had been intentionally drugged and sexually assaulted. Most unexpected drugs found were not those typically described as ‘date rape drugs’.

Keywords: Rape, Alcohol drinking, Street drugs, Nonprescription drugs