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The risk of misinterpreting genital signs of sexual abuse in cadavers: a case report

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Abstract

The significance of genital findings in a case of suspected child sexual abuse has been widely debated in the past decades, as shown by the different classifications available in literature. In the case of postmortem examination, the search for signs of sexual abuse is considerably more difficult because of the superimposition of postmortem modifications, which may determine tissue modifications that can be mistaken for traumatic lesions. This study aims at reporting a case where presumed findings of the first autopsy were denied by histological analysis; in detail, what looked like a possible bruise of the hymen was correctly recognized as hypostasis (livor) of the hymenal tissue by histological analysis. This case report suggests caution in the analysis and discussion of genital lesions found during postmortem examination since the superimposition of cadaveric modifications may radically modify the morphology of soft tissues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense (LABANOF), Sezione di Medicina Legale, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, V. Mangiagalli 37, Milan, Italy

    F. Ambrosetti, E. Palazzo, D. Gibelli, S. Andreola, L. Spagnoli & C. Cattaneo

  2. Soccorso Violenza Sessuale e Domestica (SVSeD), Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    D. Gibelli & C. Cattaneo

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Veterinarie per la Sicurezza Alimentare, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    A. Di Giancamillo & C. Domeneghini

Authors
  1. F. Ambrosetti
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  2. E. Palazzo
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  3. D. Gibelli
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  4. S. Andreola
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  5. A. Di Giancamillo
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  6. C. Domeneghini
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  7. L. Spagnoli
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  8. C. Cattaneo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Cattaneo.

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Ambrosetti, F., Palazzo, E., Gibelli, D. et al. The risk of misinterpreting genital signs of sexual abuse in cadavers: a case report. Int J Legal Med 127, 907–910 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0891-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0891-y

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