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POSTED: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009

New camera at St. Joseph Hospital should aid rape prosecutions

BELLINGHAM - 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."