Civil Case Studies
Sexual Harassment
Genetic Technologies, Inc. recently tested and resolved a case involving a woman who received several sexually explicit letters tacked onto a message board at her office. The envelopes had been “lick” sealed. The next step was to identify the genetic profile (including the gender) of the perpetrator.
DNA testing of the envelope revealed that the perpetrator was a male which greatly narrowed the suspect pool. With the DNA profile recorded, the company submitted buccal swabs as well as other items that contained biological material such as cigarette butts, chewing gum, Kleenex and other discarded items to be used for profile comparison. Genetic Technologies, Inc. tested the DNA on these items and ultimately identified the perpetrator.
The employer was able to uphold its sexual harassment policy and bring the harassment to an end.
Infidelity
A loyal housemaid retrieved a pair of men's boxer shorts from the trash and presented them to the wife of the house along with an opinion as to why they had been discarded. The wife consulted with a private investigator regarding her suspicions. The investigator submitted the clothing item to Genetic Technologies, Inc. for Serological Examination and DNA Analysis.
Serological examination of the stain identified spermazota. A differential extraction and DNA analysis of the stain revealed a mixture of two genetic profiles – one male and one female. However, Infidelity was not necessarily substantiated at this point. In order to confirm infidelity the wife submitted a discarded water bottle used by the husband and a self collected buccal swab. The DNA profile extracted from the water bottle matched the male component of the intimate stain thus confirming that the husband was the male contributor. The final item to resolve was whether or not the female contributor of the stain was that of the wife. By extracting the DNA from the wife’s reference sample we were able to confirm infidelity as the female contributor was someone other than the wife.
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