When the victim elects not to report the crime to law enforcement, what happens to the evidence?
• Following the completion of the medico-legal exam the SANE nurse or other hospital medical provider (performing the exam/collecting the evidence) will turn over the sealed forensic evidence collection kit and all physical evidence to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction without providing any personal indentifying information on the victim. • The local rape crisis program, serving the county in which the sexual assault occurred, will receive a sealed envelope (with no identifying information on the outside containing the anonymous reporting protocol victim contact information) for purposes of contacting the victim to advise of the one year storage expiration date if no report/investigation has been initiated after 11 months of storage.
