Commission on the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigations
Minutes of the Meeting of March 20, 2017
Office of the Chief State's Attorney
Rocky Hill, Connecticut
Attendance: Maureen Platt, Chairperson, Marielle Daniels, Joy Reho, John Leventhal, Laura Cordes, Michelle Noehren, Denise Covington, Beth Leaming
The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. Joy Reho made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2017, meeting. This motion was seconded by Marielle Daniels, and was approved by the Commission. Dr. Leventhal and Laura Cordes abstained.
The issue of the rate of hospital reimbursement was also discussed. Dr. Leventhal expressed concerns about the rate paid to some practitioners. It was agreed that Dr. Leventhal would call Linda Cimino to discuss a possible solution, and that the Commission would vote by email once that discussion had taken place.
Denise Covington, Chairperson of the Standing Committee to revise the Technical Guidelines, discussed potential revisions. It was agreed that a “Suspected Pediatric Sexual Abuse” chart should be developed to aid health care professionals in dealing with these cases. Several potential ideas and revisions were suggested. Denise Covington agreed to incorporate our ideas into the chart for a discussion at the next meeting.
Potential changes to the Guidelines were also discussed regarding court related matters. Several ideas were suggested. Denise Covington agreed to incorporate those changes into the suggested Guidelines for more discussion and a vote at our May meeting.
Denise Covington also discussed the fact that many victims of sexual assault have also been strangled by their attackers. It was suggested that the Guidelines should also include a section on examining victims to determine if they have been strangled, and how such information should be distributed to Health Care providers. It was agreed that this should also be discussed at our May meeting.
Laura Cordes made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 4:35 p.m., which was seconded by Joy Reho.