Comparison of Areas in the Mouth to Recover DNA Introduced Through Kissing

Sexual assault is a significant crime defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report as “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim” (FBI, 2017). From January, 2019 to December, 2024, there were 537,446 reported rape victims in the United States (FBI, 2024). Oral-genital contact occurred between 18 and 25 percent of sexual assault cases (Marlia, 2011) (Sibille, 2002). Contact may lead to foreign (male) DNA being deposited in the female mouth associating a perpetrator and victim. Recognizing that DNA does not survive indefinitely on human tissue, limits the time available to recover DNA for identification of the suspect from the victim. Following a sexual assault many victims report to a healthcare facility for a comprehensive medical evaluation including evidence collection. Obtaining DNA evidence during this exam helps establish suspected sexual contact with the victim (Forrest, 2022). Case prosecution with analyzed forensic evidence (including DNA) is known to increase conviction rates, but unless there is a scientific basis for the evidence to be admitted in Court under the Daubert Rule, evidence that links a perpetrator to a victim may be excluded. Currently no scientifically based protocol exists for effective collection of suspect DNA from around and in the oral cavity of a victim. The purpose of this study is to provide empirically-based evidence to determine sensitive and probable areas to swab within the oral cavity.