Forensic Sexology

What is Forensic Sexology?
Forensics is often discussed in relation to the legal system and crime, however, the Forensic Sexology Program uses a more generic description of forensics that describes it as 'the application of sexology in the collection of material for evidence in a decision making forum'.
This means that Forensic Sexology includes the study of aspects of criminology - such as sex offences, sex offender assessment and treatment, profiling sex offenders, treatment for the survivors of sexual assault, sexuality and the law, sexual law reform, expert etc – but it also involves the collection of material that can be used to challenge certain behaviours, customs, and even governing laws. For example, is it possible for a person with severe intellectual disability to give consent for sexual activity? Is it possible to stop female genital mutilation by presenting other strategies that fulfil the objectives of such a controversial and harmful practise? How do governing laws impact on the consensual expression of sexuality?

http://www.handbook.curtin.edu.au/courses/30/301244.html

Rayne Murder Probe

The Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callghan, says his officers are under a lot of pressure to solve the murder case of Perth woman Corryn Rayney.
The Commissioner says the investigative competence of the force is under scrutiny following the overturning of the Mallard and Walsham convictions and says they have learned from those cases.
He says that is why highly qualified forensic officers and detectives are being used to sift through evidence from the Rayney murder.
"Well I think you know it always will be under question, it always will be under scrutiny and I think we learn from some of the things that happened in the past and certainly in may of the cases post Mallard, there's been changes to legislation, there's been changes to procedures and there's been a lot much more intensity at the early investigative phase," he said.
He says he is disappointed it took a week for the public to call Crimestoppers with a location of Mrs Rayney's car, which was found in Kershaw Street, Subiaco a week after she disappeared.
Mr O'Callaghan says it is a slow process to find the killer.
Lets hope when this individual is finally charged that half of his evidence is not rendered inadmissible...

Dante Arthurs

On 31 August 2007, Justice Peter Blaxell ruled that the bulk of the admissions made by Arthurs in a video recorded interview with Police on the morning after the alleged offence would be inadmissible at his trial on ground of "persistent importunity, or sustained or undue insistence or pressure".

This is a huge blow for the procecution. Sex Crimes should be attended to by sex crime experts, they are skilled interviewers & know what turns these guy's on...we can only hope this trial will get to the truth.
Arthurs' trial will commence on 8 October 2007.

Arthurs Pleads Guilty

It can now be revealed that Arthurs was charged with molesting an eight-year-old girl outside his home in December 2003 but the case was dropped when the Director of Public Prosecution Robert Cock ruled a police video interview could not be used as evidence because the questioning was overly aggressive. Most of the police interview following Arthurs arrest for Sofia's murder were also deemed inadmissible for a similar reason. Mr Cock wrote a letter of complaint to the Police Commissioner after the 2003 interview and the detectives who conducted it were disciplined as a result. "It is true that I wrote to the Commissioner at the time drawing to his attention my concerns regarding the police conduct," Mr Cock told PerthNow this afternoon. "I have asked the police to reopen their file on the 2003 indecent assault allegations which led to Arthurs being charged. "For several reasons, I have nothing more to say about that earlier allegation." Mr Cock said he could not say whether Sofia would still be alive today if the DPP had proceeded with that prosecution. "Naturally I could not answer that, although it seems to me that a non-custodial disposition was possible if someone was convicted of the 2003 allegations."

In court today, DPP prosecutor Sam Vandongen said the court's decision not to allow all the video evidence to be presented at Arthurs' trial was not the reason for the DPP substituting wilful murder with the lesser charge of murder. He said there was no prospect convicting Arthurs of wilful murder because it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that he intended to kill Sofia. He said the second charge was withdrawn because of problems with the forensic evidence. Acting Assistant Commissioner Jeff Byleveld said defended the police investigation which led to Arthurs' arrest within 12 hours of Sofia's murder. He said he was satisfied with the police interview despite large parts of it being ruled inadmissible. He said he was confident Arthurs would not be let out when he became eligible for parole due to the nature of his crime, which shocked Perth. "This offender will be incarcerated for a long time,'' he said. Arthurs was remanded in custody to undergo pre-sentence, psychiatric and psychological reports before being sentenced on October 12.

Arthurs is a young man & he will be eventually released while he is reasonably young. He has not be convicted of a sex crime which is even more disturbing...