Evaluation of suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault cases in the city of Houston from 2014 to 2020.
Drug-facilitated sexual assault is a form of sexual violence against an individual incapacitated by alcohol andor drugs consumed voluntarily or covertly administered. The purpose of this study was to evaluate toxicological results and the associated demographics of sexual assault-related cases submitted to Houston Forensic Science Center from 2014 to 2020. In total, 1240 samples (1230 cases) were tested during the six-year period that consisted of blood, urine, or both specimens. Blood was analyzed for ethanol by dual-column headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Drug screen analysis was performed preferably on urine specimens using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Positive screening results were confirmed upon request only due to laboratory policy. A total of 22% (n 176) of requested samples were confirmed positive. Ethanol was the most prevalent substance detected, present in 17% of the samples (n 212), followed by 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) (n 118). The combination of ethanol and THC-COOH was the most frequent one found (n 17) in cases positive for two or more drugs (n 101). Demographic data showed the majority of DFSA victims were white (25%) females (72%) with an average age of 27 years old (n 348). Almost 90% of cases where the presence of drugs was confirmed resulted in no charges being made, either due to lack of suspect information or unknown reasons by the laboratory.