A police medical doctor told a High Court today when he examined a 73-year-old woman in August four years ago he found vaginal bruising that could be consistent with ‘possible sexual assault’. He explained to the court that the trauma to the external genitalia could have been attributed to other circumstances but the main indicator was assault.
The evidence in the No. 5 Supreme Court came as defense lawyer Lalu Hanuman questioned Dr Ross Herbert in the rape case against a 37-year-old man.
During cross-examination, Herbert said he saw the woman on one occasion and the findings were detailed in his medical notes.
On the last occasion when Senior Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney questioned Herbert as the prosecution’s witness he spoke of the injuries sustained by the complainant including bruising on her chest and breast, left and right eye injuries, a left ear laceration and evidence of her neck being squeezed. He also said that the woman had vaginal bruising at the entrance and mild tenderness. However, there was no blood or tears.
The accused is charged with having sexual intercourse with the elderly woman without her consent on August 13, 2016.
The doctor told the court presided over by Justice Pamela Beckles that the accused’s medical notes could not be found but he made notes in the public medical journal. The journal is a “shorthand” version of the notes, referenced during questioning.
Hanuman asked the doctor whether the injuries to the complainant were indicative of a physical altercation or a sexual assault/rape and the medical witness agreed that the injuries to the chest, breast, eye and neck were indicative of a physical altercation when looked at in isolation. The only injury suggesting sexual assault was the bruising to the vagina, the doctor said.
The doctor explained the bruising as friction which doesn’t tear the skin.
The defense attorney also asked the doctor whether aging accounts for changes in a woman’s vagina and whether endometrial atrophy which Herbert said was possible in post menopause, could result in changes to the vagina.
Dr Herbert said the lack of estrogen could result in ‘easier’ tearing, bruising and bleeding and there would be dryness and thinner vaginal walls in an aging woman.
“So in fact she could have endometrial atrophy…?” Hanuman asked, to which Dr Herbert replied it was possible.
He also agreed with Hanuman that the vaginal canal would be tighter, sex would be painful and tears were likely because of lack of lubrication in women similar in age to the complainant.
When asked, if based on evidence there was any determination that the complainant was raped, Dr Herbert referred to the trauma to the external genitalia and said while a number of possibilities could account for such injuries, his “top differential” was “possible sexual assault”.
“Possible but also potentially impossible,” Hanuman said.`
The lawyer then asked the doctor if he worked closely with police to which he answered “yes… on a professional level”.
In further questioning, Dr Herbert said he had no memory of the accused saying he was beaten and if anyone claimed they were mistreated by police he would document it.
In re- examination by the prosecutor, the medical witness said if a woman is menopausal and sex is forced bruising would occur easier than the average ‘22-year-old’.
“The bruising…in a 73-year-old woman would also be consistent with forced intercourse,” the prosecutor asked to which Herbert replied ‘yes’.
The doctor also agreed that a lubricant would cause less friction or damage in a woman who is menopausal. In the accused’s alleged statement to police, he said he placed “grease” on the woman’s vagina before having sex with her.
