First Case Study

An eight-year old girl was referred to the CACD on an emergency basis. She had a history of recurrent urinary tract infections since infancy. She developed dysuria and wetting typical of a recurrence and her community pediatrician ordered a urinalysis and urine culture through a private laboratory. The next morning the private laboratory called the pediatrician and reported finding sperm on two separate examinations from the urine sample. The pediatrician called the child's mother and the police.

At the CACD, the forensic interviewer interviewed the girl and she denied any sexual contact. The girl appeared to be truthful and consistent in her responses. Dr. Allan DeJong obtained additional history of chronic bowel problems since infancy and of multiple pets at home. One of her cats frequently slept on her bed. On physical examination she had no specific injuries for sexual abuse but had very red genitalia. A urine sample was obtained. The interviewer, the police detective, a deputy attorney general, and Dr. DeJong conferred immediately on the results. Dr. DeJong recommended recovering any remaining sample from the private laboratory, citing cases in which animal sperm, uncommon parasites from animals, and a rare fungus have been misidentified as human sperm. After speaking with the medical examiner's office about specific testing, the police picked up the leftover sample and brought it, along with the new sample, to the medical examiner's office. The medical examiner determined the sperm had human DNA, but using a recently developed technique they determined all the cellular material in the urine (epithelial cells, white blood cells) had only male DNA. The urine sample could not have come from a female. The urine had been mislabeled at some point; A laboratory error was responsible. The family's nightmare ended quickly because of the collaborative effort. The repeat urine showed a urinary tract infection and her primary pediatrician initiated proper treatment.