§ 23-5C-2 — Report of rape or sexual assault--Option of reporting--Requirement of reporting prohibited--Minor's consent--No impact on mandatory reporting--Release of sexual assault kit--Preservation of sexual assault kit.

A health care facility examining or treating a victim of rape or sexual assault shall give the victim, or a victim or witness assistant, the option of reporting the rape or sexual assault to an appropriate law enforcement agency. A health care facility may not require the victim to report the rape or sexual assault in order to receive an examination or treatment for the rape or sexual assault. A minor age sixteen or older may consent to a sexual assault kit. This consent is not subject to disaffirmance because of minority or disaffirmance of a parent or guardian, and consent of a parent or guardian is not required under this section. A minor's refusal to consent has no impact on any applicable mandatory reporting obligation in law. A health care facility that examines or treats a victim of rape or sexual assault with a sexual assault kit shall release the sexual assault kit to the investigating law enforcement agency, if known, or the law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction where the examination or treatment occurs in accordance with § 23-5C-3 . The health care facility shall inform the victim that the sexual assault kit will be preserved by law enforcement for a period of at least seven years from the date of the examination or treatment or until the victim reaches the age of twenty-five, whichever is later, before it is destroyed. Any examination or treatment under this section shall include the preservation of confidentiality of any test, procedure, or sample that may serve as evidence in the prosecution for the rape or sexual assault.

Legislative History

SL 2016, ch 130, § 2; SL 2019, ch 112, § 1; SL 2020, ch 92, § 1; SL 2022, ch 68, § 1.