title: [A possibility for verifying condom use in sex offenses].
abstract: In order to elucidate the circumstances of sexual crimes, the forensic laboratory is increasingly forced to consider whether the offender has used a condom. The detection presented here depends on Lycopodium spores used in several condom coatings. They can easily be detected e.g. in vaginal swabs. A screening of 40 various condoms available in Germany revealed that 32 (= 80%) were coated with Lycopodium spores. The microscopical investigation of the spores is explained and some sources of error in interpretation are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Landeskriminalamt Rheinland-Pfalz, Mainz.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berkefeld
mesh_terms: D017280:Condoms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011902:Rape / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013170:Spores / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013499:Surface Properties; D014626:Vaginal Smears
vernacular_title: Eine Nachweismöglichkeit für Kondombenutzung bei Sexualdelikten.