65-448. Qualified persons at medical care facilities to examine victims of sexual offenses, when; remedy for refusal; costs.
65-448
65-448. Qualified persons at medical care facilitiesto examine victimsof sexual offenses, when; remedy for refusal; costs.(a) Upon the request of any law enforcement officer and with the writtenconsent of the reported victim, or upon the request of the victim, anyphysician, a licensed physicianassistant, who has been specially trained in performingsexual assault evidence collection,or a registered professionalnurse, who has been specially trained in performing sexual assault evidencecollection, on call or on duty at amedical care facility of this state, as defined by subsection (h) ofK.S.A. 65-425, and amendments thereto, shall examine persons who may bevictims ofsexual offenses cognizable as violations of K.S.A. 21-3502, 21-3503, 21-3504,21-3505,21-3506, 21-3602 or 21-3603, and amendments thereto, using Kansas bureau ofinvestigation sexual assault evidence collection kits or similar kits approvedby the Kansas bureau of investigation, forthe purposes of gathering evidence of any such crime.If an examination hastaken place solely upon the request of the victim, the medical care facilityshall not notify any law enforcement agency without the written consent of thevictim, unless otherwise required by law.If the physician,licensed physician assistant orregistered professional nurserefuses to perform such physical examination the prosecuting attorney ishereby empowered to seek a mandatory injunction against such physician,licensed physician assistant orregistered professional nurse to enforce the provisions of this act. Anyrefusal by a physician, licensed physician assistant or registeredprofessional nurse toperform an examination which has been requested pursuant to this sectionshall be reported by the county or district attorney to the state boardof healing arts or the board of nursing, whichever is applicable, forappropriate disciplinary action. The department ofhealth and environment, in cooperation with the Kansas bureau ofinvestigation, shall establish procedures for gathering evidencepursuant to this section. A minor may consent to examination under thissection. Such consent is not subject to disaffirmance because ofminority, and consent of parent or guardian of the minor is not requiredfor such examination. The hospital or medical facility shall givewritten notice to the parent or guardian of a minor that such anexamination has taken place.
(b) All sexual assault kits collected that are notreleased to law enforcement shall be sealed by either thesexual assault nurse examiner program or the facility that provided theexaminationand kept for five years in the evidence storagefacilities of the Kansas bureau of investigation. After five years, such kitsshall be destroyed bytheKansas bureau of investigation.
(c) The fee chargeable for conducting an examination of a victim ashereinprovided shall be established by the department of health and environment.Such fee, including thecost of the sexual assault evidence collectionkitshall be charged to and paid by the county where the alleged offense wascommitted, and refusal of the victim to report the alleged offense to lawenforcement shall not excuse or exempt the county from paying such fee.The fee forconducting an examination of a victim as herein provided shall not be chargedor billed to the victim or to the victim's insurance carrier.Such countyshallbe reimbursed such fee upon the costs beingpaid by the defendantas court costsassessed pursuant to K.S.A. 28-172a, and amendments thereto.
(d) No medical care facility shall incur any civil, administrative orcriminal liability as a result of notifying or failing to notify any lawenforcement agency if an examination has taken place solely uponthe request of the victim and such notification is not otherwise required bylaw.
(e) The Kansas bureau of investigation may adopt rules and regulations asdeemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
History: L. 1977, ch. 210, § 1;L. 1994, ch. 348, § 9;L. 1996, ch. 156, § 1;L. 2002, ch. 128, § 2;L. 2008, ch. 157, § 1; July 1.