(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-519

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Force: means compulsion by the use of physical power or violence and shall be broadly construed to accomplish the purposes of this title. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Minor: means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) “Forensic medical examination” means an examination by any healthcare provider who provides medical care and gathers evidence of a sexually oriented crime in a manner suitable for use in a court of law, provided to a victim reporting a sexually oriented crime to a healthcare provider;
(2) “Hold kit” means a sexual assault evidence collection kit of an adult victim that is coded with a number rather than a name pending the victim’s decision to report the crime to law enforcement authorities, and has not been submitted to the state crime lab or similar qualified laboratory;
(3) “Law enforcement agency” means:

(A) An established state or local agency that:

(i) Is responsible and has the duty to prevent and detect crime and enforce laws or local ordinances; and
(ii) Has employees who are authorized to make arrests for crimes while acting within the scope of their authority; and
(B) A campus security force created by an institution of higher education pursuant to § 49-7-118;
(4) “Sexual assault evidence collection kit” means evidence collected from the victim of a sexually oriented crime with a sexual assault evidence collection kit provided by the state;
(5) “Sexually oriented crime” means those crimes listed in § 29-13-118(b); and
(6) “Victim” means a victim of a sexually oriented crime as defined in § 29-13-118(b).
(b) A victim of a sexually-oriented crime is entitled to a forensic medical examination without charge to the victim as provided in § 29-13-118. Within twenty-four (24) hours of the conclusion of the forensic examination, the healthcare provider shall notify the applicable law enforcement agency that a sexual assault evidence collection kit or hold kit is ready for release. Within seven (7) days of being notified, the law enforcement agency shall pick up the sexual assault evidence collection kit or hold kit for storage or transmission to the state crime lab or other similar qualified laboratory for either serology or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.
(c)

(1) If an adult victim elects not to report the alleged offense to police at the time of the forensic medical examination, the sexual assault evidence collection kit becomes a hold kit, and the healthcare provider shall assign a number to identify the kit rather than use the victim’s name. The healthcare provider shall provide the victim with the identifying number placed on the victim’s hold kit; information about where and how long the kit will be stored; procedures for making a police report and information about the electronic tracking system procured by the Tennessee bureau of investigation pursuant to § 38-6-128; contact information for local rape crisis centers, if any; and a copy of the rights of a victim of a sexually-oriented crime as set forth in § 40-38-119. The hold kit must be released to the appropriate law enforcement agency for storage pursuant to subdivision (d)(2). Once a victim makes a police report, the law enforcement agency shall change the kit status in the system prior to submitting the kit to the state crime lab or other similar qualified laboratory for either serology or DNA testing.
(2) If an adult victim reports the alleged offense to the police, or the victim is a minor, the healthcare provider shall attach the victim’s name to the sexual assault evidence collection kit, and it shall be released to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
(d)

(1) The law enforcement agency shall, within thirty (30) days of taking possession of the sexual assault evidence collection kit with the victim’s name affixed to it, submit the kit to the Tennessee bureau of investigation or similar qualified laboratory for either serology or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.
(2) Upon receipt of a hold kit with only an identification number attached to it, the law enforcement agency shall store the hold kit for a minimum of ten (10) years or until the victim makes a police report, whichever event occurs first. Once the victim makes a police report, the law enforcement agency shall have thirty (30) days from the date of the police report to send the sexual assault evidence collection kit to the state crime lab or other similar qualified laboratory for either serology or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. However, no hold kit shall be submitted to the state crime lab or similar laboratory for testing until the victim has made a police report.
(e) Beginning July 1, 2022:

(1) A law enforcement agency, the state crime lab, and any other similar qualified laboratory that receives, maintains, stores, or preserves sexual assault evidence collection kits or hold kits must participate in the electronic tracking system administered by the Tennessee bureau of investigation pursuant to § 38-6-128;
(2) A law enforcement agency receiving a sexual assault evidence collection kit after the conclusion of the forensic medical examination must provide the victim with a tracking number for the sexual assault evidence collection kit, and a copy of the pamphlet created by the Tennessee bureau of investigation pursuant to § 38-6-128 explaining how to access and use the tracking system and the victim’s right to receive testing status updates of the victim’s sexual assault evidence collection kit generated by the Tennessee bureau of investigation or similar qualified laboratory; and
(3) A law enforcement agency receiving a sexual assault evidence collection kit or hold kit from a healthcare provider must enter the sexual assault evidence collection kit or hold kit into the tracking system within ten (10) days of receipt of the evidence from the healthcare provider. The location and status of the evidence must be updated in the tracking system by the law enforcement agency and the state crime lab or other similar qualified laboratory taking possession of the kit at each step of the process, including submission of the evidence to the laboratory for testing, laboratory testing status, and evidence disposition following laboratory testing.
(f) Upon receipt of DNA data analysis results from the Tennessee bureau of investigation pursuant to § 38-6-113(d) or similar qualified laboratory, the investigating agency must, upon a victim’s request and within a reasonable time, notify the victim of whether a DNA sample was obtained from the analysis and whether the analysis resulted in a match to a DNA profile in state or federal databases, unless disclosure of the information would impede or compromise the investigation.
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