Sexual assault and abuse committed against family members: An analysis of 1342 legal outcomes and their motivations.
Alberto BlandinoLidia MaggioniFrancesca ChiaffarinoFabio ParazziniDaniele CapanoElena Maria FlorioManuela MargheritaGian Marco BertelleLorenzo FranceschettiAlberto AmadasiGiulia VignaliBarbara CiprandiGraziano Domenico Luigi CrudeleVera Gloria MerelliFederica ColliniEnrico Angelo MuccinoPatrizio NicolòGiussy BarbaraAlessandra KustermannCristina CattaneoAndrea GentilomoPublished in: PloS one (2021)
Many factors seem able to influence the judge's judgment, although clearly each case must be singularly evaluated. The mere presence of medical documentation, without the support of other sources of evidence, such as the victim's statement or further declarations, however, is almost always not definitive for the verdict. Despite so, in cases where there are multiple sources of evidence, clinical documentation can provide useful elements and can give clues on the consistency between the history told and injuries observed.