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§ 23-331Title 23

Fictitious name indictments for first or second degree sexual abuse or first or second degree child sexual abuse.

A defendant may be prosecuted for first or second degree sexual abuse or first or second degree child sexual abuse by indictment under a fictitious name, such as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe,” if, at the time of indictment, the defendant’s true name is unknown and the defendant’s identity has been established with reasonable certainty by the means of forensic testing of nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid (“DNA”) evidence or DNA evidence with a comparable level of accuracy with nuclear DNA evidence. Mitochondrial DNA (“mtDNA”) and Y-DNA cannot be used for the purposes of prosecuting by indictment under a fictitious name a defendant whose true name is unknown under subsection (a) of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the use or admissibility of mtDNA, Y-DNA, or similar genetic material for any purpose other than obtaining a fictitious name indictment pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

Annotations

May 10, 2005, D.C. Law 15-356, § 3(b), 52 DCR 1176
Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 45, 53 DCR 6794
Section 4 of D.C. Law 15-356 provided as follows: “Sec. 4. Applicability. This act shall apply to an offense committed before its effective date only if the statute of limitations for the offense has not expired prior to the effective date.”
D.C. Law 16-191 made a technical change in the language of D.C. Law 15-356 that resulted in no change in text.
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