An Act to Remove the Term "Alleged" When Referring to Victims
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1651
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: PUGH, CARNEY
Amends: 5 MRSA §3360-M, 24 MRSA §2905-B, 24 MRSA §2986, 25 MRSA §2915, 25 MRSA §3821, 30-A MRSA §287

Legislative Document
No. 1651
H.P. 1092
House of Representatives, April 15, 2025
An Act to Remove the Term "Alleged" When Referring to Victims 
of Sexual Assault in the Maine Revised Statutes
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PUGH of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland and
Representatives: GEIGER of Rockland, GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach, KUHN of 
Falmouth, MACIAS of Topsham, O'HALLORAN of Brewer, SATO of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §3360-M, as amended by PL 2017, c. 156, §1, is further amended 
to read:
§3360-M.  Payment for forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault
1.  Payment.  The board shall pay the costs of forensic examiner training as well as the 
costs of forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault from the Victims' 
Compensation Fund.  The board shall track expenditures for forensic examinations 
separately from all other expenditures.  Forensic examination payments are not subject to 
any other provision of this chapter.  For the purposes of this section, "sexual assault" means 
any crime enumerated in Title 17‑A, chapter 11.
2.  Forensic examination; forensic examiner training and education.  The board 
shall determine by rule what a forensic examination may include for purposes of payment.  
An examination must include at least all services directly related to the gathering of forensic 
evidence and related testing and treatment for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.  
The board shall pay a licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner the actual cost 
of the forensic examination up to a maximum of $750.
The cost of sexual assault forensic examiner training and education provided by the sexual 
assault forensic examiner program must be paid from the Victims' Compensation Fund in 
an amount that may not exceed $50,000 per year.
3.  Process for payment.  A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner that 
performs forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault shall submit a bill to 
the Victims' Compensation Board directly for payment of the forensic examinations.  The 
hospital or health care practitioner that performs a forensic examination shall take steps 
necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the alleged victim's identity.  The bill submitted 
by the hospital or health care practitioner may not identify the alleged victim by name but 
must be assigned a tracking number assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic 
examination kit.   The hospital or health care practitioner that performs the examination 
may not bill the alleged victim or the alleged victim's insurer, nonprofit hospital or medical 
service organization or health maintenance organization for payment of the examination. 
The alleged victim is not required to report the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency.
4.  Other reimbursement.  The fact that forensic examinations are paid for separately 
through the Victims' Compensation Fund does not preclude alleged victims of sexual 
assault from seeking reimbursement for expenses other than those for the forensic 
examination.  A victim seeking reimbursement from the Victims' Compensation Fund for 
expenses other than the forensic examination is subject to all other provisions of this 
chapter.
5.  Rules.  Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 2.  24 MRSA §2905-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2021, c. 92, §1, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Examination on unconscious alleged victim of sexual assault.  The health care 
practitioner is authorized to perform the examination pursuant to section 2986, subsection 
5; or
Sec. 3.  24 MRSA §2986, as amended by PL 2019, c. 94, §1, is further amended to 
read:
§2986.  Performing forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault
1.  Standard forensic examination kit.  All licensed hospitals and licensed health care 
practitioners shall use a standard forensic examination kit developed and furnished by the 
Department of Public Safety pursuant to Title 25, section 2915 to perform forensic 
examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault.  For the purposes of this section, "sexual 
assault" means any crime enumerated in Title 17‑A, chapter 11.
2.  Victims' Compensation Board billing.  All licensed hospitals and licensed health 
care practitioners that perform forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault 
shall submit a bill to the Victims' Compensation Board directly for payment of the forensic 
examinations.  The Victims' Compensation Board shall determine what a forensic 
examination includes pursuant to Title 5, section 3360‑M.  The hospital or health care 
practitioner that performs a forensic examination shall take steps necessary to ensure the 
confidentiality of the alleged victim's identity.  The bill submitted by the hospital or health 
care practitioner may not identify the alleged victim by name but must be assigned a 
tracking number assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic examination kit.  The 
Victims' Compensation Board shall pay the actual cost of the forensic examination up to a 
maximum of $750.  Licensed hospitals and licensed health care practitioners that perform 
forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault may not bill the alleged victim 
or the alleged victim's insurer, nonprofit hospital or medical service organization or health 
maintenance organization for payment for the examination.
3.  Completed kit.  If the alleged victim has not reported the alleged offense to a law 
enforcement agency when the examination is complete, the hospital or health care 
practitioner shall then notify the nearest law enforcement agency, which shall transport and 
store the completed forensic examination kit for 8 years.  The completed kit may be 
identified only by the tracking number.  If during that storage period an alleged a victim 
decides to report the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency, the alleged victim may 
contact the hospital or health care practitioner to determine the tracking number.  The 
hospital or health care practitioner shall provide the alleged victim with the tracking 
number on the forensic examination kit and shall inform the alleged victim which law 
enforcement agency is storing the kit.
If the alleged victim reports the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency by the time 
the examination is complete, the investigating agency shall retain custody of the forensic 
examination kit.
If an examination is performed under subsection 5 and the alleged victim does not, within 
days, regain a state of consciousness adequate to decide whether or not to report the 
alleged offense, the State may file a motion in the District Court relating to storing or 
processing the forensic examination kit.  Upon finding good cause and after considering 
factors, including, but not limited to, the possible benefits to public safety in processing the 
kit and the likelihood of the alleged victim's regaining a state of consciousness adequate to 
decide whether or not to report the alleged offense in a reasonable time, the District Court 
may order either that the kit be stored for additional time or that the kit be transported to 
the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory for processing, or such other disposition that the 
court determines just.  In the interests of justice or upon motion by the State, the District 
Court may conduct hearings required under this paragraph confidentially and in camera 
and may impound pleadings and other records related to them.
4.  Other payment.  A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner is not 
precluded from seeking other payment for treatment or services provided to an alleged a 
victim that are outside the scope of the forensic examination.
5.  Implied consent.  If an alleged a victim of sexual assault is unconscious and a 
reasonable person would conclude that exigent circumstances justify conducting a forensic 
examination, a licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner may perform an 
examination in accordance with the provisions of this section.
A forensic examination kit completed in accordance with this subsection must be treated 
in accordance with Title 25, section 3821 and must preserve the alleged victim's anonymity.  
In addition, the law enforcement agency shall immediately report to the district attorney 
for the district in which the hospital or health care practitioner is located that such a forensic 
examination has been performed and a forensic examination kit has been completed under 
this subsection.
6.  Liability.  A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner in the exercise of 
due care is not liable for an act done or omitted in performing a sexual assault forensic 
examination under this section.
Sec. 4.  25 MRSA §2915, as amended by PL 2017, c. 156, §3, is further amended to 
read:
§2915.  Uniform forensic examination kit for evidence collection in alleged cases of 
sexual assault
1.  Development of uniform forensic examination kit.  The Department of Public 
Safety shall determine by rule what constitutes a uniform standardized forensic 
examination kit for evidence collection in alleged cases of sexual assault.  The rules must 
define the contents of the kit, instructions for administering the kit and a checklist that 
examiners must follow and enclose in the completed kit.
2.  Use of uniform forensic examination kit.  A licensed hospital or licensed health 
care practitioner that conducts physical examinations of alleged victims of sexual assault 
shall use the uniform standardized forensic examination kit developed by the Department 
of Public Safety pursuant to subsection 1.  A health care practitioner who conducts physical 
examinations of alleged victims of sexual assault must be trained in the proper evidence 
collection procedures for conducting a forensic examination.
Evidence collection results may not be excluded as evidence in any proceeding before any 
court of this State as a result of the examiner's failure to use the standardized evidence 
collection kit or as a result of the examiner's failure to be trained in the proper procedures 
for the collection of evidence required by this subsection.
3.  Furnishing of uniform forensic examination kit.  The Department of Public 
Safety shall furnish the uniform forensic examination kits to licensed hospitals and licensed 
health care practitioners that perform forensic examinations of alleged victims of sexual 
assault.
3-A.  "Sexual assault" defined.  For the purposes of this section, "sexual assault" 
means any crime enumerated in Title 17‑A, chapter 11.
4.  Rules.  Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
Sec. 5.  25 MRSA c. 407, headnote is amended to read:
CHAPTER 407
TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE OF FORENSIC EXAMINATION KITS 
FOR ALLEGED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sec. 6.  25 MRSA §3821, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 2023, c. 236, §1, is further 
amended to read:
If an alleged a victim of sexual assault or strangulation has a forensic examination and 
has not reported the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency when the examination is 
complete, the licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner that completed the 
forensic examination shall notify the nearest law enforcement agency.  That law 
enforcement agency shall transport the completed forensic examination kit, identified only 
by a tracking number assigned by the kit manufacturer, to its evidence storage facility.  The 
law enforcement agency shall store the forensic examination kits involving sexual assault 
for 20 years and forensic examination kits involving only strangulation for 6 years.  If 
during that storage period the alleged victim reports the offense to a law enforcement 
agency, the investigating agency shall take possession of the forensic examination kit.
Sec. 7.  30-A MRSA §287, as amended by PL 1999, c. 719, §§5 to 8 and affected 
by §11, is further amended to read:
§287.  Physical examination of crime victims
1.  Payment of expenses by district attorney.  Except as provided in subsection 2, in 
all cases reported to a law enforcement officer of sexual crimes against minors or assault 
when serious bodily injury has been inflicted, the office of the district attorney of the county 
in which the alleged crime occurred shall pay the expenses of a physical examination of 
the victim conducted for the purpose of obtaining evidence for the prosecution.  Pursuant 
to Title 5, section 3360‑M, the Victims' Compensation Board shall pay the expenses of 
forensic examinations for alleged victims of gross sexual assault.
2.  Limitation.  The district attorney is required to pay the expenses for the physical 
examination of a victim in accordance with subsection 1 only in the absence of medical 
insurance or other 3rd-party coverage of the expenses of examination and only from a fund 
or account appropriated for that purpose.  The office of the district attorney is not liable for 
the payment of any charges, costs or fees for an examination under subsection 1 until the 
district attorney has received copies of all reports and records pertaining to the examination, 
if the copies have been requested.
2-A.  Drug and alcohol testing.  Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2 and Title 5, 
section 3360‑M, the district attorney shall pay the expense of any analysis of a drug or 
alcohol test performed as part of a forensic examination of an alleged a victim of gross 
sexual assault when the purpose of the analysis is to obtain evidence for the prosecution.
3.  Medical personnel not liable for furnishing reports, records or testimony.  A 
physician, nurse, hospital, clinic or any other person, firm or corporation attending a victim 
under subsection 1 is not liable in damages or otherwise for providing reports or records, 
copies of reports or records or for their testimony relating to any examination performed 
under this section when those reports, records or testimony are provided to a district 
attorney, a law enforcement officer or a court for the purpose of prosecuting the alleged 
crime, whether or not the reports, records or testimony are provided with the written 
authorization of the victim examined under this section.
SUMMARY
This bill removes the term "alleged" when referring to victims of sexual assault in the 
Maine Revised Statutes.