What is true about the presence or absence of forensic evidence?

• A. Its presence proves assault
• B. Its absence proves there was no assault
• C. It neither proves nor disproves that an assault occurred
• D. It is the sole determinant of guilt

Answer: (C)

Forensic evidence is one piece of a larger evidentiary picture. Its presence can support a narrative, and its absence can complicate it, but neither by itself proves that an assault occurred or didn’t occur. Many factors influence what forensic results mean, including time since the incident, how the evidence was collected and handled, possible alternative explanations, and the survivor’s account and other corroborating evidence. Because of these nuances, forensic findings do not definitively establish guilt and are not the sole basis for determining what happened. In short, forensic evidence neither proves nor disproves that an assault occurred; it is one part of a broader assessment used to reach a judgment about the case.