French police begin mass DNA test in hunt for school rapist

[FarCenter]

French police began collecting DNA samples from hundreds of students and staff at a school in western France on Monday in an attempt to identify the assailant who raped a teenage girl last year.

Police in La Rochelle began testing more than 500 male pupils and staff in their hunt for the perpetrator of the assault on a 16-year-old girl in the toilets of Fenelon-Notre-Dame high school last September.

Two police officers were deployed at the Catholic school to take saliva swabs from the 475 students, 31 teachers and 21 other staff members believed to have been present at the time of the attack.

The victim was raped in the dark and unable to identify her attacker but police managed to retrieve a DNA imprint — the equivalent of a unique genetic barcode — from her clothing.

The DNA tests, ordered by public prosecutor Isabelle Pagenelle, are due to be completed by mid-week, with test results expected in a month.

http://www.france24.com/en/20140414-mass-dna-test-school-rape-investigation-rochelle/

[hack89]

1. "... those who say no will become potential suspects who could be taken into custody.”

or in other words, "you will be punished for exercising your civil rights."