Baby blood used to convict pedophile of 1996 rape sparks ethical debate: Police allegedly took DNA from lab without a warrant – and lawyers say this violates the Fourth Amendment

A New Jersey child rapist has been convicted nearly three decades after he committed his crimes using his own child’s blood.

In 2021, Brian Avis, 61, was convicted of molesting a 10-year-old girl in 1996 after New Jersey police analyzed the DNA of Avis’s child, who was born in 2012.

A little-known rule means every child born in New Jersey has their DNA harvested for 23 years and can be used by law enforcement without a warrant.

DailyMail.com revealed this week that similar laws – which lawyers said violate Americans’ Fourth Amendment – are in place in all but eight states, sparking an ethical debate.

California, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Tennessee store a child’s blood indefinitely.

While the number of crimes solved using newborn DNA is unknown, New Jersey police have opened the lab five times, and California has done the same, resulting in one arrest.

Brian Morris, a lawyer for the Institute of Justice (IJ), told the Daily Mail: “There are constitutional ways to solve crimes.

“This is what New Jersey should do.” Of course, if every American had to hand over their DNA and fingerprints, it might be easier for police to solve crimes.

“But that’s why we have the Fourth Amendment.” The Founders rejected the idea that a king could take what or whoever he wanted.

“But that’s what New Jersey does here.” It takes from our most vulnerable and innocent population – children.

Many states offer parents the option of destroying samples after testing is complete, but many do not.

Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin do not provide a model for destruction.

All 50 U.S. states mandate that newborns be genetically screened within 48 hours of a baby’s birth to test for a rare disease, and are sent to a government-owned laboratory for testing.

However, the remaining samples are shipped to warehouses where police officers can access them when needed or sold to outside researchers — and most states do not require parental consent.

State Police are sequencing the DNA and conducting additional analysis using a genetic genealogy investigation.

The sample is then uploaded to a genetic database to identify relatives of the unknown suspects, narrowing the scope of the search.

The New Jersey incidents have recently come to light in recent lawsuits sparked by a 1996 cold case decision that came about through the use of DNA.

Avis was not named in the 2022 news regarding police obtaining DNA samples, but his case matched the same crimes and was solved through DNA linkage.

News broke in 2022 that law enforcement used blood taken from an infant to link the child’s father to a 1996 sexual assault case.

DailyMail.com has contacted the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for comment.

Avis was accused of breaking into a home on East Evans Street and assaulting the sleeping child in 1996.

“When the victim woke up, the suspect fled the scene,” according to 2021 press release From the New Jersey State Police.

Investigators collected evidence at the scene and obtained a sample of the suspect’s DNA from the victim’s bed.

Avis had a DNA profile created in 2002, which was then uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA collection database – but no matches were found.

In January 2021, investigators from the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit and the Brigantine Police Department reopened the case in a collaborative investigation.

“On July 26, 2021, investigators submitted the DNA to a private laboratory for analysis,” the news release said.

The laboratory performed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray testing for IGG analysis in an attempt to identify genetic relatives of the suspect based on a DNA sample obtained at the scene.

Through various investigative methods, investigators identified Brian Lee Avis as the suspect.

On September 12, police found Avis, served a search warrant for his DNA, and a day later, he was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13, burglary, and endangering the welfare of a child.

“Several months ago, Brigantine Police Detective Sergeant Glaser identified this evidence as a case that could be solved using current DNA technology,” Chief Rich Casamento, Brigantine Police Department, said in a statement dated Sept. 17, 2021.

DailyMail.com contacted Brigantine Police Department, and when asked to speak to someone about Avis, one officer said: “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“State Police successfully obtained the child’s blood spot sample, sequenced the DNA, and then conducted further analysis using a technique known as investigative genetic genealogy,” the lawsuit filed against New Jersey by the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (OPD) alleges. Jersey Department of Health.

State Police claim that these results showed that the newborn’s blood spot sample belonged to the suspect’s genetic child.

“From there, State Police used those findings to form the basis of an affidavit of probable cause seeking a warrant to obtain a buccal swab from an OPD agent, who is the child’s father.” Criminal charges were then filed against the OPD agent.

The document goes on to allege that by using the subpoena, The State Police went beyond their constitutional obligation to develop probable cause and obtain a warrant.

The state health department also allowed at least three health-related entities access to the blood spots for research, CJ Griffin of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden PC told DailyMail.com.

New Jersey is one of several states that does not inform parents that their child’s DNA is being held for up to 23 years, and parents who recently learned of this practice filed a lawsuit against the state, which IJ represents.

“This case feels like a minority report,” Morris said.

“It’s like you’re presupposing that these kids are going to do something. Use it against them if you need to.”

Erica Jedinak, of Morris County, is one of the two plaintiffs and told DailyMail.com she was disgusted to hear about keeping blood for decades after initially refusing to take blood from her newborn in 2022.

Jedinak explained that the process of becoming a mother was long, noting that her son is a miracle child and she believed the hospital room was a sacred room “to observe the joy and grace of God.”

“The state government is also in that room and kept his blood for unknown reasons; it is disturbing,” she said.

“We must agree to others taking our genes. I want to do everything I can to protect our son. That room should only be with you and your child.

Sharon Terry, president and CEO of Genetic Alliance, commented on newborn DNA retention in a 2010 study in which she quoted a nurse and a new mother.

We were horrified when we found out. Why do they need to store my child’s DNA indefinitely? Something could affect her ability to get a job later or get health insurance.

“We need to hear the spectrum,” Terry says. We also need to know how to balance all the needs.

This was the same reaction Jedinak had when she learned of the hoarding practices.

I often think that I would want to do anything to protect my son in his life; “This is a violation,” she said.

“He’s not even two years old.” The fact that the state government wants to track him down is bearing the guilt of young children who have never done anything wrong in their lives.