[A possibility for verifying condom use in sex offenses]

In order to elucidate the circumstances of sexual crimes, the forensic laboratory is increasingly forced to consider whether the offender has used a condom. The detection presented here depends on Lycopodium spores used in several condom coatings. They can easily be detected e.g. in vaginal swabs. A screening of 40 various condoms available in Germany revealed that 32 (= 80%) were coated with Lycopodium spores. The microscopical investigation of the spores is explained and some sources of error in interpretation are discussed.