When dealing with the medical aspect of any false allegation case, there are several issues that are extremely important to understand and follow-up on. Obviously, if a child claims that they were forced to perform acts of "oral" sex, there usually is no medical evidence to support the charge, one way or the other. If, however, their allegation is penetration of the vagina and/or rectum, normally, the investigating officer, detective or prosecutor usually and immediately sends the child to a hospital for a "rape kit," or rape examination. In order for the examination to be beneficial to anyone, defense or prosecution, depending on the results, it must be conducted as soon after the alleged incident as possible. If not, there would be no fluid evidence, such as the presence of semen and no manner of determining "when" or "how" certain scaring or tearing actually took place. If a child claimed that they had just been molested, that the accused put his penis into her vagina and that when he finished, she had "white stuff" between her legs and then a subsequent examination at an emergency room determined no presence of semen, that would certainly benefit the defense.

The emergency room doctor will normally have no problem in determining if the child's hymen is intact or not. If a child claims that the accused repeatedly and on numerous occasions, put his "large" penis inside her vagina and the hospital examination determined that her hymen was intact, that would certainly benefit the defense. Regardless of what some idiot "prosecution expert" later claims, a hymen does not grow back. Also, keep in mind that I used the example of a "large" penis. An intact hymen is not "proof" that there was no penetration. Penetration could have been with a "small" finger, of even a penis that barely penetrated the "lips" but was not "forced" into the vagina. In many states, penetration, regardless of how slight, constitutes rape and in some, carries an automatic life sentence.

The physician who conducted the "rape" examination could be vital to the defense, yet in many instances, no one even talks to them. They simply accept the medical report at face value. Just suppose that the report does not contain specifics to conversations the doctor had with the child and, further suppose that during the examination, the doctor asked the child if anyone had ever put anything into her vagina and her response was no. If the child's allegation to law enforcement was vaginal penetration, I would say that was extremely important information the defense needed but would never obtain without an interview.

Depending on what the emergency room physician finds, the accuser might be referred, either by the doctor or a member of the "prosecution team" to a facility that specializes in child abuse for further testing. One examination conducted at such a facility, would most probably be done with a colposcopic "camera," a device used for viewing and/or photographing "abnormalities" or injuries to the hymen, vagina, or anus not available to the naked eye. Unfortunately, in many false allegation cases, the colposcopic examination is used improperly as a means of "determining" sexual abuse.

In a great many cases, these colposcopic examinations are conducted by a "nurse practitioner" and not a medical doctor. Certainly no problem there, if they have been properly trained in the use of the equipment, but in some cases, that "nurse practitioner" actually interprets the results, provides a "medical" opinion and in many cases, they are wrong. This would be absolutely no different than an x-ray technician taking an x-ray and then providing a "medical" opinion of the results. Although trained in how to operate the equipment, they are not "medical doctors" and have no right or authority to interpret the results.

Regarding the colposcopic examination, there is no "acceptance" by the scientific community as to an interpretation of the results. There simply has not been enough data gathered to properly interpret what "irregularities" are natural or from birth, and what "irregularities" might have been caused by sexual abuse. In fact, because there is no conclusive information specific to normal or abnormal changes in the shape of the hymen, no doctor should be allowed to testify that to a degree of medical certainty, variations in hymen, determined through a colposcopic examination, is proof that a child was sexually abused.

Tearing or "scarring" of the hymen "is not evidence" of sexual abuse. There are literally a thousand ways in which a young girl could injure her hymen, including a hard bump on a bicycle seat or a fall.

When dealing with any medicals, the most important thing is to carefully analyze all the findings in all reports and then weigh those findings carefully against the allegations. These medical reports and follow-up interviews can provide a wealth of information vital to the defense, but in so many cases, this avenue is missed entirely. The defense attorney simply reads the report and then sticks it in a file.