While research has documented the evidentiary significance of sexual assault medical forensic exams (SAMFEs) to case processing, there has been less focus on SAMFEs’ relevance to extralegal case characteristics. This study, through focus groups with police officers and prosecutors, illuminates the link between two important case processing factors: the SAMFE and perceptions of victim credibility. The majority of respondent narratives about the utility of the SAMFE point to how it strengthens or weakens perceptions of victim credibility. This link points to the SAMFE’s important role in early case processing before investigators send DNA evidence for forensic testing.

尽管研究已经证明性侵犯医学法医考试（SAMFE）对案件处理具有明显的证据意义，但对SAMFE与法外案件特征的相关性的关注却较少。通过与警务人员和检察官的焦点小组进行的这项研究阐明了两个重要的案件处理因素之间的联系：SAMFE和对受害者可信度的看法。关于SAMFE效用的大多数被访者叙述都指出了SAMFE如何增强或削弱对受害者可信度的认识。此链接指向SAMFE在调查人员发送DNA证据进行法医测试之前，在早期案件处理中的重要作用。