A collaboration between Riley Physicians for Children at IU Health and Susie's Place Child Advocacy Center will provide local victims of child sexual abuse a free forensic medical exam in Bloomington.
Monroe County Prosecutor Chris Gaal says the move was long overdue.
"We had the medical exams, the rape kits for adult victims of sexual assault, but we didn't have anything like that for the pediatric cases," Gaal says.
Until now, the closest site for a pediatric forensic medical exam was Indianapolis.
Gaal says having limited access to the tests could render an abuse investigation incomplete.
"What we had were some very heroic medical people that stuck with it and figured out a way to make this happen," Gaal says.
The medical exam program will also provide follow-up healthcare and counseling referrals for victims.