Criminal Investigation Of Child Sexual Abuse

As child sexual abuse investigation and intervention in the United States has evolved over the past decade, it has become clear that no single discipline or agency can meet the needs of abused children and their families. Coordinated investigative teams, involving an alliance between a wide range of professionals - such as criminal justice professionals, social workers, medical practitioners and mental health clinicians - are needed for fact-finding, child protection and criminal prosecution. This practical book focuses on how to design, develop, operate and maintain effective teams. It begins with examinations of how to build teams and the roles and responsibilities of the professionals involved. Investigative interviewing

This guide contains information on the criminal investigation of child sexual abuse; barriers to successful investigation of child sexual abuse allegations are noted, and investigatory techniques designed to overcome these barriers are suggested. Recognizing that interviews often play a key role in child sexual abuse investigations, the guide offers helpful hints for interviewing children and other possible victims, relatives, friends, nonoffending caregivers, and suspects. Specific questions to ask about the child, the suspect, and the relationship between the child and the suspect are identified. The guide also covers other investigative techniques, including searches and medical examinations, and focuses on the "secret" nature of child sexual abuse, the role of law enforcement in protecting children, interview procedures, physical evidence collection, and crime scene searches. A list of organizations involved in protecting children against sexual abuse is included. 12 references and 2 tables.

As child sexual abuse investigation and intervention in the United States has evolved over the past decade, it has become clear that no single discipline or agency can meet the needs of abused children and their families. Coordinated investigative teams, involving an alliance between a wide range of professionals - such as criminal justice professionals, social workers, medical practitioners and mental health clinicians - are needed for fact-finding, child protection and criminal prosecution. This practical book focuses on how to design, develop, operate and maintain effective teams. It begins with examinations of how to build teams and the roles and responsibilities of the professionals involved. Investigative interviewing

To assist investigators and prosecutors, APRI's National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse—the nation's premiere trainer of child abuse prosecutors and investigators—presents the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse, Third Edition. Readers of this manual will receive practical, common sense assistance in handling child abuse cases from the initial report to the closing argument at trial. Appendices on the enclosed CD-ROM include hundreds of sample motions and other legal documents that can be adapted to the jurisdiction of individual readers. Now in its Third Edition, the manual contains the latest in case law and research on nearly every facet of child sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. This is the only book on the market specifically geared to investigators and prosecutors called upon to handle abuse cases.

Intended for investigators, attorneys, clinicians, court evaluators, medical practitioners, and anyone who is involved in the litigation of child sexual abuse, this book focuses on proven field-tested methods gathered from law enforcement and clinical practitioners throughout the country. This definitive handbook guides anyone who needs to investigate or assess child sexual abuse allegations through the essential steps of inquiry.

For investigators, the emphasis of traditional forensics (the science of the crime scene) has resulted in the loss of deductive reasoning skills. This book centers on the investigatorfs ability to interpret and identify non-traditional cues and clues, oftentimes seemingly ginnocenth actions, through the investigatorfs deductive reasoning skills. If the investigator can interpret these items and understand their evidentiary value and how this information becomes evidence of the crime itself, an investigation is more likely to have a positive outcome. Separated into five sections, the first section defines the roles, goals and outcomes. The next section pertains to the psychological aspects of the parties involved, including the victim, the suspect, and the non-offending parents. The third section concentrates on the investigation. This section addresses and discusses court rulings and significant cases (e.g. Crawford v. Washington). This is followed with interview methodologies and some leading interview guidelines. The crime scene is discussed in the next section. The fourth section reviews the court process, and the final section addresses the impact of long-term exposure to child abuse on team members. The book includes chapter summaries and numerous actual case examples of some of the more well-known and high profile investigations. At the end of each chapter is a list of key terms along with critical thinking questions for the reader to analyze and provide answers to the presented problems. The book will be an invaluable resource to law enforcement, child protective services, medical personnel, courts, and child advocates.

Tracks child sexual abuse from the initial report through criminal prosecution and sentencing in the state of Idaho. Contains material of national interest.