Child Victim - Three Principles to Guide Prosecution (From Sexual Exploitation of the Child, P 51-55, 1986, Thomas M Frost and Magnus J Seng, eds. - See NCJ-104925)

• NCJ Number: 104929
• Author(s): C Ryan
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: Loyola University of Chicago
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Certain principles should be followed in the investigation, charging, preparation, and prosecution of cases of child sexual exploitation.

Abstract

In all phases of case processing, criminal justice personnel should believe in the child, recognize that the child is a victim, and appreciate that the victim is a child. In the phases of investigation and charging, these principles require that multiple interviews with the child be avoided. One means of doing this is to ensure that the police and prosecutors who begin the case remain with it until completion. Although some advocate videotaping early interviews with the child to eliminate the need for the child to repeat the same story to many people, this has the disadvantage of not taking into account that the child may reveal various facts of the offense over a period of time. Regarding the preparation and prosecution of the case, there should be no competency test before a child is allowed to testify, and the defense attorney's questioning of the child on the stand should be carefully monitored by the judge to ensure that the child is not intimidated. Videotaped depositions from the child or closed-circuit televised testimony by the child run the risk of violating the defendant's right to confront all accusers. The child victim also often requires protection in a new home environment. Illinois law impedes placement actions by juvenile courts in cases when the child has been sexually victimized in the home. The legislature should remedy this.