NCJ Number
161735
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 20 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1996) Pages: 457- 464
Date Published
1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Data from Chicago police and prosecutor records and a Chicago hospital formed the basis of an analysis of the outcome of prosecuting alleged child sexual abuse perpetrated by family members or caretakers.
Abstract
Seventy-seven felonies, 29 misdemeanors, and 30 juvenile charges were initiated by the police for preliminary hearings against 136 persons in the 269 cases in which alleged perpetrators were identified. Sixty-six of the felony charges resulted in indictments and 11 in dismissal of charges by the judge or grand jury. Thirty-two of those indicted pleaded guilty, 24 went to trial, 16 were found guilty, and 8 had charges dismissed. Therefore, of the 77 felony complaints, 48 ended in convictions and 29 in dismissals or not-guilty verdicts. Only 24 of the original 451 allegations resulted in trials, and only 17 percent of the original 451 allegations were prosecuted for a felony. For felony indictments, 36 percent of victims appeared in court. Forty-three of 48 persons found guilty served time; the average sentence length was 6.8 years. The average time from the initial hearing to the final disposition was 321 days and was significantly longer if the accused either went to trial 501 versus 236 days) or was found guilty or pleaded guilty (353 versus 254 days for not-guilty verdicts). Findings indicated that very few children (5 percent) have to appear as witnesses in court, because most cases are resolved by plea bargaining, and that resolution by trial can take 12 to 16 months. Tables and 20 references (Author abstract modified)