Child sexual abuse: a case study in community collaboration

Faller, Kathleen Coulborn; Henry, Judith

doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00171-x

Cited by 60 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Estimates suggest that only 2–9% of cases reviewed by prosecutors ultimately go to trial (Cross, Whitcomb, & De Vos, 1995; Faller & Henry, 2000; Martone, Jaudes, & Cavins, 1996; Tjaden & Thoennes, 1992), with many cases resolved before trial through rejection by the prosecution, dismissal for insufficient evidence, or pretrial plea deals (Cross, Walsh, Simone, & Jones, 2003). Cases are more likely to be accepted for prosecution if they involve victims who are over 6 years old (Brewer, Rowe, & Brewer, 1997; Cross, De Vos, & Whitcomb, 1994; Murray, 1989; Stroud, Martens, & Barker, 2000; Tjaden & Thoennes, 1992), victims who are consistent in their reports (Gray, 1993; Rogers, 1982), a suspect confession (Cross et al, 1994), medical evidence (Smith & Elstein, 1993), evidence suggesting forceful perpetration (Dolan, 1984), and other evidence to support more severe allegations of abuse, including number of incidents, number of victims, duration of abuse, and severity of sexual acts (Brewer et al, 1997; Cross et al, 1994; Murray, 1989; Walsh, Jones, Cross, & Lippert, 2010).…”

Section: Factors Related To the Filing And Dismissal Of Chargesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence Summarized in Attorneys’ Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals in Criminal Trials of Child Sexual Abuse

Stolzenberg

Lyon

2014

Child Maltreat

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Evidence summarized in attorney's closing arguments of criminal child sexual abuse cases (N = 189) was coded to predict acquittal rates. Ten variables were significant bivariate predictors; five variables significant at p < .01 were entered into a multivariate model. Cases were likely to result in an acquittal when the defendant was not charged with force, the child maintained contact with the defendant after the abuse occurred, or the defense presented a hearsay witness regarding the victim's statements, a witness regarding the victim's character, or a witness regarding another witnesses' character (usually the mother). The findings suggest that jurors might believe that child molestation is akin to a stereotype of violent rape and that they may be swayed by defense challenges to the victim's credibility and the credibility of those close to the victim.

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Section: Factors Related To the Filing And Dismissal Of Chargesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence Summarized in Attorneys’ Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals in Criminal Trials of Child Sexual Abuse

Stolzenberg

Lyon

2014

Child Maltreat

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“…Not surprisingly, cases with suspect confession are prosecuted at high rates: 90% in Cross et al's (1994) study and 100% in Ernberg et al (2018). However, across five studies of child sexual abuse (CSA) cases (referred to prosecutor, criminally charged, or seen at CACs) only 21-37% of suspects confessed (Lippert et al 2010), Faller and Henry (2000) found a much higher confession rate of 64% in the jurisdiction studied by Staller and Faller (2009), mentioned above. Much of the increase in confession rate was related to a subset of suspects confessing during or after taking a polygraph test that they were offered by the district attorney to exonerate themselves (see Lippert et al 2010).…”

Section: Suspect Confessionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Research in police science and social psychology shows that polygraph testing increases the likelihood of confessions and can be helpful as an investigative tool to uncover evidence, but research also indicates that the polygraph test has not been validated for detecting deception (Cross and Saxe 2001). The lack of evidence for the validity of suspect polygraph examinations in child sexual abuse cases raises questions about whether the jurisdiction studied by Faller and Henry (2000) achieved its higher suspect confession rate at the cost of letting some guilty suspects go free.…”

Section: Suspect Confessionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Criminal Justice Response to Child and Youth Victimization

Cross

Ernberg

Walsh

2020

Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan

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Children's and adolescents' risk of experiencing criminal interpersonal violence is disturbingly high, but most cases are neither reported to police nor prosecuted. Yet significant progress has been made in the criminal justice response to child and adolescent victimization. Hundreds of forensic interviewers are trained in interviewing protocols based on developmental research. Many police and prosecutors receive support from multidisciplinary teams. Through Children's Advocacy Centers in the USA, thousands of child victims have access to trained interviewers, medical help, family support, and evidence-based mental health services. Specialized methods have been developed for conducting child victimization investigations and gathering corroborative evidence. Factors such as child age, mental health, and family support affect whether abuse is prosecuted. Children's testifying in court can be very stressful and negative. Countries vary in requiring child victims to testify at trial. Children who testify may do well if they have the preparation and support they need, can testify in a timely way, and do not have to testify repeatedly. Cases are much more likely to be resolved by guilty pleas than convictions at trial. The alternative of restorative justice methods may increase victims' psychological experience of justice, but require managing the risk involved with contact with the perpetrator. Most of the attrition of child victim cases occurs at the "front end" of the criminal justice system, where lies the greatest potential for system improvement. In coming decades, professionals working with child victims should strive to disseminate promising methods and test them through research.

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“…-633 inconsistencies or recantations increase the likelihood of dismissals (Gray, 1993). Hence, disclosure rates associated with convictions are likely to be inflated (indeed, they are virtually 100%; Faller & Henry, 2000).…”

Section: Evidence Of Abuse Independent Of Disclosurementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias

Lyon

Williams

Stolzenberg

2020

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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The New Jersey Supreme Court held in New Jersey v. J.L.G. (2018) that experts can no longer explain to juries why sexually abused children might deny abuse. The court was influenced by expert testimony that "methodologically superior" studies find lower rates of denial. Examining the studies in detail, we argue that the expert testimony was flawed due to three problems with using child disclosure studies to estimate the likelihood that abused children are reluctant to disclose abuse: the ground truth problem, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias. Research identifying groups of children whose abuse can be proven without reliance on disclosure reveals that denial of sexual abuse is common among abused children. 1 | INTRODUCTION In New Jersey v. J.L.G. (2018), the New Jersey Supreme Court re-evaluated the admissibility of expert testimony on child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS). CSAAS describes sexually abused children's secrecy, helplessness, entrapment, delayed disclosure, and retraction (Summit, 1983). The court held that, although scientific evidence supports the proposition that child sexual abuse victims delay disclosure, the other elements of CSAAS are not adequately supported and are not allowed in expert testimony. Specifically, the court found that experts could not explain to juries why sexually abused children might deny abuse. The court was influenced by reviews of the research asserting that "methodologically superior" studies find lower rates of denial.

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Child sexual abuse: a case study in community collaboration

Cited by 60 publications

References 15 publications

Evidence Summarized in Attorneys’ Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals in Criminal Trials of Child Sexual Abuse

Evidence Summarized in Attorneys’ Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals in Criminal Trials of Child Sexual Abuse

The Criminal Justice Response to Child and Youth Victimization

Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias

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