A prosecutor's dilemma: what's best for the children?
Try to imagine a child close to you had been sexually abused, yet you continued to see the abuser walking the streets of town because the crime was not prosecuted, or the abuser was not convicted of the crime. This happens with startling frequency, even in Vernon County. The Missouri Coalition Against Sexual Assault, or MoCASA, statistics say that one in four girls and one in seven boys have been molested by the time they turn 18. While numbers like that are disturbing, most experts agree the statistics are also slightly misleading. Penny Walls-Brooks, of the Missouri Coalition Against Sexual Assault said that MoCASA numbers reveal that the average child sex offender serving time has molested 117 children. The logical conclusion, then, is that it's not that there are a lot of sexual offenders out there -- it's just that it is so easy to get away with it. "For most of the kids we come into contact with, there is never criminal charges (against the accused)," said Lisa Abbott, of the Juvenile Affairs office in Nevada. There are many reasons for this. It is estimated that only one in 10 cases of child sexual abuse is ever reported. Even if the crime is reported, often the victims are not believed. There are many problems inherent to the judicial process that translate into difficulties in establishing forensic evidence for the trial, and the interview process is frequently compromised. Problems with reporting crimes "A lot of the time people don't accept that a child knows what they are talking about," said Wall-Brooks. She said it is fairly common for a child to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse, but nothing is done about it because the adults the children approach with the problem suspect that the kids are just acting out and want attention. Nevertheless, it is very rare that allegations of sexual abuse are fabricated said Walls-Brooks. Greg Dagnan, of the Children's Center in Joplin, said that since most sexual abuse happens between family members, the victims' confessions of such incidents are complicated issues to the victim. The victim will still have a lot of love and affection for the perpetrator and may be hesitant to rock the family dynamic. Prosecuting Vernon County Prosecutor Lynn Ewing III said that child sexual abuse are "very difficult cases to prosecute." Criminal cases exist on a continuum of evidence, said Ewing. On the one side is "he said-she said," where both sides have statements but nothing else. On the other side of the spectrum would be cases where the crimes were witnessed by a third party or have a lot of hard forensic evidence. "Jury's don't like to convict on he said-she said," said Ewing -- and most child sexual abuse cases are of this nature. Another problems is that even with medical exams the physical signs of sexual abuse are hard to nail down, because there is often a possibility that physical damage such as bruising is from something else. Ewing said that medical examiners on the witness stand will say that injuries are consistent with this happening, but will never say that they are 100 percent sure that sex has happened. In many cases, this is where plea bargains come into play. Ewing said that to be certain of getting any kind of conviction that a jury has to be convinced "beyond a shadow of a doubt" that the crime is committed. This can be very difficult in cases with little physical evidence available. Sometimes the prosecuting attorney has to make the hard decision to get a conviction on a lesser crime rather than going to trial and maybe having the jury let the perpetrator off scot-free. "It's a solution with some justice as opposed to no justice," said Ewing. Ewing said that his heart really goes out when a child tells their story and it is believable but the abuse was reported too late to get any kind of physical evidence and he doesn't have enough evidence to file charges, let alone get a conviction. "We really struggle with these cases," said Ewing. The interview Another problem with getting convictions is the interviewing process may actually undermine the child's ability to testify. Abbott said that at the Children's Center there is one interview, where law enforcement personnel and observers can watch from concealment while the child is question by a professional. With out this type of process the child may be subject to a great many interviews. By constantly repeating the event the child is further traumatized and their testimony will begin to sound coached. This problem will largely be solved by the pending opening of the Children's Center in Nevada. This branch office of the Children's Center of Southwest Missouri in Joplin will provide the forensic interview and medical exams to suspected victims. "The one time, one stop interview," said Abbott. Ewing said that the Children's Center will be not only a huge benefit for the prosecutors office in securing evidence but also an important tool for victims and families to move forward. Once time is served If a conviction is obtained there are some safeguards in effect to protect victims or potential victims. Ewing said that Missouri has a violent sexual predator law that can indefinitely delay the release of violent sex offenders for incarceration if prosecutors can convince the judge that if the offender is released there is a strong possibility that they will offend again. Once an offender is let out of jail they may be watched through stipulations set by parole or probation, also all sex crimes criminals have to register at the county sheriff's office on the sex offender list. The county sex offender list is available for $5 at the sheriff's office. Vernon County has 40 names on its list; with 31 in Nevada; three in Sheldon and one each in Milo, Richards, Walker, Harwood, Moundville and Bronaugh. There are seven cases of sexual abuse, seven of rape, five cases of sodomy, and two examples of incest. "Just because you know someone doesn't mean you know everything about them," said Wall-Brooks. Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman is somewhat apprehensive about the effectiveness of the sex offender list. Hopefully parole and probation will look after them, said Peckman, but if they have served their time and don't register on the list then there is no way for local law enforcement to know because there is no state wide list and no way to track offenders when they move. Prevention As long as there are criminals, there will never be any preventive measures that are 100 percent foolproof, but there are steps that can help to prevent sexual abuse from happening to loved ones. Experts say it's important to know children well enough to know when something is wrong. Parents should talk to their kids about what constitutes sexual conduct early. The "From Darkness to Light" web site reports that 25 percent of child sexual abuse happens before the child has turned nine. Children should know that it is wrong for adults to touch the child's genitals, masturbate in front of them, perform oral sex on them, penetrate them sexually, or even tease them in a sexual way. Martha Sander, Director of the Nevada based Moss house, said that much of the blame of the abuse epidemic lies with society. In the state of Missouri, there were no laws against child abuse until 1961, and it was not until 1980 that assaulting a wife became a crime. "If the justice system won't stop abuse, then how can victims stop them," said Sander. For more information on child sexual abuse contact the Vernon County Juvenile Office at (417) 667-5015, the Children's Center of Southwest Missouri at (866) 230-9780 or MoCASA at (573) 636-8776.