Alliance pushes to minimize trauma for child sex crime victims

A local child advocacy organization is lobbying to improve how authorities interview child victims of sexual assault.

Resources need to be expanded and more training for law enforcement officers and first responders should be provided, said Denise Tanata Ashby, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance.

The organization is pushing to ensure the every child in a sexual assault case is questioned by someone who has been trained in forensic interviewing.

This would help to stop traumatizing children made to tell their story multiple times and prevent children’s statements from being excluded by courts during the prosecution process, Ashby said.

“Often these kids are faced with having to retell their story over and over again, and you are inflicting trauma on that child every time they retell their story,” she said.

In addition, “that initial interview with a victim of sexual assault is needed in criminal cases for prosecution, and we’ve seen a lot of these interviews actually get thrown out of court because they are not conducted appropriately.”

A forensic interview is a structured conversation with the child that is designated to elicit accurate accounts of events, according to the National Children’s Advocacy Center. The goals are to collect information that will corroborate or refute allegations of sex crimes or abuse and to determine the identities and behaviors of all those involved.

The interview requires special techniques used by trained people because sometimes it’s a victim’s parent or relative accused of abusing them, people the children don’t want to get in trouble even though they are being hurt, Ashby said.

Clark and Washoe counties have children’s assessment centers, which offer resources and the environment for a forensic interview. The interview can be observed or recorded, limiting the trauma on the child, Ashby said.

The Southern Nevada Children’s Assessment Center, however, only has two forensic interviewers.

The rural areas across the state are a separate issue because they lack assessment centers, Ashby said.

Faiza Ebrahim, a forensic interview specialist and administrator at the center in Clark County, didn’t return several calls last week seeking comment. Law enforcement officers and Child Protective Services personnel can refer children to the center.

“There could be more training, we could train more people, even with (Family Services),” Ashby said. “Other jurisdictions have multiple children’s assessment centers, and we have one.”

The center mitigates some of the repetition of interviews and has trained individuals to elicit information from a young child who has been traumatized and ask questions in a way that will make those statements acceptable evidence in a criminal prosecution, Ashby said.

The Children’s Advocacy Alliance also has seen cases where police have been called, the issue of sexual abuse arises, and the child is interviewed in front of the alleged suspect, she said.

Officers receive training now, but more is needed, she added.

Miguel Garcia, spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said Friday no one was available to comment on the issue.

Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa on Friday said the Clark County Department of Family Services provides forensic interview training to Family Services caseworkers and Child Protective Services investigators.

He wasn’t able to provide the number of children who come through the center annually. The center is located at Child Haven, the county’s emergency shelter for abused and neglected children.

According to a brochure about the center, it helps more than 700 children under the age of 18 every year. The center partners with local agencies such as Family Services, the Clark County manager’s office, the Clark County district attorney’s office and local law enforcement agencies.

The center also offers resources to children and families such as support, advocacy and community referrals.

Ashby’s organization had planned to get a bill drafted for the 2015 legislative session to seek expanded training and services but was unsuccessful. There’s still a possibility that changes can be included in another bill draft, she said.

The organization will continue to push for improvements at the local level with the hope of policy changes, Ashby said.

“We just want to make sure that our kids have access to the best possible resources that will reduce the amount of trauma that they receive,” she said.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Follow @YeseniaAmaro on Twitter.