How child sexual abuse is reported and investigated

Learn about: How child sexual abuse is reported and investigated from Robin Sax,...
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How child sexual abuse is reported and investigated

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There are various in which law enforcement gets a report of sexual abuse. One way is for the parents to call the police directly, but much more common reports of sexual abuse come about through some mandated reporter. A doctor who suspects abuse when he is examining a child, a teacher who a kid has disclosed to is a huge way in which cases are reported, social workers, therapists. Those are where the bulk of the reports actually come from. They start with some sort of mandated reporter who then by law must notify the police who then by law must also notify the department of children and family services. What usually happens is when law enforcement gets those reports, they then get sent over to a specialized detective who works in the areas of sex crimes. And if the city is a progressive city, the prosecutor, the detectives, the department of children and family services work together on what is called a multidisciplinary team. The goal of the multidisciplinary team is to not subject the kids to multiple interviews with various professionals but instead have the kid come to kind of a one stop shop where they only have to tell their story one time and all the professionals come and listen and take their reports from there. From that, prosecutors will decided whether or not there is a basis to file charges or whether or not further investigation is necessary. But that interview the kid has with law enforcement and the department of child and family services is one piece of the puzzle. The rest of the puzzle is the defendent´s rap sheet and record, the defendent´s statement and any physical evidence, any scientific evidence, any statements by potential witnesses. Those pieces all come together in the makin of a case. And it is not up to the family as to whether the DA or the prosecutor is going to file charges, it is going to be up to the prosecutor. The prosecutor will decide whether or not charges are filed. It is not something that the victim has a say in.
ALL PARENTS, Sexual Abuse

Learn about: How child sexual abuse is reported and investigated from Robin Sax,...

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Robin Sax

Attorney & Legal Analyst

Robin is a legal analyst for Fox11 Los Angeles (KTTV). She appears there daily offering legal insight and analysis as well as parenting and safety expertise.  She also regularly contributes her legal and parenting expertise to The TODAY Show, Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, CNN, and HLN. She covers both the unknown and known high profile cases including Conrad Murray, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Casey Anthony, Jaycee Dugard, OJ Simpson and many more.

Robin is also a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney and Riverside County Deputy District Attorney who specialized in sex crimes against children. For over 15 years she prosecuted some of the most despicable defendants who committed the most heinous crimes, prosecuting hundreds of felony crimes including homicides, stalking, domestic violence, child sexual assault, and gang crimes. 

She is an author who has penned six books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Criminal Justice System and Predators and Child Molesters:  A Sex Crimes DA Answers 100 of the Most Asked Questions all of which draw on her vast experience as a prosecutor and victim right's advocate. Her powerful insights have regularly graced the pages of The Huffington Post, Psychology Today, People Magazine, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Los Angeles Times and the Women in Crime Ink blog.

In addition to advising numerous legal foundations, Robin regularly shares her valuable insight and expertise through speaking and teaching with members of the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, and the California District Attorney’s Association. Robin has served as adjunct professor of Women and Crime at Cal State Los Angeles and lecturer on criminal law and the justice system in UCLA’s Paralegal Training Program.

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