What to do if your child says they were touched sexually

Watch Video: What to do if your child says they were touched sexually by Robin Sax, ...
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What to do if your child says they were touched sexually

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The number one question that parents ask me, as both a mom and a former prosecutor, is; what do I do if my kid discloses that they've been touched in some inappropriate way. The most important thing a parent can do is to believe your kid. The default must be that it happened. It is not your job, as a parent, to conduct an investigation, to call the perpetrator, to question your child. Leave those jobs to the authorities. Simply say to your child, "I'm so happy you came forward. I'm so happy you confided in me." Honor their honesty. Then immediately, call 9-1-1, a rape treatment center, or law enforcement because the integrity, 100 percent depends on how a parent acts or reacts. The defense will say that kid was coached and anything you did in the moments of the disclosure, any questions you asked, any evidence you seek to gather, if you try to confront the perpetrator; those actions will affect the credibility of a case.
ALL PARENTS, Sexual Abuse

Watch Video: What to do if your child says they were touched sexually by 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.

More Parenting Videos from Robin Sax >
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