Child sexual abuse: A case study in community collaboration

Objective: This is an exploratory study that describes the process and outc omes of a Midwestern US community's approach to case management of child se xual abuse. Method: Data were abstracted from 323 criminal court files. Specific inform ation gathered included child and suspect demographic data, law enforcement and CFS involvement, child disclosure patterns and caretaker responses, of fender confession, offender pica, trial and child testimony information, an d sentences received by offenders. Both case process and outcome variables were examined. Results: In this community, criminal court records reflect a sex offense co nfession rate of 64% and a sex offense plea rate of 70%. Only 15 cases went to trial and in six the offender was convicted. Conclusion: Communities can achieve successful outcomes when criminal prose cution of sexual abuse is sought, but the child's testimony is not necessar ily the centerpiece of a successful case. In this study, desired outcomes w ere a consequence of the collaborative efforts of law enforcement, CPS, and the prosecutor's office, which resulted in a high confession and plea rate . (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.