Can the punishment fit the crime when suspects confess child sexual abuse?

OBJECTIVE: To determine significant predictors of severity of sentencing of sex offenders of minors in a jurisdiction which obtains many confessions. METHOD: Data were abstracted from 323 criminal court case records of sexually abused minors over 11 years in a county which places a high priority on sexual abuse prosecution. The sample used in this analysis consisted of 218 men who received a sentence for a sex offense. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine what factors predicted severity of sentences. Specifically this study explores whether, in a county which is very successful in obtaining confessions to sexual abuse of children, the severity of sentence is explained by the seriousness of the crime (more severe type of sexual abuse, younger age of the victim, prior conviction of a sex offense, and abusing more than one child), or by factors unrelated to the seriousness of the offense, offender confession and/or having a court-appointed attorney. RESULTS: Factors that predicted the severity of the sentence were the seriousness of the sex crime, prior conviction of a sex crime, and young age of the victim. CONCLUSIONS: This community, with a high confession rate and a high conviction rate, imposed sentences that were consistent with the crimes, with more severe sentences for more serious crimes. Convenience factors, such as the fact the offender confessed, and systemic factors, such as having a court-appointed attorney, did not result in more severe sentences.     

Identifying the characteristics of child sexual abuse cases associated with the child or child's parents withdrawing the complaint

Most child sexual abuse cases do not result in a full trial or guilty plea; rather, case attrition occurs at earlier stages of the criminal justice system. One reason for the attrition of these cases is the withdrawal of complaints, by children or their caregivers. The aim of the current study was to determine the case characteristics associated with complaint withdrawal in child sexual abuse cases by the child or his or her parents once a report has been made to authorities. All child sexual abuse incidents reported to authorities in one jurisdiction of Australia in 2011 were analyzed (N = 659). A multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the following case outcomes: (1) withdrawn by the child or his or her parents, (2) exited for other reasons (e.g., the alleged offender was not identified, the child refused to be interviewed), and (3) resulted in a charge. Five predictors significantly added to the prediction of case outcome: child age, suspect gender, suspect age, child–suspect relationship, and abuse frequency. These results should contribute to the design of interventions in order to reduce complaint withdrawals if these withdrawals are not in the child's best interests.     

Child protection and justice systems processing of serious child abuse and neglect cases

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the trajectory of cases through four systems: child protection, law enforcement, the dependency courts, and the criminal courts. METHOD: This study focused on a county selected from a 41-county telephone survey conducted for the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3). For this analysis prospective samples were drawn from law enforcement (n=225) and the county child protection (CPS) agency (n=225) and followed through in-depth case tracking across all agencies and through both the dependency and criminal court systems. RESULTS: The percentage of CPS cases opened in dependency court was similar to prior studies (29%), but the acceptance and prosecution rates were much higher--92% of the cases referred from CPS, including many cases of physical abuse. Compared to referrals from CPS to law enforcement (93%), few cases were referred from law enforcement to CPS (17%). Anecdotally, case referral patterns appeared to be influenced by communication patterns and mutual positive regard, regardless of the collaborative protocols in place. One of the most instructive findings was the degree of difficulty in tracking cases across organizations and the types of obstacles that impeded success. Disorganization was not an issue, rather internal structures set up to facilitate intra-organizational processing were the same structures that actually impeded cross-organizational case finding. CONCLUSIONS: It is not sufficient to rely on the existence of multi-disciplinary teams or Child Advocacy Centers to ensure collaboration. More attention to daily tasks and activities as well as the nature and quality of communication is warranted. On the technical side, use of common case identifiers on cases that are cross-referred is strongly recommended. Future studies should broaden the scope of inquiry to include the consequences of all case trajectories, rather than solely focusing on the justice system.     

Predictors of legal intervention in child maltreatment cases.

Using information extracted from child protective services and criminal court records, this research examines the extent and nature of dependency and criminal filings in 833 substantiated intrafamilial child abuse and neglect cases reported in Denver (CO), Los Angeles (CA), and Newcastle (DE) Counties in 1985-1986. Techniques of chi-square and discriminant analyses were used to identify factors associated with dependency and criminal filings. Results indicate that legal intervention is rare: Dependency filings and prosecutions occur in just 21% and 4% of the sample, respectively, although treatment plan development and out-of-home placement of the child occur in approximately 75% and 50% of the sample, respectively. Eighty percent of cases with criminal filings proceed to trial or plea bargaining, with 92% resulting in conviction. Bivariate analyses indicate cases involving abandonment, sexual abuse, frequent maltreatment, and severe maltreatment are most likely to result in an initial dependency filing, while cases involving sexual abuse, severe maltreatment, a nonparent perpetrator, an ethnic minority perpetrator, a female victim, and a victim aged 7-12 years are most likely to result in a criminal filing. The multivariate analyses show the primary predictor of both dependency and criminal filings is whether the case involved sexual abuse. This finding reflects the widespread public and professional attention child sexual abuse has received in recent years.     

A study of clerics who commit sexual offenses: are they different from other sex offenders?

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine if cleric-sex offenders differed significantly from other sex offenders when compared to a control group and assessed with standard instruments that examine the major factors important in sexual offenses. METHOD: Twenty-four male clerics accused of sexual offenses were compared to 24 male sex offender controls, matched on offense type, age, education, and marital status. Both groups were compared to a general sample of sex offenders (n = 2125) matched only for offense type. The three groups were compared on sexual history and preference, substance abuse, mental illness and personality, history of crime and violence, neuropsychological impairment, and endocrine abnormalities, using reliable and valid measures. RESULTS: The clerics in this study formed a statistically significant highly educated, older, and predominantly single subgroup of sex offenders. The majority of cleric-sex offenders suffered from a sexual disorder (70.8%), predominantly homosexual pedophilia, as measured by phallometric testing, but did not differ from the control groups in this respect. The clerics were comparable to the other two groups in most respects, but tended to show less antisocial personality disorders and somewhat more endocrine disorders. The most noteworthy features differentiating the clerics from highly educated matched controls were that clerics had a longer delay before criminal charges were laid, or lacked criminal charges altogether, and they tended to use force more often in their offenses. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of differences in age, education, and occupation between cleric-sex offenders and sex offenders in general, the same procedures should be used in the assessment of this group as for the sex offender population in general. Hypotheses about reduced sexual outlet and increased sexual abuse of clerics in childhood were not supported. Assessment and treatment of cleric-sex offenders should focus especially on sexual deviance, substance abuse, and endocrine disorders.     

Differences and similarities between violent offenders and sex offenders

OBJECTIVES: To investigate differences and similarities between violent offenders and two types of sex offenders, rapists and child molesters, in terms of their personality, the nature of the victim, the role of alcohol, and their confession to their crime. METHOD: Thirty-six adult sex offenders, 23 child molesters, and 32 violent offenders were compared on personality measures, their relationship with the victim, the presence of alcohol intoxication, their confession rate and retraction at trial, and the reasons they gave for having confessed to the police. RESULTS: Child molesters and adult sex offenders (rapists) were significantly more introverted than the violent offenders. The child molesters had higher social desirability scores than the other groups, they tended to assault relatives and friends, they were rarely intoxicated while committing the offense, and they had strong internal need to confess to the police. Rapists and violent offenders were more commonly intoxicated during the commission of the offense; the former tended to assault acquaintances, where violent offenders most commonly assaulted strangers. Exactly half of the rapists retracted their confession when the case went to trial; in contrast none of the other offenders retracted their confession. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that there are significant differences as well as similarities between the three groups of offenders, which have implications for assessment and treatment.     

Testifying in criminal court: emotional effects on child sexual assault victims.

Child victims must cope not only with the emotional consequences of criminal acts but also with the potentially traumatizing effects of legal involvement. Dramatic increases in the reporting of child sexual abuse are bringing greater numbers of children into contact with the criminal justice system, raising fears that child victims of sex crimes will be further harmed by the courts. In the present study, the effects of criminal court testimony on child sexual assault victims were examined in a sample of 218 children. From this sample, the behavioral disturbance of a group of "testifiers" was compared to that of a matched control group of "nontestifiers" at three points following testimony: 3 months, 7 months, and after prosecution ended. At 7 months, testifiers evinced greater behavioral disturbance than nontestifiers, especially if the testifiers took the stand multiple times, were deprived of maternal support, and lacked corroboration of their claims. Once prosecution ended, adverse effects of testifying diminished. In courthouse interviews before and after testifying, the main fear expressed by children concerned having to face the defendant. Children who appeared more frightened of the defendant while testifying were less able to answer the prosecutors' questions; and later, after the cases were closed, they were more likely to say that testifying had affected them adversely. The two most pervasive predictors of children's experiences in the courtroom, however, were age and severity of abuse. Despite relevant laws, few innovative techniques were used to help the children testify. The results are discussed in relation to children's ability to cope with stressful situations, the interaction of the legal system with the child/family system, and debates about the need to protect child victims who testify in criminal court.     

Criminal investigation of child sexual abuse: a comparison of cases referred to the prosecutor to those not referred

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to identify characteristics of child sexual abuse cases which differentiate cases referred for criminal prosecution ("criminal-action") from those not referred ("dropped") by investigators. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 1043 children who completed a forensic interview for sexual abuse that allegedly occurred at the hands of an adult between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1996 in Bernalillo County of New Mexico. Data was systematically obtained from forensic interview files and offender records at the local prosecutor's office. RESULTS: Differences between criminal-action and dropped cases were found in relation to the children (age, sex and ethnicity), the alleged offenders (age, sex and relationship to child), and the case characteristics (disclosure and injury to the child). CONCLUSIONS: The present study provided insight into the characteristics of a previously ignored population (reported child sexual abuse cases that are not referred for prosecution). Recommendations are made to address the needs of these children and their families.     

Interdisciplinary collaboration needed in obtaining high-quality medical information in child abuse investigations

BackgroundDespite reporting legislation, healthcare providers (HCPs) do not always report and collaborate in cases of suspected child abuse. Recognizing this leaves children at risk, the Wisconsin Child Abuse Network (WI CAN) sought to understand barriers to mandated reporting and collaboration with child abuse investigators.ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to investigate barriers for professionals in providing and obtaining high-quality medical information in child abuse investigations.Participants and settingParticipants included five discipline-specific focus groups: HCPs, child protective services (CPS), law enforcement, lawyers, and judges. All professionals had been directly involved in Wisconsin child abuse cases.MethodsThis qualitative study consisted of discipline-specific focus groups, directed by open-ended interview questions. Data analysis was completed through the narrative inquiry methodology.ResultsBarriers to providing and obtaining high-quality medical information in child abuse investigations were both discipline-specific and universal amongst all groups. Discipline-specific barriers included: HCPs’ discomfort with uncertainty; CPS’ perception of disrespect and mistrust by HCPs; law enforcement’s concerns with HCPs’ overstepping professional boundaries; lawyers’ concern of HCPs’ discomfort with court proceedings; and judges’ perception of a lack of understanding between all disciplines. Universal barriers included: value of high-quality medical information in child abuse investigations, burden of time and money; unequal resources between counties; a need for protocols, and a need for interdisciplinary collaboration.ConclusionFindings from this study suggest several ways to address identified barriers. Possible interventions include equalizing resources between urban and rural counties (specifically financial resources and access to child abuse experts); protocolizing reporting and investigations; and, increasing interprofessional education.     

The credibility of recovered memory testimony: exploring the effects of alleged victim and perpetrator gender.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to explore the effects of victim/complainant and perpetrator/defendant gender on the impact of recovered memory testimony in criminal sexual abuse trials. METHOD: A jury simulation methodology was used. Two hundred forty-six participants read a summary of a sexual abuse trial in which the following three variables were manipulated: the complainant's gender, the defendant's gender, and whether the complainant's memory of the alleged abuse had been "recovered" or remembered all along. Participants reached a verdict and rated the culpability and credibility of the parties. RESULTS: Compared to a case where the memory of the abuse had always been remembered, recovered memory testimony led to lower perceptions of the defendant's culpability and higher perceptions of the defendant's credibility. In addition, the complainant with recovered memory was viewed as less credible and less likely to be telling the truth. These effects of testimony type (i.e., recovered vs. remembered) were qualified by an interaction with complainant and defendant gender, such that testimony type exerted an effect in cases of alleged heterosexual but not homosexual abuse. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that mock jurors' judgments in sexual abuse cases reflect their stereotypes about sexual abuse and expectations regarding the relative likelihood of repression in various circumstances.     

Abusive head trauma in Maine infants: medical,child protective,and law enforcement analysis

OBJECTIVE: To collect and compare the results of medical, child protective, and law enforcement evaluation of a sample of Maine children who were victims of abusive head trauma (AHT) in order to describe the clinical and evaluative characteristics as they relate to victims, families and perpetrators of such trauma and to improve the professional response to AHT in Maine.METHOD: Retrospective chart review of medical, child protective, and law enforcement records of all AHT victims admitted to two tertiary care hospitals in Maine or seen by the state medical examiner from 1991 to 1994.RESULTS: Nineteen children (age range 2 weeks to 17 months) were identified as victims of AHT (out of a total of 94 head trauma admissions) accounting for 20 hospitalizations during the study period. There was a history of prior injury in 30%, history of prior medical evaluations for possibly abuse related problems in 65%, while, on presentation, 75% had evidence or history of prior injury. The hospitals notified child protective services (CPS) in all 20 cases and correctly identified abuse in 18 (90%). Parental risk factors for abuse identified in CPS records included substance abuse (53%), domestic violence (42%), criminal history (32%), unrealistic expectations (42%), and attachment problems (32%). However, risk factors were inadequately assessed in 53% of homes. Law enforcement identified a likely perpetrator in 79% of cases and in the majority the identified suspect was the father. In the 15 cases where a perpetrator was identified by law enforcement, that person was alone with the child at symptom onset in 14 (93%).CONCLUSIONS: The medical response, at least at the inpatient level, was generally well done with regard to suspicion and reporting. Cases are possibly being missed at the outpatient level. Child protective risk assessment was limited overall yet in a third of the homes where AHT occurred, few if any risk factors were present to aid in identification and prevention. Law enforcement results suggest that a primary suspect for AHT is the caretaker alone with the child at the time of symptom onset.     

The relationship between child protection contact and mental health outcomes among Canadian adults with a child abuse history

Despite being a primary response to child abuse, it is currently unknown whether contact with child protection services (CPS) does more good than harm. The aim of the current study was to examine whether contact with CPS is associated with improved mental health outcomes among adult respondents who reported experiencing child abuse, after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and abuse severity. The data were drawn from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-2012), which used a multistage stratified cluster design (household-level response rate = 79.8%). Included in this study were individuals aged 18 years and older living in the 10 Canadian provinces (N = 23,395). Child abuse included physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Mental health outcomes included lifetime mental disorders, lifetime and past year suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts, and current psychological well-being and functioning and distress. All models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors and severity of child abuse. For the majority of outcomes, there were no statistically significant differences between adults with a child abuse history who had CPS contact compared to those without CPS contact. However, those with CPS contact were more likely to report lifetime suicide attempts. These findings suggest that CPS contact is not associated with improved mental health outcomes. Implications are discussed.     

Reported contact with child protection services among those reporting child physical and sexual abuse: results from a community survey

OBJECTIVE: This study uses results from a large community survey to examine the relationship between a history of child maltreatment and self-reports of contact with Child Protection Services (CPS). METHODS: The Ontario Health Supplement was a province-wide, probability-based survey of household dwellings in the province of Ontario, Canada. A random sample of residents aged 15 and older participated in the Ontario Health Supplement (N=9953). A face-to-face interview included a question about contact with Child Protection Services (CPS), and the Child Maltreatment History Self-Report, a self-administered questionnaire, was used to assess history of child physical and sexual abuse. RESULTS: Only a very small percentage of respondents with a history of child abuse reported contact with CPS; 5.1% of those with a history of physical abuse, and 8.7% of those with a history of sexual abuse. Contact with CPS was associated with younger age of respondent for both types of abuse and female gender for physical abuse. In the case of sexual abuse, younger respondents whose parental employment classification was in the lower socioeconomic group were more likely to have contact with CPS. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that target only those who come in contact with CPS will not reach most persons exposed to child abuse.     

数额犯若干问题研究

数额犯是我国刑法规定的犯罪类型，是我国刑事立法和刑法理论强调犯罪是定性和定量相结合的结果，数额犯本身也可以分为诸多种类；根据数额犯类型的不同，一定的数额既可以是犯罪的成立条件，也可以是犯罪的既遂条件；对于数额犯的共犯，要按照共犯人对犯罪数额发生所起的实际作用而不是分赃多少处罚。     

“性侵儿童”犯罪的危害及防范对策

性侵儿童犯罪是一种极为恶劣的犯罪行为,近年来,性侵儿童案件呈现高发特点。性侵儿童会对受害儿童个人及家庭造成极大伤害,进而对社会产生一系列负面影响。从受害儿童的生理、心理以及以受害家庭伤害程度为切入点,分析性侵儿童案件发生的原因,能够间接了解侵害者行为人与被侵害者两方面的特点,从而找出有效防范性侵儿童的办法,为多方面控制此类案件的发生制定相应的对策,以期对我国防范性侵儿童犯罪有所裨益。     

Validity of criteria-based content analysis (CBCA) at trial in free-narrative interviews

Objective

The reliability of child witness testimony in sexual abuse cases is often controversial, and few tools are available. Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) is a widely used instrument for evaluating psychological credibility in cases of suspected child sexual abuse. Only few studies have evaluated CBCA scores in children suspected of being sexually abused. We designed this study to investigate the reliability of CBCA in discriminating allegations of child sexual abuse during court hearings, by comparing CBCA results with the court's final, unappealable sentence. We then investigated whether CBCA scores correlated with age, and whether some criteria were better than others in distinguishing cases of confirmed and unconfirmed abuse.

Methods

From a pool of 487 child sexual abuse cases, confirmed and unconfirmed cases were selected using various criteria including child IQ ≥ 70, agreement between the final trial outcome and the opinion of 3 experts, presence of at least 1 independent validating informative component in cases of confirmed abuse, and absence of suggestive questions during the child's testimonies. This screening yielded a study sample of 60 confirmed and 49 unconfirmed cases. The 14 item version of CBCA was applied to child witness testimony by 2 expert raters.

Results

Of the 14 criteria tested, 12 achieved satisfactory inter-rater agreement (Maxwell's Random Error). Analyses of covariance, with case group (confirmed vs. unconfirmed) and gender as independent variables and age as a covariate, showed no main effect of gender. Analyses of the interaction showed that the simple effects of abuse were significant in both sex. Nine CBCA criteria were satisfied more often among confirmed than unconfirmed cases; seven criteria increased with age.

Conclusion

CBCA scores distinguish between confirmed and unconfirmed cases. The criteria that distinguish best between the 2 groups are Quantity of Details, Interactions, and Subjective Experience. CBCA scores correlate positively with age, and independently from abuse; all the criteria test except 2 (Unusual Details and Misunderstood Details) increase with age. The agreement rate could be increased by merging criteria Unusual and Superfluous details that achieve a low inter-rater agreement when investigated separately.

Practice implication

Given its ability to distinguish between confirmed and unconfirmed cases of suspected child abuse, the CBCA could be a useful tool for expert opinion. Because our strict selection criteria make it difficult to generalize our results, further studies should investigate whether the CBCA is equally useful in the cases we excluded from our study (for example mental retardation).     

A taxonomy of duties to report child sexual abuse: Legal developments offer new ways to facilitate disclosure

Background: Child sexual abuse is undisclosed for many reasons that are resistant to change. Citizens can play an important role in disclosing cases of child sexual abuse to authorities. Professionals who deal with children also play a crucial role. Office-holders in organisations have a clear responsibility to prevent cover-ups of sexual abuse. Recently, some countries have created important new legal duties for adults to disclose child sexual abuse.Objectives: This article creates a contemporary taxonomy of duties to disclose cases of child sexual abuse, and explains their nature and justification.Participants and setting: Citizens, professionals dealing with children in the course of their work, and managers of child and youth-serving organisations.Methods: Legal analysis created a taxonomy of reporting duties. Analysis of these duties from perspectives of criminal jurisprudence, public health law, children’s rights and ethics considered their justification.Results: Seven legal duties now exist, in criminal law, civil law and child protection law. Some apply to all citizens; others to managers in organisations; others to professionals dealing with children in the course of their work. All the duties are directed to early detection of cases; some are directed towards prevention; and some are focused on avoidance of institutional corruption.Conclusions: These developments represent historic progress in overcoming normally intractable barriers to disclosure of cases of child sexual abuse. New legal duties are consistent with principles from criminal jurisprudence, public health law, children’s rights and ethics. Where adopted, societies should ensure the creation and maintenance of ecological conditions in which these duties can be observed.     

单位犯罪的自首制度考略

我国现行刑法明确了单位犯罪的主体地位,但对单位犯罪能否适用自首却没有明确规定,以致在理论界及司法实务界引发争论。基于对刑法基础理论、刑法相关条文及当前单位犯罪现状的分析,应当认定单位可以成立自首。单位自首可在一定程度上影响个人自首。