Crimes Against Children Flashcards
Physical Abuse
intentional infliction of physical injury
Neglect
Failure to meet the child’s basic needs
Sexual Abuse
Sexual conduct and/or exploitation
Emotional Abuse
Behaviors resulting in humiliation, rejection, fear isolation
4 categories of child abuse
-Physical abuse
-Neglect
-Sexual abuse
-Emotional abuse
Who was the first legal child abuse case
Mary Ellen Wilson
1874
Who is required to report animal abuse IC 16-1605
-Any physician…nurse, coroner, school teacher, daycare personnel, social worker or other person
(ANYONE)
-Having reason to believe that a child under the age of 18 YOA has been abused, abandoned or neglected
Shall report within 24 hrs to proper LE agency, Dept of health & welfare or CPS
IC 16-1605
Reporting Immunity ID 16-1606
Any person who reports suspected child abuse shall have immunity from any liability, civil, or criminal
Any person who reports in bad faith or with malice shall not be protected
The only person that the reporting requirement does not apply to is
A person at a church that hears confessions
I.C. 18-1501
Injury to child
I.C. 18-918(4)
If an act of domestic assault, battery, or violence occurs “in the physical presence of a child or if a child (under the age of 16 in this case) may see/hear the act the maximum penalties provided in code “shall be doubled” for what the suspect is convicted or pleads guilty
Factors that may make a parent abusive
-Parents abused as children
-Family stressors and lack of support (money, homelessness)
-Lack of appropriate parenting skills
-Mother less than 20 YOA
-Limited education
-Low self-esteem/depression
-Alcoholism, Addiction, or psychosis
-Unrealistic expectations of child behavior
Indicators of child abuse
-History inconsistent with injuries
-History incompatible with child’s development
-History that changes with time
-Contradictory histories
-Delay in seeking treatment
-Pathognomic injuries
Conditions that mimic child abuse (Mongolian spots)
-Congenital birthmark
-Often mistaken for bruising
-Common among dark-skinned infants
-Usually fades by 3-4 years
-Color blue or gray
-Does not change color like a bruise
Conditions that mimic child abuse
(coining)
Alternative health practice common in SE Asia
-Heated oil rubbed onto the skin
-A coin then rubbed over the area until red mark appears
-Red mark believed to be “path” that releases ilness
Conditions that mimic child abuse (cupping)
Traditional Chinese medicine
-Heated cups applied to skin causing a vacume
-Release toxin and bad energy
How to determine physical child abuse
-Is the history consistent with the injury pattern?
-Is the history vague or changing
-Is the history consistent with child’s developmental level?
Inflicted vs accidental bruising
INFLICTED:
-Upper arms
-Trunk
-upper anterior
-Sides of face
-Ears and neck
-Genitalia,buttocks
ACCIDENTAL:
-Shins
-Bony prominences
-Lower arms
-Forehead
-Under chin
Ten 4 bruising rule
Be aware of ANY bruising to the
-Torso
-Ears
-Neck or bruising on a child 4 months old or younger
Bruising pattern (Sparing)
High-velocity force causes blood to pool around the area of impact
Accidental vs Intentional Fractures
COMMON:
-Clavicle
-Wrist
-Forearm
-Lower leg
SUSPICIOUS:
-Long bones
-Metaphyseal fractures
-Ribs
Posteria rib fractures
Squeezing of the ribs causing multiple fractures
Accidental vs Intentional head injuries
POSSIBLE ACCIDENTAL HEAD INJURIES:
-Bruising to bony areas of the head
-Simple skull fracture
SUSPICIOUS HEAD INJURIES:
-Any Skull fracture(s) in infants
-Complex skull fracture
-Bleeding in brain
Shaken Baby Syndrome
-Shaking, Slamming, Throwing of a child tears veins between the layers of the brain’s outer layers
-Results from acceleration-deceleration forces or blunt force impact to the brain
Classic triad
-Retinal hemorrhages- bleeding between layers of retina at the back of the eyeball
-Rib fractures
-Subdural hemorrhage
Sudden unexplained death in infancy (SUDI)
-Unexpected death in a healthy infant
-Peak age 2-5 months
-Infant put to sleep in usual manner
-No signs of trauma
-Autopsy no other traumatic or medical explanation
-Scene investigation negative
-Different from co-sleeping, overlaying infant, suffocation from bleeding
SUDI stands for
Sudden unexplained death in infancy
Tap water burns
-120 deg-15 mins exposure
-130 deg- 30 sec exposure
-140 deg- 5 sec exposure
-149 deg- 2 sec exposure
-158 deg- 1 sec exposure
Accidental vs Accidental burns
COMMON BURNS:
-Spill/Splatter/Splash pattern
-Contact burns (touching an oven)
-Burns consistent w history & child developmental level
SUSPICIOUS BURNS:
-Immersion/dunking patterns
-Burns on the buttocks, back, ankles, wrist, palms, soles
-Character burns
-cigarette burns
Gloving pattern burns
- Feet or hands in hor liquid
-Demarcation line highly sus of non-accidental injury
-Bilateral burns are very sus
Dunking immersion burns
-Child is forced to sit in hot liquid
-Common in potty training
-look for donut shape pattern
Chemical burns
-Household cleaners/solvents
Hydrofluoric acid
-Cement
-Alcohol-based skin cleaners
-Alternative medicine/home remedies
-Meth production
-Anhydrous ammonia
-Hydrologic acid
What is child neglect- I.C. 16-1602
The omission of giving the proper care needed to provide subsistence, education, medical, or other types of care necessary for a child’s well-being
Types of neglect
-Nutritional neglect
-physical neglect
-Supervisory neglect
-Educational neglect
-Medical neglect
Nutritional neglect
-Failure to thrive (skinny)
-obesity
Physical neglect
Hygiene, Clothing, shelter
Supervisory neglect
-Frequency, chronicity, danger of environment (pool)
Educational neglect
Truancy, not enrolled in school, special needs not met
Failure to thrive
-Failure to gain weight as expected
-Most common cause is inadequate feeding by caregiver
-Can result from medical conditions/diseases
Environmental abuse
It is not a violation to have a cluttered house
-BUT it is a violation for a house to be in such condition that might in danger a child’s health and safety
Imminent danger
-Only a LE Officer may declare imminent danger (I.C. 16-1608)
Who should be notified after declaring a child is in imminent danger
Health and welfare
True or False- can the offender be removed from the home without an order when a child Is in imminent danger
TRUE
-ONLY if prompt removal is necessary to prevent serious physical or mental injury to the child
Imminent removal paperwork
-Notice to court
-Shelter must be held within 48 hours of child removal
-Notice each parent (except in the case of abandonment)
Emergency removal of alleged offender :
-Notice to court
-Court held within 24 hrs
Can a LE officer remove an alleged offender w out an arrest
Yes- but be aware, he/she might return to the home… it is our responsibility to ensure the child/children remain safe even if the suspect is not arrested, but the child/children are removed from the home
Is a law enforcement officer protected if he declares a child in imminent danger
yes- as long as the action is done in good faith
What is the criteria for the emergency removal of a child based on imminent danger
An immediate threat of physical or mental harm or child abandonment
Who decides to remove a child for imminent danger
A LE officer is the only one who can declare imminent danger
What is the criteria for emergency removal of the alleged offender
Immediate threat of physical or mental harm to a child
What other entities will more than likely be involved in removing a child based upon imminent danger from the beginning
Health & Welfare (Social worker)
When is a safety plan important to discuss with the parent/guardian left in charge of a child declared in imminent danger when the suspect is not arrested
Discuss a realistic safety plan prior to leaving the scene and ensure they understand how to call for immediate assistance if the suspect returns home
Immunity for imminent danger (I.C. 16-1609-2)
If a peace officer removes a child because of imminent danger, he shall not be held liable unless the action was done in bad faith
Sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16 I.C. 18-1506
(1) it is a felony for any person 18 YOA or older, with the intent to gratify the lust, passions, or sexual desire of the actor, minor child, or third party to:
(a) solicit a minor child under the age of 16 to participate in a sexual act;
(b)cause or have sexual contact with such minor child, not amounting to lewd conduct as defined in section -18-1508
(c) Make any photographic or electronic recording of such minor child or
(d) Induce, cause or permit a minor child to witness an act of sexual conduct
Sexual exploitation of a child I.C. 18-1507
Person knowingly and wilfully
-Possesses or successes through any means including, but not limited to the internet, ANY sexually exploitative material or
-Causes, induces or permits a child to engage in, or be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the purpose of producing or making sexually exploitative material
-Promotes, prepares, publishes, produces, makes, finance exploitative material; or
-(d) Distributes through any means including, but not limited to, mail, physical delivery or exchange, use of a computer or any other electronic or digital method, any sexually exploitative material. Distribution of sexually exploitative material does not require pecuniary transaction or exchange of interest in order to complete the offense.
FELONY
I.C. 18-1507A Sexual Exploitation of a child by electronic means.
-(1) A Minor child, w out being induced by coercion or fraud
-Creates or causes to be created any photographic, electronic or video content of said minor child that would be characterized under any of the classifications defined in section I.C 18-1507
-Through (j) Idaho code, and knowingly and willfully distributes it to another person persons through electronic or other means or causes it to appearing a form where the distributing minor has reason to believe another will view it is guilty of a misdemeanor provided that there was a single recipient
-(2) (c) through (j) and knowingly and wilfully distributes it in such a way and through such a medium that the minor intended or had reason to believe that multiple parties would receive or have access to the image.
MISDEMEANOR= First adjudicated offense
FELONY= second or subsequent adjudicated offense
Lewd conduct w a minor I.C.18-1508
-Any person who shall commit and lewd or lascivious act or acts upon or with the body of any part of member thereof a minor child under the age of 16 including but not limited to:
-Genital-genital contact
-Oral-genital contact
-Anal -genital contact
-Oral-anal contact
Manual-anal contact
Manual-genital contact
-Weather between persons of the same or opp sex
-Or who shall involve minor child in any act of bestiality or sado-masochism as defined in I.C. 18-1507
-When acts are done with the intent to arouse, appeal to, gratify the lust or passions of sexual desire of such person, the minor child or third party
Sexual Battery of a Minor I.C. 18-1508A
-Any person at least 5 years of age or older than a minor child who is 16 or 17 YOA
-With the intent of arousing, appealing to or gratifying the lust, passion, or sexual desires of such person, minor child, or third party to:
-lewd or lascivious act(s) upon, with the body, or any part or member thereof a minor
-Solicit minor to participate in a sexual act
-Cause or have sexual contact with minor, not amounting to lewd conduct
-Make any photographic or electronic recording of a minor
Grooming
The process by which an offender identifies a child, creates a connection with the child for the purpose of victimizing that child.
How does grooming work
Target the victim
-Gain the child’s trust
-Filling the child’s needs
-Isolating the child
-Sexualizing the relationship
-Maintaining control
(Grooming) “Traget the victim”
-Child’s vulnerability (Emotional neediness, isolation, lower self-confidence, and lower parental attention)
(Grooming) Gain the child’s trust
-By watching and gathering information on the child’s interests and needs… getting to know how to fill them
(Grooming) Filling the child’s needs
-Gifts, extra attention, a sense of understanding the child’s “Life challenges” (i.e. parents, arguments regarding grades, etc.)
(Grooming) Isolating the child
-Reinforces the “special relationship”
-A special relationship may be reinforced where the offender cultivates a sense of love and belonging that others, even parents, may not provide… parents even unintentionally feed into this through their appreciation of the offender’s unique relationship with the child and “helping them”
(Grooming) Sexualizing the relationship
-Emotional dependence and /or trust has been established
-Desensitization may occur through talking, pictures, texting, and/or creating situations (like going swimming) where both the victim and offender are nude or close to… at the point exploiting the victim’s natural curiosity is easier and he/she can sexualize the relationship
(Grooming) Maintaining control
-Using secrecy and blame used
-Claiming no one will believe the victim
-Claiming LE will not do anything about it
-Sense of blame, shame, and embarrassment if others were to discover what he/she did with the offender
Signs of grooming
-Being secretive about what they are doing
-Online activity
-Other electronic communication
-Gifts from unexplained sources
-Older friends
-Drug/alcohol use and possession
True or False-Majority of sexually abused children have no physical signs
True
Cursory interview
A short fact-finding convo conducted in a developmentally sensitive manner using non-leading techniques and is defensible. Used to determine elements of a crime, and to get info to assist forensic interviewer
Why do you conduct a Cursory forensic interview
To gather facts in order to assess:
-imminent danger
-Arrest the alleged offender
-Further investigation needed
Reasons children may lie in an interview …
-Simply wanting to please the interviewer
-May be given prizes or awards for “correct” answer
-For being ridiculed or penalized for “wrong” answers
-After multiple interviews
Things to do when conducting a cursory interview
-Pick a location that is comfortable for the child
-Start with a topic that is not directly related to the sexual assault
-Get on the child’s eye level or below
What is an open-ended question?
A question which allows the respondent to answer in his own way.
What kind of questions should you start a Cursory interview with
Open-ended questions
Start with a topic that is not directly related to sexual assault
(How come we’re talking today?)
What is a leading question?
A question that suggests a particular response
(“I heard John did something to you. Tell me what he did”)
What is a directed question?
Directs the child to a particular topic, but refrains from providing information
(“I heard something happened at your babysitter’s house, tell me what happened”)
What is a specific cue question?
Gives child a specific cue or hint
( “I heard a policeman came to your house today. Tell me about that”)
