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THE
POLICE TASK FORCE
INVESTIGATING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIMS
In
the ten years since the Martensville case police
authorities have made some changes in how they investigate
child sexual abuse claims. According to Detective
St. Lynn Kantautas, head of the Sexual Assault Child
Abuse Team for the Durham Regional Police investigating
such claims is always stressful. "You have
to protect the child, but you also have to protect
the accused."
Investigators who do the interviews are now required
to take a training course in how to investigate
sexual offenses against children. The interviews
are done with the Children's Aid Society present
to minimize the number of times the child has to
be questioned. They are also videotaped so that
they can be reviewed later.
"We have to be totally impartial. We assess
all aspects of the case - including the credibility
of the victim," says St. Kantautas. Although
it was previously believed that children never lie,
research has shown this isn't the case. "Children
can have very active imaginations," says Kantautas.
Investigators now learn to assess children and recognize
how their developmental stage may effect interview
process.
Previous experience - with cases like Martensville
- has shown that a child's testimony can be tainted
by the investigators own beliefs. This can lead
to a false allegation of abuse. Investigators are
taught not to ask the children leading questions
and not to use verbal praise to elicit responses.
"It's important not to contaminate disclosure,"
says Kantautas, "because then the testimony
will be less important in court."
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