Study: Child Sex Abuse Prosecutions Take Too Long, Delay Victim's Recovery
New research suggests that child sex abuse cases in the United States take an unusually long time to be prosecuted and impede the victim’s recovery.
The findings by researchers at the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center conclude that a prolonged court process can be detrimental to a child’s ongoing mental health needs, UPI reports.
Researchers studied 160 cases in Dallas-area communities. They found that half of all cases took more than a year from indictment to conclusion. Fully one third took more than two years. The study, conducted by Wendy Walsh, is titled, “Criminal Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse: Understanding the Length of Time Until Resolution,” and is published in Child Maltreatment.
Delays were attributed, in part, to the time it takes to prepare child victims to testify, and a strategy by defense counsel to file motions to prolong the process, UPI reports.
