Attention Joshua Starr: Tweet this! "It is widely recognized that child victims should not be subjected to numerous investigative interviews during the course of a child maltreatment investigation."

Last night ABC7 exposed yet another major error in the way MCPS handles allegations of sexual abuse of students by MCPS staff.  

...Parents were also furious about how the young victim had been handled at Clemente Middle once she reported Pineda’s alleged sexual assault. She was repeatedly questioned by staffers before police or her parents were called...

It has been known for decades that children should not be subjected to multiple interviews when there are allegations of sexual abuse or child abuse.  The quote below from the American Prosecutors Research Institute is from 2004.

...It is widely recognized that child victims should not be subjected to numerous investigative interviews during the course of a child maltreatment investigation. As stated in the American Prosecution Research Institute’s Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse manual: “The number of investigative interviews should be limited to one whenever possible. Multiple sessions are stressful for the child, are often unnecessary, and can lead to seemingly inconsistent statements.”1

1American Prosecutors Research Institute, Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse 39 (3d ed. Sage Publications 2004).

http://www.enoughabuse.org/