Sexual Assault: Special Populations Adolescents Massachusetts Children Advocacy Centers and District Attorneys Offices

Childrens Advocacy Centers (CAC):

Childrens Advocacy Centers (CAC) Berkshire County Kids Place, Berkshire County, Pittsfield Childrens Advocacy Center of Bristol County Bristol County, Fall River Childrens Advocacy Center of Norfolk County Norfolk County, Canton Childrens Advocacy Center of Suffolk County Suffolk County, Boston Childrens Cove: The Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes Counties, Barnstable: Childrens Justice Center at UMASS Childrens Medical Center Child Protection Program Worcester County, Worcester Conway Childrens Advocacy Center of Plymouth County Plymouth County, Brockton Essex County Child Abuse Project/Essex District Attorneys Office Essex County Essex Childrens Advocacy Center North Shore Childrens Hospital Essex County, Salem Family Advocacy Center at Baystate Childrens hospital Hampden County Massachusetts Childrens Alliance, State Chapter Middlesex Childrens Advocacy Center Middlesex County, Woburn Northwestern District Attorneys Childrens Advocacy Center Franklin and Hampshire Counties, Northampton Telephone # (413) 499-2800 (508) 674-6111 (781) 830-4800 Ext. 310 (617) 779-2146 (508) 375-0410 (508) 856-6629 (508) 580-3383 (978) 745-6610 (978) 354-2819 (413) 794-9816 (617) 573-9800 (617) 591-7700 (413) 586-9225

Worcester County District Attorney, SAIN Team and Child Abuse Unit (508) 792-0214 Worcester County

District Attorneys Offices:

Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket County Berkshire County Bristol County Essex County Franklin County Hampden County Hampshire County Middlesex County Norfolk County Plymouth County Suffolk County Worcester County (508) 362-8113 (413) 443-5951 (508) 997-0711 (978) 745-6610 (413) 774-3186 (413) 747-1000 (413) 586-9225 (617) 679-6500 (781) 830-4800 (508) 584-8120 (617) 619-4000 (508) 755-8601

Mandated Reporting:
Child Abuse and Neglect Department of Children and Families Age Policy: Clients under 18 years old. Hotline (800) 792-5200

Exploited Adolescents:
Children of the Night The Children of the Night home is open to child prostitutes throughout Hotline(24/7) (800) 551-1300

Home for Little Wanderers

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families

the United States, and the Children of the Night hotline staff is specially trained to rescue these children directly from pimps anywhere is the country, any time of the day or night. Children are rescued and placed in local shelters. Provide services to train providers who work with adolescent girls regarding the sexual exploitation of teens; To offer prevention programming to girls at the highest risk of being exploited; and to provide victim identification and early intervention services to girls who have a history of commercial sexual exploitation If you suspect a child is being sexually exploited, this is child sexual abuse. In addition, DCF offers specialized programming for exploited youth through the GIFT Network.

Office (818) 908-4474

271 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 (617) 267-3700 Fax (617) 267-8142

(800) KIDS-508 To report after hours call: (800) 792-5200 www.state.ma.us/dcf

Childrens Services:
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc. Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Age Policy: 14-24 years old (617) 423-9575 or 800-RUNAWAY

Age Policy: 5-13 years old (617) 983-5800 and families. Service offered in English, Spanish, French, and Creole

Tips for Talking to Adolescent Victims

Make the Adolescent the Priority. Adolescents need to know they have an officers full attention. Create a safe environment and cut out other distractions. Dont interrupt their story but respond when appropriate to let them know they are being listened to. Dont touch or invade personal space without their permission. Officers must be honest with the adolescent about the potential limits of confidentiality before the adolescent shares any information. Officers should let adolescents know up front what their role dictates that they must do. Dont surprise them with information about what has to happen after the fact. Adolescents are waiting for adults to trip up or act hypocritically. They know and respect when an adult is being transparent. Encourage the adolescent to disclose the assault to her/.his parents or guardian. Offer to help the adolescent talk with her/his parents. Officers can let the adolescent know that they wont share details with the parent/guardian. Adolescents need clear definitions. Officers should use concrete, simple language, not legalese or police jargon. (E.g. An adolescent may not know how to answer the question Did you consent to sexual activity? but may have an easier time answering So when he tried to place your hand on his penis, what did you do?) Officers should remember that adolescents dont have the vocabulary of adults nor are they developmentally able to articulate emotions. They may feel bad about what happened to them but they may not know that the behavior is illegal. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to stereotypes and myths and may not believe that they are real victims. Use the language they use when describing the assault. Dont assume that because they are using consensual language to describe the incident that it was consensual. A teen may be embarrassed, ashamed or simply not know how to tell an adult that they were sexually assaulted. (E.g. An adolescent who has been raped may say we had sex.) Listen to the facts they are giving and clarify what certain terms mean. Claim ignorance. Its okay to claim ignorance about language and youth culture. Ask for clarity and allow the adolescent to become the educator. Let the adolescent laugh at how little the officer knows. Help minimize their discomfort. Be matter of fact when using potentially uncomfortable words and terms. Tell adolescents to not worry about being polite, go ahead and use the first words that come to mind when describing the incident. The quickest way to ensure that an adolescent will not cooperate is if that teen feels like s/he is being lectured. Dont preach, and dont tell them what they must do. Do Not Put Your Values, Morals and Biases on their experience. Do not judge their information, ideas and decisions. Chances are officers will have certain feelings about what they are hearing. Officers must remember it is not their experience.

Officers should convey to the adolescent that they are not there to punish, they are there to listen. Dont tell them you know how they feel. Adolescents truly believe no one understands the. However, officers can let them know they are not alone. Use universal language (e.g. Ive worked with a lot of teens that this ahs happened to; its really difficult. They blame themselves.) As much as legally able, officers should move away from black and white thinking, together get creative with options and let the adolescent make some decisions. Avoid using clichs. Use genuine empathy or silence instead. Cause and Effect/Consequences. Adolescents are developing a sense of cause and effect and consequences for actions, help them work through consequences of the decisions they make going forward. (E.g. What if they tell their parents? How will they tell them? What if they go to the hospital?) Dont Take Rejection Personally. There is a chance the adolescent could reject an officers help. This is a common and normal reaction for an adolescent. They reject adults in an effort to separate and grow. Understand that they can be hostile today and friendly tomorrow. See this as an opportunity to reiterate the strength and courage it took to report to police. Encourage them to seek out support and help. Safety Planning and Secondary Disclosures. Dont argue if adolescents say their parents or guardians dont care about them or arent safe options. Explore with them why they feel this way; it may be that the adolescent is correct that the adults in her/his life are not safe resources. Help them identify safe support and trust their answers. Do not try to convince them that something different will happen this time; you dont know them, their situation or their relationship with adults. Create a Support Network. Map a support network. Teens rarely come to an adult for help first. First responders are often peers. Dont overlook youth as import supporters to a victim. Follow-up and Reporting Back. Let the adolescent know what to expect after reporting. Create next actions steps, assign the steps for each of you, follow through with steps and report back. Thank them for talking. Officers should let an adolescent victim know they are glad s/he came to the police, it was the right decision, and the police will do everything they can for her/him.

A Minimal Facts Interview Guideline for First Responders Definition: Structured interview conducted by first responders to child abuse: focused on childs needs while eliciting minimal but significant information relating to reported abuse. All investigations differ in some respect and the approach to the Minimal Facts Interview must be flexible, allowing for common sense of the first responders to lead this process. If the child spontaneously provides detailed information, this should be written down, or recorded in some accurate format, and the report should clarify the circumstances under which the child made the disclosure. If the child is not volunteering information, questioning should be avoided and Minimal Facts should be developed from others sources whenever possible. Collateral information should be collected from parents, EMS, school personnel, etc. Considerations: What steps are necessary to assure the safety or the child and other potential victims? What information does the child need to know? Is immediate medial attention necessary? Do not ask WHY the abuse occurred as it infers blame on the part of the victim. Consider linguistic and cultural needs

If it is determined that a Minimal Facts interview should be conducted, rapport building is critical to putting the child at ease and in increasing the likelihood of obtaining information. Talk to them about school, pets, activities, etc Orientation to purpose of the interview (I talk to people your age about all sorts of things; I ask a lot of questions...) Give them permission to ask you questions

Eliciting details regarding alleged abuse Introducing the topic of abuse (Use of Tell me about prompts) Use non-leading, open- ended questions Use focused or direct questions as needed to elicit additional details (who, what, where, when, etc.) Use of open-ended questions and narrative prompts to elicit elaboration Using a menu of options can be helpful The Interview- attempt to limit it to the following minimal facts: a. What happened? Type of incident (rape, indecent A&B, child pornography, etc) Nature of incident (force, coercion, etc) Injuries b. Where did it happen? Check for multiple jurisdictions/locations (crime scenes) Description of room/ location where assault occurred c. When did it happen? (one time assault or ongoing abuse) Last time it happened First time it happened How often? d. Who is/ are the alleged perpetrators? ID/ basic description (Use careful interviewing techniques) Age/ DOB Relationship to Child Access to the child e. Identify any possible physical evidence that needs immediate collection Biological evidence Clothing Bedding Video/ camera/ computer/ photos If Sexual assault occurred within the last 72 hours, S.A.N.E. exam should be conducted for evidence collection.

f.

Does child have injuries? Medical evaluation SANE exam Visible injuries: photograph If visible injuries in sensitive location: have medical photograph if possible Are there witnesses and/ or other victims? Siblings Friends Regular access to alleged perpetrator Does child feel safe? Does perpetrator have access to child? How can child be made safe? Is there concern for other children involved with perpetrator?

g.

h.

Conclusion o Check-in regarding childs safety and other concerns o Provide honest and age appropriate information about next steps(victim/family members) o File 51A when required/appropriate o Always leave the victim/family members with a mechanism to contact officer o Contact District Attorneys office/ SA officer regarding follow-up/SAIN interview

Mass. General Laws Pertaining to Sexual Assault and Minors There are several statutes that apply specifically to minor victims of sexual assault. These statutes are genderless; the victim can be male or female. Consent is irrelevant because the statutes presume that children under the age of 16 (or 14 in some statutes) are incapable of consent to penetration. Minors aged 14 16 are legally able to consent to sexual contact that does not involve penetration (groping, touching, etc.) It does not matter what the defendant thought the victims age was at the time of sexual activity. Crime Statutory Rape: Sex with a child under the age of 16 Law MGL c. 265 23 Other Punishable by life or for any term of years (cannot be placed on file or continued without a finding). Commonwealth v. Miller, 385 Mass. 521 (1982)- to prove statutory rape prosecution must show (1) there was sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse; and (2) with a child under 16 years Punishable by life or for any term of years

Child Rape: sex, by force, with a child under the age of 16 Unnatural and lascivious act with a child under 14 acts in deviation from accepted customs and manners

MGL c. 265 22A MGL c. 272 35, 35A

Punishable by fine or time in prison of not more than 5 years or in the house of corrections for not more than 2.5 years (first offense) Commonwealth v. Benoit, 26 Mass. App. Ct. 641 (1988) - Cunnilingus included and doesnt require a showing of penetration. Punishable by up to 10 years in prison Child over the age of 14 can consent to touching (as long as doesnt rise to the level of rape) Punishable by up to life in prison

Indecent assault MGL and battery on a c. 265 child under the age 13B of 14: indecent touching Assault with intent to rape a child: MGL c. 265

rape defined as sex with a child under the age of 16 Inducing minor into prostitutions: child prostitution Living off or sharing earnings of a minor prostitute Posing or exhibiting child in state of nudity or sexual conduct: child porn

24B

M.G.L. c. 272 4A M.G.L. c. 272 4B M.G.L. c. 272 29A

Punishable by 3-5 years in prison. Punishable by at least 5 years in prison and up to $5,000 fine Punishable by 10-20 years in prison or by fine of $10,000 -$50,000. Childs consent is irrelevant

Mandated Reporting Regarding Minors M.G.L. 119 51A

Who must report?

Any of the following who in their professional capacity learn of suspected Fine of up to $1,000 abuse: Medical personnel Public or private schoolteachers; educational administrators; guidance or family counselors; Day care and child care workers, including any person paid to care for, or work with, a child in any public or private facility, or home or program funded or licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which provides day care or residential services (including child care resource and referral agencies, as well as voucher management agencies, family day care and child care food programs); Social workers; foster parents; Firefighters; police officers; probation officers; clerks/magistrates of the district courts; parole officers; School attendance officers; allied mental health and licensed human services professionals (marriage and family therapists, rehabilitation counselors, mental health counselors and educational psychologists); Psychiatrists; clinical social workers; drug and alcoholism counselors; psychologists Priests; rabbis; clergy members; ordained or licensed ministers; leaders of any church or religious body; accredited Christian Science practitioners; or any persons employed by a church or religious body to supervise, educate, teach, train or counsel a child on a regular basis Reasonable cause to believe a child under 18 is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse, including sexual abuse; or any indication of neglect, including malnutrition by a caretaker; or any instance in which a child is determined to be physically dependent upon an addictive drug at birth; or death. Oral reports should be made immediately to the Area DCF office or DCF Child-At-Risk Hotline (1-800-792-5200). A written report must be mailed or faxed to DCF within 48 hours after making the oral report. The form for filing this report can be obtained from your local DCF Area Office. All identifying information you have about the child and parent or other caretaker, if known; The nature and extent of the suspected abuse or neglect, including any evidence or knowledge of prior injury, abuse, maltreatment, or neglect; Identity of the person responsible for the abuse or neglect; The circumstances under which you first became aware of the childs injuries, abuse, maltreatment or neglect; What action, if any, has been taken thus far to treat, shelter, or otherwise assist the child; Any other information you believe might be helpful in establishing the cause of the injury and/or person responsible; Information about what works well for the children and family to recognize the current strengths and acts of protection demonstrated by caregiver, and; Information from the reporter concerning what needs to happen to best meet the needs of this child(ren). In addition, as a mandated reporter, you are required to provide your name, address, and telephone number to DCF.

Standard of knowledge:

Reports made to:

Contents of report:

Adapted from RAINN

Minors Rights Without Parental/Guardian Consent

Medical Minors are entitled to: Obtain confidential medial care, including STD/HIV testing Refuse an evidence collection kit Caveats Insurance company is likely to notify parents if the child is examined using their insurance A sexual assault reported by a minor to a hospital/medical provider will most likely be reported to DCF

Mental Health

Restraining Orders Obtain a restraining order Seek an advocate to help

Consent to care and treatment, if 16 years or older

If under age 16, provider must make a determination that child is a mature minor

Courts prefer parental participation; may ask that an adult be part of the process.