CrimeBeat: What do you do if you suspect your child was molested?

If parents suspect sexual assault or abuse, there are a number of resources in Sonoma County that can help them and their children navigate this painful landscape.|

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature where police reporter Julie Johnson and Press Democrat reporters answer readers' questions about local crimes and the law.

What do you do if you suspect your child has been molested?

It's one of the most difficult things for a parent to address - the possibility that their child has been sexually molested or assaulted. If parents suspect sexual assault or abuse, there are a number of resources in Sonoma County that can help them and their children navigate this painful landscape.

Linda Morrissey, coordinator of the Redwood Children's Center, said the first step begins with a parent talking to their child. If the child makes a “disclosure” that leads to a reasonable suspicion that they are being abused, the parent should contact law enforcement and refrain from confronting the suspect, she said.

Parents should try to get information from the child without intense probing and should refrain from asking leading questions.

“A parent shouldn't be interviewing their children, they should be checking out their concerns,” Morrissey said.

Law enforcement investigates all cases of child sexual abuse. If the suspect lives in the same home as the child, Sonoma County Child Protective and Child Welfare Services will get involved and conduct its own parallel, independent investigation.

The focus of the law enforcement investigation is possible criminal behavior on the part of the suspect, while the county protective services investigation will focus on the safety of the child. In Sonoma County, forensic interviews with a child suspected of being sexually abused or assaulted is conducted by the Redwood Children's Center, Morrissey said.

Both child protective services and the Redwood Children's Center are part of the county's Family, Youth and Children's Services Division.

Parents are not “mandated reporters,” a term used to describe professionals who must report to authorities suspected instances of abuse. But they are expected to keep their children safe, and failure to do so could be deemed neglect, possibly criminal neglect, she said.

Morrissey said that in 90 percent of cases involving child sex abuse, the perpetrator is someone known to the family, and many cases of sex abuse occur when the child is in a one-on-one, isolated situation with an adult or other child. There are a number of steps parents can take to protect their children, including closely monitoring their child's behavior:

- Is the child spending a lot of time alone with an adult?

- Are they receiving gifts from anyone, such as money or even a phone?

- Has the child's behavior at home or at school changed and or mood changed?

- Is the child exhibiting anxiety or nervousness about spending time with someone he or she knows, or has a relationship with?

- Is the child spending a lot of time talking on the phone or texting?

“It's really also being aware of who your child is engaging with,” Morrissey said.

Verity, a local nonprofit, provides counseling, advocacy and intervention services to victims of sexual abuse and assault. The group also provides related education to the local community. For information, contact www.ourverity.org.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.

This article originally appeared in the Press-Democrat at http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6134689-181/crimebeat-what-do-you-do.

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