Reports of child abuse on the rise

In 2017, the number of cases of reported abuse made to county sources was 1,924

WEST CHESTER » Reports of child abuse in Chester County continue to rise in the wake of the Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal, according to figures released last week by the county District Attorney’s Office.

In 2017, the number of cases of reported abuse that were made to county sources was 1,924, up from 1,681 cases in 2016, an increase of 14.4 percent. However, the 1,924 reported cases were an astonishing 364 percent higher than those made in 2014, the first year of statistics released by the DA’s Office. The number of reports that year was 414, 1,510 fewer than 2017.

The figures do not differentiate between reports of physical abuse or those of sexual abuse of alleged victims under 28 years of age.

“With new reporting requirements and other factors, child abuse reports are up across Pennsylvania,” said District Attorney Tom Hogan in a news release issued Tuesday. “Every time a child is abused, it is a tragedy. In Chester County, we are lucky to have the resources and dedicated personnel to handle this increased caseload.”

Hogan noted that over the years, the DA’s Office had added investigators to its county Detectives Office to work specifically on child abuse cases. It did so with the support of the county commissioners, who provide funding for the new hires.

“A key priority of the Board of Commissioners is the safety of our citizens, especially the safety of our children,” said commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline in the release. “Our discussions with the district attorney noted the expected increase in child abuse reports which is distressing and heart rendering, but unfortunately a reality.

“We did not hesitate to provide the resources needed by the district attorney and his staff and appreciate everything that they are doing to protect the children during the emotional process of investigation and prosecution,” said Kichline.

In the county, child abuse reports can begin through a centralized reporting system called ChildLine. ChildLine reports can be made via phone (1-800- 932-0313) or through the ChildLine website. Once a ChildLine report has been made, the information is sent to the Chester County Child Advocacy Center, which is staffed by county prosecutors and detectives. The prosecutors and detectives review the ChildLine information and determine which cases will be handled directly by the District Attorney’s Office and which cases will be sent to other law enforcement agencies to investigate.

The yearly number of child abuse reports in Chester County are as follows: in 2014, there were 414; in 2015, the number grew to 1,306; in 2016, it rose to 1,681; and in 2017, there were 1,924 reports.

Not all reports, to be sure, resulted in arrests or prosecutions. Hogan’s release did not break out the number of arrests made or cases prosecuted. However, it did note that the number of interviews by law enforcement authorities had risen from 233 in 2014 to 363 in 2017.

Once a child abuse report has been received, the cases must be handled very carefully, both to preserve evidence and protect traumatized children, Hogan said in the release. Children are brought to the Chester County Child Advocacy Center, located at the county Justice Center, to be interviewed. The center is designed to be a “kid-friendly zone,” where the children can feel secure and comfortable, with toys, an area for family members, and access to a comfort dog from the county Sheriff’s Office for children who are calmed by pets.

All interviews are conducted by detectives who are specially trained “forensic interviewers,” who have received training on how to interview abused children, making sure to elicit facts without re-traumatizing the child. Virtually every one of those investigators has been to a nationally-accredited forensic interviewing school, and one is fluent in Spanish, a vital tool when speaking with children for whom English is a second language.

The forensic interviews of abused children are often the key to a child abuse case. The number of forensic interviews conducted in Chester County also has been rising steadily, reflecting the increased number of reports and the increased resources used on these cases.

The increases generally can be attributed to three factors, the release stated.

First, Sandusky’s conviction for abusing multiple children while he was associated with the Penn State football program triggered a heightened awareness about child abuse. Second, the Sandusky scandal also resulted in a new state law expanding the number of people who must report suspected child abuse and the types of incidents that must be reported.

Third, county law enforcement and other officials have taken an aggressive role in child abuse education and prosecutions, leading to a greater sensitivity to child abuse issues in the community. The release cited the example of a proposed program by the Crime Victims Center of Chester County to help educate children in every grade school in the county.

The DA’s Child Abuse Unit consists of three prosecutors — Deputy District Attorney Megan King, who came to the office in May 2015 from Lancaster County, where she had prosecuted child abuse cases; and Assistant District Attorneys Emily Provencher and Erin O’Brien — as well as four investigators — county Detectives Christine Beiler, James Ciliberto, Gerald Davis, and Oscar Rosato.

O’Brien, the newest member of the unit, previously served as an Assistant Chief in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office handling child abuse and sexual assault cases. Ms. O’Brien came to the DA’s Office in part by the resources available to fight child abuse, according to the release.

“As a prosecutor, I am overwhelmed by the resources and dedication of Chester County to fight child abuse,” she was quoted as saying. “Our detectives, police, and prosecutors are given every tool available to protect children and prosecute predators. This is the way all counties should fight child abuse.”