A center established by Will County State’s Atty. James Glasgow three years ago to prosecute child sex offenders and, at the same time, provide assistance to young victims of sexual abuse is being expanded to assist child victims of physical abuse.
“This is a major accomplishment for Will County,” Glasgow said Thursday. “We are now one of only five Illinois counties with child advocacy centers that have expanded their services to serve child victims of physical abuse, as well as sexual abuse.”
Glasgow established the Will County Child Advocacy Center in 1995 to coordinate both the investigative portion of child sexual abuse cases and the intervention services that are brought into such cases to assist victims.
The idea behind the center, Glasgow said, was to employ a team approach to the problem of child sexual abuse, bringing together investigators, prosecutors and various professionals from social service agencies.
This same, multidisciplinary team approach will now also be employed in cases involving child victims of physical abuse, Glasgow said.
“The center unifies law enforcement efforts and ensures that the children are not further victimized by the very system designed to protect them,” Glasgow explained.
For example, he noted that through the center, child victims of either sexual or physical abuse only have to undergo one interview in the investigation of an alleged crime committed against them.
“In the past, police, prosecutors and possibly the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services would have conducted separate interviews with the child,” Glasgow said. “Such multiple interviews of child abuse victims often spell doom for the prosecution,” he added, explaining that even minor discrepancies between one interview and another frequently are exploited by defense attorneys during the trial of alleged child sexual or physical abusers.
Moreover, Glasgow noted, under the multi-disciplined approach employed by the child advocacy center, interviews of victims of child abuse are held in a more “child-friendly, non-suggestive atmosphere” by an interviewer specially trained in questioning children.
If others need to be present for interviews, such as an assistant state’s attorney, a police officer or a representative of DCFS, they can watch and listen from behind a large two-way mirror in a connecting room, Glasgow said.
The center also is capable of making referrals on behalf of the court to make certain victims obtain whatever physical or mental treatment, or lifestyle changes they might need.
The Will County Child Advocacy Center, which is headquartered in the Pioneer Building at 54 N. Ottawa St. in downtown Joliet, operates under the leadership of a board of directors chaired by Glasgow. Other officers of the board include Will County Sheriff Brendan Ward, who serves as vice chairman; and Joliet Police Capt. James Grace, the board’s secretary.
