Sexual aSSault LEGAL ADVOCACY MANUAL - Texas Association ...

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ii. Cases Involving Child Survivors and Mandatory Reporting Mandatory Reporting Even though it’s generally the victim’s decision whether to report a sexual assault, Texas law creates an exception in the case of child victims under 18, elderly victims over 65, and victims with disabilities. Anyone who has reason to believe a person belonging to one of those categories has been harmed mentally or physically by abuse or neglect must immediately report that suspicion (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.101(a)). Failing to report suspected abuse or neglect is a class B misdemeanor (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.109). Professionals who suspect abuse must report it within 48 hours and may not delegate the responsibility to report to anyone else. What is Neglect? Physical or verbal abuse does not have to occur in order to trigger the mandatory reporting law. Leaving a child at risk of harm, or providing inadequate food, clothing, shelter, and/or medical care for a child is neglect. For a person over 65 or a person with a disability, neglect can take the form of dangerously inadequate nourishment, medical care, living conditions, or personal hygiene. Immunity for Reporters Importantly, a person making a report does not have to worry about being sued if it turns out she or he is wrong. If a person makes a report in good faith, she is immune from civil and criminal liability—even if it turns out no abuse or neglect actually occurred. The reporter’s name is also kept confidential. Who to Call In most cases of suspected child abuse or neglect, a report can be made either to the Texas Department of Family Protective Services (“DFPS”) or to police. However, if a person responsible for the care, custody or welfare of a child committed the abuse or neglect, the report must be made to DFPS. If someone else committed the abuse, the report can also be made to any local or state law enforcement agency. DFPS Texas Abuse Hotline: 1-800-252-5400 DFPS Online Reporting: www.txabusehotline.org IMPORTANT: If there is a life-threatening or emergency situation, call 911 immediately, and then call DFPS. An emergency is a situation that places a child, a person with a disability, or an elderly person at immediate risk of death or serious injury. 36
Legal Advocacy for Child Survivors As noted in this chapter’s introduction, the criminal investigation can be extremely difficult on sexual assault survivors. Questioning by investigators often sounds like a challenge to the survivor’s account, which is re-traumatizing. We try to make things easier for survivors by making sure they are prepared for the experience and understand, as much as necessary, the reasons behind the investigation process. However, things are different—and often worse—for children. Young children are still learning from experience about trust, honesty, and the difference between right and wrong. If child survivors perceive that authorities do not believe them, it can create or exacerbate serious, lifelong psychological problems. Luckily, legal advocates do not need to treat cases involving child survivors much differently from those involving adults. Perhaps most importantly, crime victims’ rights apply equally in child and adult cases. (p. 25, CVR) The main difference is that the rights actually belong to the child’s guardian, not the child survivor. The rights themselves, however, remain the same. One notable exception is that a child victim of crime has until her or his 21st birthday to file an application for Crime Victims’ Compensation. (p. 98, CVC) Therefore, the discussions throughout this manual on protecting survivors’ rights apply with equal weight in cases involving children. The biggest differences in cases involving children pertain to the services legal advocates do not provide. Because of how traumatizing investigations can be to children, investigators need to take a lot of special precautions that are not strictly necessary when dealing with adults. Informational interviews are conducted by experienced professional therapists and counselors. Those professionals have crucial skills that ordinary police investigators do not, such as special methods for asking about abuse, instead of direct questioning. Prosecutors’ offices and police in many Texas communities have Children’s Advocacy Centers (“CACs”), which perform those functions and more. CACs provide specialized investigations in a child-friendly atmosphere, licensed therapy for children and secondary victims like parents, and medical professionals with experience testifying about child sex abuse in court. Whereas rape crisis centers might typically fulfill some of those roles for adult survivors, child survivors need very specialized services during the criminal justice process. However, that does not mean the legal advocate does not have critical responsibilities to child survivors. As described above, most of the advocate’s legal responsibilities remain unchanged. In addition to protecting crime victims’ rights, advocates should also be prepared to provide families of child survivors with information on civil legal remedies and other legal issues. (p. 94, Civil Legal Remedies) If your community has a CAC, be sure to cultivate a good working relationship with them, just like any other criminal justice system institution. To find out about services in your area, contact Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas at www.cactx.org or by phone at (512) 258-9920. 37
Page 1: Sexual Assault Legal Advocacy Manua
Page 5: Table of Contents: 05 Manual Prefac
Page 8 and 9: 6 PART ONE: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PR
Page 10 and 11: i. Basic Procedure: Jurisdiction an
Page 12 and 13: ii. Substantive Law: The Texas Pena
Page 14 and 15: Defenses Defenses to Prosecution So
Page 16 and 17: iii. Sexual Assault and Related Off
Page 18 and 19: Indecency with a child, Tex. Penal
Page 20 and 21: Indecent exposure, Tex. Penal Code
Page 22 and 23: Possession or promotion of child po
Page 24 and 25: Prostitution, Tex. Penal Code § 43
Page 27 and 28: Crime Victims’ Rights Introductio
Page 29 and 30: Attorney Representation Enforcing c
Page 31: • The right to a private waiting
Page 35 and 36: The Criminal Investigation Introduc
Page 37: In addition, survivors can complete
Page 41 and 42: iv. Medical Forensic Examinations W
Page 43 and 44: Not only are survivors entitled to
Page 45: The Role of the Legal Advocate in t
Page 48 and 49: i. The Charging Process and Prosecu
Page 50 and 51: The victim (or the victim’s guard
Page 52 and 53: ACP is available to victims of sexu
Page 54 and 55: v. The Right to HIV/STI Testing Sur
Page 56 and 57: If a survivor fails to include some
Page 58 and 59: ADVOCACY ACTION: The survivor has t
Page 60 and 61: ix. The Trial Preparation Thorough
Page 62 and 63: Preparing for Pretrial Litigation B
Page 64 and 65: x. Verdicts and Sentencing Criminal
Page 66 and 67: Under community supervision, the de
Page 68 and 69: xi. Appeals If the prosecutor succe
Page 71 and 72: Sex Offender Monitoring and Treatme
Page 73 and 74: What Does Registration Entail? Regi
Page 75 and 76: Restrictions on Internet Usage for
Page 77 and 78: In addition, regardless of level of
Page 79 and 80: ii. Civil Commitment The idea behin
Page 81 and 82: What Does Civil Commitment Entail?
Page 83: Bottom Line: The Role of the Legal
Page 86 and 87: i. Rights of Crime Victims’ in Ju
Page 88 and 89:
ii. Pre-Adjudication Detention As n
Page 90 and 91:
Informal Proceedings The consequenc
Page 92 and 93:
The biggest difference between a ju
Page 94 and 95:
The Process If the prosecutor wants
Page 96 and 97:
94 PART TWO: CIVIL LEGAL REMEDIES F
Page 98 and 99:
General Civil Issues Almost every s
Page 100 and 101:
Safety Sexual Assault Protective Or
Page 102 and 103:
No-Contact Orders as Conditions of
Page 104 and 105:
If the survivor incurs any of the a
Page 106 and 107:
There are separate and slightly dif
Page 108 and 109:
Protections for Sexual Assault Surv
Page 110 and 111:
• Eviction of Perpetrator: Public
Page 112 and 113:
Initial Strategies The first two so
Page 114 and 115:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act o
Page 116 and 117:
Americans with Disabilities Act The
Page 118 and 119:
Ripple Effects of Sexual Assault: E
Page 120 and 121:
Formal Disciplinary Action A formal
Page 122 and 123:
• Required Continuing Assistance
Page 124 and 125:
Texas Law: Protective Orders and St
Page 126 and 127:
Legal Remedies for Survivors of Sex
Page 128 and 129:
VAWA Self-Petitions For certain sur
Page 130 and 131:
Crime Reporting Mandatory Reporting
Page 132 and 133:
130
Page 134:
6200 La Calma, Suite 110, Austin, T
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Sexual aSSault LEGAL ADVOCACY MANUAL - Texas Association ...

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