Child Abuse Investigation Notes

Objective: Students will be able to identify an abused or neglected child and conduct a thorough criminal investigation.

The lesson may include readings and discussions around explicit violence, harm to children, sexual violence, and more.

Understand the purpose of a child abuse investigation: to assess the child's safety and gather necessary information for resolution.

Forms of Child Abuse:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Sexual
- Psychological
Signs of Abuse: Unexplained bruises, aggressive behavior, lack of essentials, drastic behavioral changes, unusual eating habits.
Statistics:
- In 2020, 618,399 cases reported in the U.S.; neglect was the most common form of maltreatment.
- American Indian and Alaska Native children had the highest rates at 15.5 per 1,000.
- Around 150,673 children ages 2 to 5 were abused in the United States in 2020
- 1,713 children died from abuse/maltreatment in 2020, averaging 4.68 deaths per day.

3 Elements:
- Abuser: History of abuse, truama, drug use
- Abused: The child victim. Children under two are most at risk.
- Crisis: Parent overreacts, usually because of stress, causes them to lose control and start the abuse

Tend to isolate themselves and are often parents or caregivers.
Factors leading to abuse include stress and crises with potential loss of control.

At highest risk: children under 2, non-verbal or non-ambulatory, those with disabilities or perceived unattractiveness.

Types:
- Physical Neglect: Failure to provide basic needs (health care, supervision).
- Educational Neglect: Chronic truancy or failure to enroll a child in school.
- Emotional Abuse: (Psychological/Verbal Abuse/Mental Injury), Can result from acts/omissions by parent causing severe behavioral, cognitive, or emotional disorders.
  - Almost always present when other forms are identified
CPS Intervention: Can occur even without clear harm, though proving emotional abuse may be challenging.

Definition: Infliction of physical injury through various means (punching, kicking, etc.). Intention to harm may not always be present.
Indicators: Changes in behavior, fear of adults, reluctance to go home.

Definition: Includes a range of sexual acts against a child. Underreported due to secrecy.
Includes fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation
Most under-reported form of child maltreatment because of the secrecy or
“conspiracy of silence”

Child abuse is primarily handled by state/local authorities, with federal laws like the Assimilative Crimes Act applicable in certain circumstances.
Child Endangerment (UCMJ Article 119b): Critically defines punishable actions of those in care of children under 16.

Neglect: Signs of poor hygiene, abandoned children, lack of supervision, and environmental hazards (unclean, unsafe living conditions).
Physical Abuse: Behavior changes, irrational fears, aggressiveness, and detachment.
Indicators of Environmental Neglect
Identificators of Medical Neglect

Physical Indicators: Unexplained injuries, inconsistent accounts of how injuries were sustained, emotional and developmental delays.
Behavioral Responses: Changes in behavior, fear reactions, signs of distress or anxiety, withdrawal or aggressiveness.
Behavioral and Emotional Indicators of Physical Abuse
- Parental support: (willingness to entertain the
  possibility that sexual abuse might have
  occurred)

Fractures and Bruises: Different types (e.g., spiral fractures, bruises indicative of grip). Presence in unusual areas is suspicious.
Burns: Patterns indicating non-accidental burns (e.g., immersion, dunking).
- A burn >20% of body is severe regardless of the child’s age; a burn >65% of body can be fatal, even if it is a first-degree burn
Bite Marks: Examine for human (compressed) vs. animal bites (tearing).
- If the distance between the canines is >3cm, the bite is most likely from a human adult.
Ligature bruises: may be caused by ropes tied around the child’s ankles or neck, resulting in a bruise or a burn
Slap marks: fingers may leave bruises on the face
Loose tissue with little bony structure underneath (i.e., eyelids, genitals) bruises most easily and retains bruises longest
Genital bruises: be suspicious if a caretaker delays seeking treatment for a child with a genital injury
Lacerations
A torn frenulum of the upper lip, especially in an infant, is very concerning
for abuse in the absence of a plausible history

Skull fractures: More likely in young children - any pressure from cerebritis or hemorrhage can separate fontanelles
Subdural hematoma: ruptured vessels in subdural space
Subgaleal hematoma: the scalp separates from the skull; often a sign of skull fracture and reason to image the skull; may be caused by jerking or twisting a child’s hair
Shaken Baby Syndrome: A child has been held around the upper thorax, under the arms, and shaken back and forth with great force or held upside down by the feet and shaken up and down
Poinsoning:
- Water poisoning: forcing a child to ingest water
- Salt poisoning: forcing a child to ingest salt

Academic and practical references regarding child abuse investigation methodologies.

Adams, C., and E. Hendry (1996). Challenges to Police Training on Child Protection.
American Prosecutors Research Institute (2004). Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse.
Baker, L., and D. Scott (2002). Silent Screams — Addressing Management of Child Abuse Reporting.