Child Sexual Abuse Trials Research Articles

Big girls don’t cry: the effect of child witness demeanor on juror decisions in a child sexual abuse trial

Objective: This study investigated the effect of child witness demeanor (defined as crying) on mock jurors’ decisions in a simulated First-Degree rape trial. Method: One hundred and thirty-three undergraduates serving in the role of mock jurors read a trial summary in which the primary independent variable was the demeanor of the alleged child victim (i.e., calm, teary, hysterical crying). In addition to reading the summary, participants viewed pencil drawings of the witnesses that were presented as “courtroom drawings.” Results: The results showed that the teary condition led to more guilty verdicts and a greater belief in the alleged victim than the other demeanor conditions. Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that demeanor can impact the perception of a child who is an alleged sexual assault victim in court. However, it is not simply the case that any display of demeanor will lead to a positive outcome for the alleged victim. Instead, it appears that too little or too much emotion from the alleged child victim negatively affected credibility in the eyes of the mock jurors.

The Hearsay Rule and Delayed Complaints of Child Sexual Abuse: The Law and the Evidence

This article discusses the implications of two recent High Court cases on the admissibility of hearsay evidence of a child's delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse. It compares and contrasts the traditional legal significance of delayed disclosure (as being evidence of fabrication) with prevalence studies from the psychological literature which show that a majority of children delay disclosure and that, rather than being an aberrant feature of child sexual abuse, delay is a typical response of sexually abused children as a result of confusion, denial, self-blame and overt and covert threats by offenders. In addition, several self-report studies of offenders confirm that grooming processes create a relationship of power between the child and offender such that delayed disclosure appears to reflect the position of powerlessness of the sexually abused child within that relationship. In light of what the psychological literature tells us, this article challenges the narrow legal approach to the admissibility of hearsay evidence of delayed disclosure and suggests that a special exception should be made for hearsay statements of a child's delayed disclosure in child sexual assault trials.

A Comparison of Two Forms of Hearsay in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

The present study was designed to compare two forms of hearsay: videotaped hearsay and hearsay supplied by an adult witness. In elaborately staged, mock child sexual abuse trials, jurors were presented with (a) videotaped forensic interviews of children who, in actual legal cases, disclosed abuse or (b) a police officer who repeated the children's videotaped statements. In addition, a subset of jurors who viewed the videotape during trial were allowed access to the videotape during deliberations. Findings indicated that manner of presentation of children's testimony had an indirect effect on verdicts. Jurors in the videotape conditions were more likely to believe that the child fully disclosed during the forensic interview, which in turn influenced ratings of child believability. The latter ratings were the strongest predictor of defendant-guilt judgments.

The Hearsay Rule and Delayed Complaints of Child Sexual Abuse: The Law and the Evidence

This article discusses the implications of two recent High Court cases on the admissibility of hearsay evidence of a child’s delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse. It compares and contrasts the traditional legal significance of delayed disclosure (as being evidence of fabrication) with prevalence studies from the psychological literature which show that a majority of children delay disclosure and that, rather than being an aberrant feature of child sexual abuse, delay is a typical response of sexually abused children as a result of confusion, denial, self-blame and overt and covert threats by offenders. In addition, several self-report studies of offenders confirm that grooming processes create a relationship of power between the child and offender such that delayed disclosure appears to reflect the position of powerlessness of the sexually abused child within that relationship. In light of what the psychological literature tells us, this article challenges the narrow legal approach to the admissibility of hearsay evidence of delayed disclosure and suggests that a special exception should be made for hearsay statements of a child’s delayed disclosure in child sexual assault trials. The accepted wisdom about the rules of evidence that apply in the criminal trial is that they “ensure that the trial process is fair for [both] parties” to the proceedings (Australian Law Reform Commission

Child‐Witness and Defendant Credibility: Child Evidence Presentation Mode and Judicial Instructions1

Child‐witness presentation mode, judicial instructions, and deliberation stage effects on juror ratings of child witness and defendant were investigated Perceptions of the impact of presentation mode on witnesses, juror task, and justice also were explored. Participants (N= 108) viewed a simulated child sexual abuse trial videotape. Overall child‐witness credibility was significantly more positive with videodeposition or court‐given child evidence than with videolink. The defendant was seen as more definitely guilty when child testimony was court given than by videodeposition or videolink. Presentation mode also significantly influenced perceived impact on child witness, defendant case, and juror task. Judicial instructions interacted with presentation mode to affect perceptions of impact on child witness and juror task. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and implications for future research and practice are outlined.

Complaints of Child Sexual Abuse: Too Easy to Make or Too Difficult to Prove?

This article analyses the social context in which the corroboration warning became entrenched in the child sexual assault trial, its historical legacy in terms of present day practice and the theoretical implications of this history and practice in terms of the sexed and gendered constructions of the female child complainant. In light of this analysis, the article discusses the implications for law reform of the child sexual assault trial, in particular the need to address the unique problems associated with prosecuting child sex offences.

The impact of DNA evidence in a child sexual assault trial.

Two experiments investigated the impact of DNA evidence in a child sexual assault (CSA) case involving a 6-year-old alleged victim. In Experiment 1, participants read criminal trial summaries of CSA cases in which only DNA evidence was presented, only the alleged child victim's testimony was presented, or both forms of evidence were presented. When DNA evidence was presented, there were more guilty verdicts and greater belief of the alleged victim than when only the alleged victim testified. In Experiment 2, DNA evidence was countered by an alibi witness testifying as to the defendant's whereabouts at the time of the alleged assault. The alibi witness reduced the influence of DNA evidence compared with when DNA evidence was presented without this witness. These results are discussed in terms of the comparative strengths of DNA evidence versus the testimony of the alleged victim.

The effect of hearsay witness age in a child sexual assault trial.

The effect of hearsay witness age in a child sexual assault trial.

The effect of hearsay witness age in a child sexual assault trial.

The effect of hearsay witness age in a child sexual assault trial.

Brief research report: age factors affecting the believability of repressed memories of child sexual assault.

Two experiments investigated how mock jurors react to testimony involving claims of a repressed memory in a case involving child sexual assault. Participants read a fictional civil trial summary presented in one of three conditions: (a) immediate condition--the alleged victim testified immediately after the incident; (b) repressed condition--the alleged victim reported the assault 1-39 years later, after remembering it for the first time; or (c) not-repressed condition--the alleged victim reported the assault 1-39 years later, but the memory of the assault had been present for those years. When there was any type of delayed reporting, either the age of the alleged victim at the time of the assault was constant and her age at reporting varied (Experiment 1) or the age of the alleged victim at the time of the assault varied and her age at reporting remained constant (Experiment 2). The results showed that (1) a delay in reporting an incident adversely affected believability of the alleged victim and led to fewer rulings in support of the plaintiff compared to reporting it immediately, (2) longer delays in reporting generally led to lower alleged victim believability and fewer decisions in support of the plaintiff than shorter delays, (3) the age of the alleged victim at the time of the incident was a critical variable in determining belief of the alleged victim, and (4) men generally rated believability of the alleged victim lower and ruled in favor of the plaintiff less often than women. The results are discussed in terms of the psychosocial factors affecting the perception of delayed reporting in a child sexual assault trial.

Expert testimony in child sexual abuse trials: the admissibility of psychological science

The authors describe a research programme investigating whether psychological evidence about child sexual abuse and child witnesses meets several criteria for admissibility in US courts: (a) general acceptance within the scientific community, (b) helpfulness to the jury, and (c) whether its probative value outweighs its prejudicial value. Responses from a survey of child sexual abuse experts suggest that they agree about the research findings in three areas: the demographic characteristics of sexually abused children, child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (Summit, 1983), and children's cognitive capabilities. Survey responses from college students and community members indicate that they may be especially helped by expert testimony on children's memory. Laypersons may also benefit from a discussion of the paucity of research on offender characteristics and the wide variety of responses to sexual victimization. Data from a survey and a trial simulation suggest that expert testimony on child sexual abuse will not be prejudicial to the defendant. Implications for expert witnesses are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en

Expert testimony in child sexual abuse trials: the admissibility of psychological science

Expert testimony in child sexual abuse trials: the admissibility of psychological science

Jurors' reactions to satanic ritual abuse allegations

Objective: Some of the most highly publicized child sexual abuse trials of this century have involved bizarre allegations of satanic ritual abuse, yet little is known about jurors' reactions to ritual abuse claims. We investigated how jurors' judgments of defendant guilt and witness credibility are affected by the presence or absence of satanic ritual abuse allegations. Method: Two hundred forty-three mock jurors rendered judgments about a case involving childhood sexual abuse allegations made by either a 5-year-old child or a 30-year-old adult survivor. The presence or absence of satanic ritual abuse allegations was varied between subjects. Jurors' religiosity was measured. Results: Although jurors were significantly less likely to believe the satanic ritual allegations than other case details, they were as likely to vote guilty and to believe the victim in satanic as in nonsatanic cases. Victim age had no significant effect on mock jurors' judgments, but there were marked individual differences in decisions: When the allegations involved satanic ritual abuse, religious jurors were more likely than less religious jurors to believe the victim. Further, across all conditions, women made more pro-victim judgments than did men. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that highly bizarre details may be discounted by jurors (particularly less religious jurors), but that jurors may set aside their skepticism of satanic ritual details and make judgments about child sexual abuse cases based on their perceptions of the credibility of nonsatanic allegations of harm. Whether or not this is an accurate approach to decision-making in these cases remains an empirical question.

The believability of hearsay testimony in a child sexual assault trial.

Two experiments investigated how mock jurors react to hearsay testimony in a case involving child sexual assault. Participants read fictional criminal trial summary involving the sexual assault of a 4-(Experiment 2 only), 6-, or 14-year old female. The summaries were presented in one of four conditions: (a) child condition--the alleged victim testified; (b) hearsay condition--the alleged victim did not testify, but an adult hearsay witness did testify; (c) multiple condition (Experiment 1 only)--both the alleged victim and the adult hearsay witness testified; and (d) no-witness condition--neither the alleged victim nor the hearsay witness testified. The hearsay testimony was believed to a considerable degree, and this testimony led to an increase in the perceived guilt of the defendant. Moreover, these results were comparable to those of conditions in which the alleged victim testified. The results are discussed in terms of the psychosocial factors affecting the perception of hearsay testimony in a child sexual assault trial.

Perceptions of Children's Credibility in Sexual Assault Cases1

Children's testimony often plays a central role in prosecutions of child sexual abuse. Nevertheless, research on jurors' perceptions of the credibility of child sexual assault victims remains limited. In three experiments, we examined mock jurors' reactions to children's testimony about sexual abuse. Participant jurors were exposed to videotaped or written scenarios of child sexual abuse trials and then rated victim credibility and defendant guilt. Analyses indicated that: (a) victim age was either inversely related or unrelated to perceptions of victim credibility, (b) women were more likely than men to find child victims credible, (c) corroborating testimony from a child victim increased the credibility of another child victim, and (d) exposure of participants to past criminal acts and other negative defendant character evidence heightened perceived victim credibility and defendant guilt. Implications for understanding jurors' reactions to child witnesses are discussed.

The juridical impact of psychological expert testimony in a simulated child sexual abuse trial.

Using a simulated child sexual abuse case, our study investigated the impact of expert testimony about cognitive development in children on jury decisions. Twenty-four gender-balanced panels, each of 6 mock jurors, viewed a videotaped simulation of a criminal court trial in which age of the child victim/witness (6, 9, or 12 years), sex of the child, and the presence or absence of expert testimony were manipulated. There were significant main effects for exposure to expert testimony on jurors' ratings of the child on the factors addressed by the expert: memory expertise, susceptibility to suggestion, and reality monitoring ability. Jurors rated the expert testimony highly in terms of its helpfulness and impartiality. There were no significant main effects for child credibility ratings according to age or sex of the child victims, but juror gender polarization effects were noted, with females significantly more likely to rate the child's credibility higher and to find the defendant guilty.

Videotaped Versus In‐Court Witness Testimony: Does Protecting the Child Witness Jeopardize Due Process?1

Videotaping depositions may protect a child witness from the stress of testifying in court but also may influence jurors’ perceptions of the child and the defendant, and jurors’ verdicts in systematic ways. The present study examines several psychological hypotheses that emerge from the controversy over the use of videotaped depositions of child witnesses in child sexual abuse trials. We predicted that student jurors viewing a videotaped deposition would be more proprosecution and less prodefense than those who did not receive testimony in such a form. Thus, it was predicted that jurors viewing a videotaped deposition would perceive the prosecution witnesses and their testimonies more favorably, the defense witnesses and their testimonies less favorably, and give more guilty verdicts than jurors who viewed identical testimony during the course of a trial. We also predicted that females would be more proprosecution and less prodefense than males and that this gender difference would be accentuated by the medium of presentation. The medium of presentation had only a few effects on jurors’ responses. However, when differences emerged, they generally provided support for the predicted main effects. The implications of these findings for the use of videotaped depositions of child sexual abuse victims are discussed.

The effects of complainant age and expert psychological testimony in a simulated child sexual abuse trial.

Mock jurors viewed a videotape of a simulated child sexual abuse trial and then deliberated to a unanimous verdict. The complainant was described as either a 13- or 17-year-old female child. Jurors voted to convict more often when the younger complainant was seen, and the younger complainant was rated as more credible than the older complainant. Female jurors voted the defendant guilty more often and rated the complainant as being more credible than male jurors. Jurors voted to convict more often and rated the defendant as less credible when expert psychological testimony was specific to the case than when they were presented with either general expert testimony or no expert testimony. Jurors who saw a psychological expert testify became less accepting of child sexual abuse misconceptions than those in the no expert control condition. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Parental response to child sexual abuse trials involving day care settings

AbstractThis study examined the stress responses of parents to whether or not their child testified in a sexual abuse trial against defendants from a day care center. Parents completed a questionnaire and the SCL‐90‐R. Impact of Events scale, and Life Events Survey. Parents of 17 testifying children presented higher symptoms of psychological distress than parents of 50 nontestifying children sexually abused in day care centers. In addition, the reported stress was higher in fathers than mothers. Following disclosure of their child's sexual abuse, stressful life events of death in family, loss of income, and separation were associated with parents of testifying children.

Parental response to child sexual abuse trials involving day care settings

This study examined the stress responses of parents to whether or not their child testified in a sexual abuse trial against defendants from a day care center. Parents completed a questionnaire and the SCL-90-R. Impact of Events scale, and Life Events Survey. Parents of 17 testifying children presented higher symptoms of psychological distress than parents of 50 nontestifying children sexually abused in day care centers. In addition, the reported stress was higher in fathers than mothers. Following disclosure of their child's sexual abuse, stressful life events of death in family, loss of income, and separation were associated with parents of testifying children.