Child sex abuse case delays hurt victims

DURHAM, N.H., March 28 (UPI) -- Child sex abuse cases in the U.S. criminal justice system take an unusually long time to be prosecuted, delaying a victim's recovery, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center said the findings are a concern because a prolonged court process has been shown to be detrimental to a child victim's recovery and ongoing mental health.

The researchers analyzed a sample of 160 cases of child sexual abuse in three communities served by the Dallas County district attorney in Dallas.

The study, published in the Child Maltreatment, found that half of all cases took more than one year from indictment to conclusion with one-third of cases taking more than two years or were unresolved after two years.

Study leader Wendy Walsh said that in a national survey, prosecutors attributed the delays to the special demands of child sexual abuse cases such as preparing child victims for testimony and obtaining full disclosure of all incidents. Another factor mentioned was the strategy by defense attorneys to file motions to prolong the process -- seen as making a conviction less likely, Walsh said.