Here’s how things worked over 15 years ago before Sylvia’s CAC opened
The following account is fictional. But experiences like that of Carrie’s and young boys and girls like her are very common and occur hundreds of times a year just in Boone County.
Carrie tells her teacher.
Carrie’s mom has a new boyfriend, and she says he’s hurting her when they’re home alone.
Her teacher tells the principal
The teacher, while well meaning, “floats the case up the chain” to the principal and asks Carrie to repeat everything she just struggled to disclose.
The principal tells the nurse
The nurse also examines Carrie and asks her invasive questions. Now, this person Carrie sees at school has also seen her private parts.
The school calls the police
Carrie is now in a sterile nurse’s office in school while police officers with handcuffs, vests, and guns stand over her and ask her more questions.
The police call DCS
Because the police can only investigate and arrest, they need to know Carrie is safe at home. Maybe mom is also abusive? So they call Indiana DCS.
DCS arrives later
Because caseloads are heavy, DCS arrives later at Carrie’s home. Now they ask many of the same questions as the police, her principal, and the nurse while her mom is home.
A detective is assigned
Because Carrie was in school at the time of the call but technically lives outside the city, the local police turn the case over to the Sheriff’s Department. They send a detective to ask all the same questions again.
Carrie is sent to the hospital
While the detective talks to Carrie, she talks to them and DCS at the same time. Carrie’s mom, in a panic, asks if she’s been raped. Carrie doesn’t know what that word means. So DCS sends her to the hospital.
The hospital examines Carrie again
The hospital, while well-meaning, does not have a pediatric examiner on-staff late into the evenings on weeknights. So an ER doctor and nurse examine Carrie. She’s very afraid.
The doctors ask questions
In an effort to build a medical history, the doctors and nurses at the hospital ask all sorts of invasive questions all over again. Carrie begins to cry, reliving the whole day and the past.
Detectives call the prosecutor
Because Carrie’s struggling to remember all the sordid details, detectives call the Prosecutor to see if they have enough to file charges against mom’s boyfriend.
The prosecutor arrives
The prosecutor arrives at the hospital to talk to Carrie. They ask all the same questions again while Carrie sits in a medical gown in a crowded ER bed shielded only by a thin curtain.
A counselor is called
The next day at school, the school counselor calls Carrie in to talk about her situation. While well-meaning, the counselor isn’t trained for this kind of traumatic care.
The case inches forward to court
Prosecutor’s decide the case should go to court and they have enough for law enforcement to arrest and charge mom’s boyfriend. But the case isn’t strong.
Defense attorneys are involved
Weeks later, mom’s boyfriend hires lawyers who start asking Carrie new questions. They’re much less friendly. They find holes in Carrie’s story. She told the police he was wearing a dark blue hat. She told the nurse it was black. Now they plant reasonable doubt Carrie knows what’s she saying or remembering.
The case fails
In court, the judge and jury are forced to release mom’s boyfriend as not guilty. Too much evidence was inconsistent and despite Carrie testifying, her cross-examination doesn’t hold up to the jury. Mom’s boyfriend is released, and everyone is scared.
Once Sylvia’s CAC opened in 2010, this process changed dramatically
While still fictional, real situations like this happen nearly every week at Sylvia’s CAC. While still hard for everyone, the process is streamlined, shorter, and better equipped to help Carrie, her mom, and the criminal justice process.
Carrie tells her teacher
Carrie’s mom has a new boyfriend, and she says he’s hurting her when they’re home alone.
Her teacher tells the principal
The teacher and principal know not too ask too many questions. They immediately call the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline.
Police arrive
The police get a call from DCS’ hotline to take Carrie to Sylvia’s CAC immediately. They know not to ask too many questions.
Carrie comes to Sylvia’s CAC
At Sylvia’s CAC, Carrie and her mom arrive in a comfy waiting room. DCS Caseworkers, medical staff, detectives, law enforcement, and an Advocate quietly gather in a separate room through a back door. Carrie never sees all those people.
The police call DCS
Sylvia’s CAC provides a forensic interviewer to ask Carrie highly specific, non-leading questions. They’re designed to capture her account on cameras and microphones without traumatizing her or forcing her to relive her memory.
Prosecutors find enough evidence
Carrie explains mom’s boyfriend has been playing sex “games” with her for months, including last night.
Prosecutors tell law enforcement they’re pressing charges.
Detectives immediately leave out the back door to arrest mom’s boyfriend.
Carrie is taken to Riley Children’s Hospital
Because Carrie disclosed assault happened last night, Sylvia’s CAC uses an urgent connection to Riley Children’s Hospital to have a forensic medical exam (“a rape kit”) done by one of Indiana’s few trained, specialized Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE).
The exam happens in a private room with only the nurse and Carrie.
Advocates get to work
Carrie and her mom are both in need of counseling and support. Sylvia’s CAC Advocates immediately find referral mental health care. Carrie will be able to get the care she needs from highly-trained therapists for many weeks.
A case is built
With DNA evidence, Carrie’s testimony on a secure recording, and prosecutor’s announcing they have more, a judge denies mom’s boyfriend bail given the significant evidence and harm to Carrie he poses.
A jury convicts
Months later during a jury trial, a jury convicts mom’s boyfriend on several accounts of child molestation, abuse, and child pornography charges thanks to additional investigative work by detectives.
