431.600 Coordination of child sexual abuse investigations and prosecutions --

471 words·~2 min read·/ky/431-600

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Protection of and counseling for child victims.

(1)Each investigation of reported or suspected sexual abuse of a child shall be

conducted by a specialized multidisciplinary team composed, at a minimum, of law

enforcement officers and social workers from the Cabinet for Health and Family

Services. Cabinet for Health and Family Services social workers shall be available

to assist in all investigations under this section but shall be lead investigators only

in those cases of reported or suspected sexual abuse of a child in which a person

exercising custodial control or supervision, as defined in KRS 600.020, is the

alleged or suspected perpetrator of the abuse. Additional team members may

include Commonwealth's and county attorneys, children's advocacy center staff,

mental health professionals, medical professionals, victim advocates, including

those for victims of human trafficking, educators, and other related professionals, as

necessary, operating under protocols governing roles, responsibilities, and

procedures developed by the Kentucky Multidisciplinary Commission on Child

Sexual Abuse and promulgated by the Attorney General as administrative

regulations pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A.

(2)Local protocols shall be developed in each county or group of contiguous counties

by the agencies and persons specified in subsection

(1)of this section specifying

how the state protocols shall be followed within the county or group of contiguous

counties. These protocols shall be approved by the Kentucky Multidisciplinary

Commission on Child Sexual Abuse.

(3)If adequate personnel are available, each Commonwealth's attorney's office and

each county attorney's office shall have a child sexual abuse specialist.

(4)Commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys, or their assistants, shall take an

active part in interviewing and familiarizing the child alleged to have been abused,

or who is testifying as a witness, with the proceedings throughout the case,

beginning as early as practicable in the case.

(5)If adequate personnel are available, Commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys

shall provide for an arrangement which allows one

(1)lead prosecutor to handle the

case from inception to completion to reduce the number of persons involved with

the child victim.

(6)Commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys and the Cabinet for Health and

Family Services and other team members shall minimize the involvement of the

child in legal proceedings, avoiding appearances at preliminary hearings, grand jury

hearings, and other proceedings when possible.

(7)Commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys shall make appropriate referrals for

counseling, private legal services, and other appropriate services to ensure the future

protection of the child when a decision is made not to prosecute the case. The

Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney shall explain the decision not to

prosecute to the family or guardian, as appropriate, and to the child victim.

(8)To the extent practicable and when in the best interest of a child alleged to have

been abused, interviews with a child shall be conducted at a children's advocacy center.