Grand Jury Praises Work of Child Sexual Abuse Team

The county team that investigates child sexual abuse has done “outstanding work,” according to a grand jury report issued Wednesday.

Juror Linda Crum said her fellow panelists found the little-known team program to be among the state’s best in using a public-private partnership. The team was formed to make the questioning of possible molestation victims less frightening and to conduct better interviews that could stand up in court.

The team approach began in 1989, five years after the infamous McMartin Preschool case in Manhattan Beach, said Michael Riley, director of Children and Family Services.

“The team’s concept is somewhat of an outgrowth from the McMartin fiasco,” Riley said. “In that case, kids were being interviewed multiple times, and their stories were changing, not because of the veracity of the children but because of the interviewers’ skills.”

In Orange County, the child sexual abuse team includes a public health nurse, who examines the child, a deputy district attorney, a social worker, an interview specialist, a therapist, a law enforcement investigator and a volunteer for a nonprofit agency.

Previously, child abuse victims would typically have been questioned at police stations. Now they are interviewed at an office with a friendly environment, Riley said.