When Justice Fails the Children, UPDATE INFORMATION FOR READERS of Kristy's Story by Debra Sanders

NOTE TO READERS: UPDATE INFORMATION


Before I go on with Kristy's story, I want to let reader's know of some things which have transpired in the last twenty-four hours and which may be of comfort to those of you so touched and horrified by Kristy's story.

In the state where I first worked with "K," and where I was under investigation for sexual assault of a minor, there is no statute of limitations for prosecution of felony child sexual abuse, sodomy, rape or object rape. I contacted the lead investigator in my case and shared my information with him. He, in turn, talked with the chief of police who has turned the information over to the state troopers cold case investigative unit.

I spoke with the attorney general's office directly, wanting to know if they would be the ones to whom I would turn over my evidence. They indicated that they do not receive evidence and confirmed that it is the state trooper's cold case investigation unit that collects the evidence and decides whether to investigate; and then, whether to turn it all over to the A.G.'s office for prosecution.

So, while I feel very hopeful at this moment, connecting with the cold case unit does not ensure that an investigation will take place, nor does it guarantee that the right things will happen now that they know of the case. This is, however, a start. It is a very, very solid start; and I choose to believe that when all is pared down to the bare bones, good prevails over evil and justice prevails for victims.

Several avenues could be pursued at this point and I will keep you abreast of information as it comes to me. What might happen?

The troopers could accept the information and put it at the bottom of what might be a huge list of cold cases to investigate and not give it priority since it happened so many years ago and the alleged perpetrators no longer live in that state.

The troopers could give it priority, but do a poor job of following up on the many leads and not gather the evidence needed to see it through to prosecution.

The troopers could give it priority and pursue an investigation with the kind of passion and intelligence we hope for and put together a strong case that will go to the AG's office.

Or, I suppose, they could tell me outright that nothing can happen; that they will not pursue this case.

Our job will depend on where this goes from here. We may need to do little other than wait, watch and support them in whatever way possible while they intelligently go about their investigation. On the other hand, if sloppy or no investigative work is pursued, then collectively we may need to generate the kind of outrage and pressure which will cause priority and quality attention to be given to this case.

So, keep reading the blog to find out more of Kristy's story and as I find out information regarding possible criminal investigation, I will let you know.

Thanks for you support and kindness, and most of all, thanks for your outrage and compassion. On Kristy's behalf, I thank you. Your words and responses help to lend balance to the horror of this story. There are a lot of good people in this world; you are among them.

DS

ps To find the story part of this post, scroll down past parts I-VI.

The story part of Part VII will be posted before Monday morning (July20,2009)