2011 Kentucky Revised Statutes CHAPTER 431 GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS 431.600 Coordination of child sexual abuse investigations and prosecutions -- Protection of and counseling for child victims.
KY Rev Stat § 431.600 (1996 through Reg Sess) What's This?
431.600 Coordination of child sexual abuse investigations and prosecutions -Protection of and counseling for child victims.
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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, 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.
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.
If adequate personnel are available, each Commonwealth's attorney's office and
each county attorney's office shall have a child sexual abuse specialist.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effective: June 20, 2005
History: Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 650, effective June 20, 2005. -- Amended
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 144, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts
ch. 339, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 426, sec. 601, effective July 15,
1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 18, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended
1994 Ky. Acts ch. 207, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1994. – Created 1992 Ky. Acts
ch. 351, sec. 1, effective July 14, 1992.
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