Police: 'Err on the side of caution' to protect children

Bystanders' willingness to get involved can make all the difference in whether child abusers are brought to justice, a local assistant prosecuting attorney said.

"Certainly, document anything you see, anything a child tells you, and report it immediately," said Julie Hunter, who prosecutes many of Cape Girardeau County's child abuse cases. "Be willing to cooperate every step of the way."

Hunter said all too often, witnesses are reluctant to make a police report or testify in court.

"They're wiling to make that initial call, but they're not willing to follow through," she said.

Without testimony from the reporting party, an abuse case can come down to a child's word against an adult's, Hunter said.

"Children, typically, they're not going to lie about being abused, so people just need to keep a watchful eye and report, report, report," she said.

People often are reluctant to talk about child abuse, said Kim Williams, executive director of Beacon Health Center, which provides services to victims.

"The first problem we have is child abuse is still the taboo topic," she said. The mindset, she said, is, "If you're talking about it, that must be happening, and those things don't happen in our community."

The fact is that child abuse happens in every community, Williams said, and ignoring it won't make it stop.

"It's happening every day. It's happening in every neighborhood, in every school, in every church, on every ballfield," she said.

Witnesses who suspect a child is being harmed should call police or the state's Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline, said Cpl. Darin Hickey of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

"If there's an immediate risk, call the police department. If you're suspicious of something going on, not that you have direct knowledge, that may be the time to call the hotline," he said.

Police respond promptly to reports of child abuse, Hickey said.

"Those are very intricate and very in-depth cases, and we get on those pretty quick," he said.

Hunter said sudden changes in a child's behavior can be red flags indicating abuse.

For instance, she said, abuse victims' grades may fall, or they may seem depressed, withdrawn, combative or even violent at school.

Hunter advised parents to keep an eye on electronic devices and monitor social media accounts their children use to communicate with others.

"Parents need to watch ... what their kids are doing. Look at these devices," she said. "There's all the different chat rooms that are out there. It's such a scary time to be raising children."

Anyone who suspects a child is being abused should not hesitate to report it, Hickey said.

"Err on the side of caution, especially when it comes to the welfare of a child. ... We'd much rather come out, investigate, and find out there'd been nothing going on, nothing happened, than not call and find out later that there was some type of abuse happening," he said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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