Child Maltreatment and Child Sexual Abuse

INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Hillgoth has been in law enforcement for 19 years and has been a detective for approximately 8 years. Jen has conducted hundreds of investigations involving crimes against children and is also a child forensic interviewer, which has afforded her the ability to conduct numerous child forensic interviews on both child victims and witnesses. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to provide law enforcement officers with a comprehensive overview on various crimes against children involving child neglect, endangering the life and health of a child, child physical abuse, child sexual abuse and infant/child death investigations. Each topic will be discussed in a way officers can recognize and distinguish each of these offenses, appreciate how responses may appear, dispel common myths and outdated practices, discern how injuries may or may not present, understand the complexities involved and learn how to overcome challenges these types of crimes present. This course will also provide officers guidance regarding their response to these specific calls while appreciating the unique characteristics involving a child’s disclosure, discuss components of these crimes that officers can recognize upon their responses, explain how law enforcement can appropriately work with a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach and consider best practices when documenting observations.

COURSE TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Differentiate between accidental and non-accidental injuries

 • Distinguish plausible mechanisms behind injuries

 • Identify high lethality injuries and neglect scenarios

• Discuss scene investigation and evidence collection

• Appreciate the importance of working as a Multi-Disciplinary Team

 • Highlighting trauma informed approaches and dispelling myths regarding sexual abuse

• Understanding the evidence an infant/child’s body and a scene provides in death investigations