One of the Children’s Advocacy Center’s (CAC) child sexual abuse victims, “Suzie”, had to fly out of state to testify at the trial of her perpetrator. Suzie had a long history of distrust and shutting down when talking about the abuse. When Suzie found out she had to go out of state to testify, she was frightened and did not want to go. Suzie’s mother contacted the CAC’s Program Manager, Janine Hammett, and asked what could be done to ease her daughter’s worry and anxiety. Ms. Hammett decided to contact the Children’s Advocacy Center in that state to inquire about having one of their child advocates attend the trial with Suzie and her family. That CAC’s advocate agreed and was able to talk to Suzie several times prior to flying and then accompanied her to court for five days while she testified. With that support, Suzie was able to focus and provide effective testimony that ultimately resulted in the perpetrator’s conviction and prison sentence of 25 years to life.
