Ernberg Emelie, Magnusson Mikaela, Landström Sara
a Department of Psychology , University of Gothenburg , Gothenburg , Sweden.
J Child Sex Abus. 2018 Oct;27(7):832-851. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2018.1501786. Epub 2018 Sep 6.
Alleged child sexual abuse against preschool-aged children is often considered one of the most challenging cases for a prosecutor to handle. The aim of the current study was to examine differences between prosecuted and discontinued cases of alleged sexual abuse of preschool-aged children. Data from Swedish criminal cases of alleged sexual abuse of children ages 2-6 issued from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed (N = 130). Prosecuted cases were more likely to contain forensic evidence (documentation of abuse, corroborative DNA evidence, or a corroborative medical examination), or a confession from the suspect, while such evidence was not available in any discontinued case. Furthermore, cases where the child was older, where the prosecutor had decided to conduct an interview with the child, and where there was more than one alleged victim were more likely to be prosecuted. Factors that were associated with a decreased likelihood of prosecution were ongoing custody disputes between parents, foster care placements prior to the abuse, and if the report concerned a boy. Boys and younger children were also less likely to be interviewed. The results suggest that prosecution of sexual abuse cases involving preschool-aged children remains difficult and that there is room for improvements in these investigations.
对学龄前儿童的性虐待指控通常被认为是检察官最难处理的案件之一。本研究的目的是调查对学龄前儿童性虐待指控的起诉案件和终止案件之间的差异。分析了2010年至2014年瑞典发布的2至6岁儿童性虐待指控刑事案件的数据（N = 130）。起诉案件更有可能包含法医证据（虐待记录、佐证性DNA证据或佐证性医学检查），或嫌疑人的供词，而在任何终止案件中均未获得此类证据。此外，儿童年龄较大、检察官决定对儿童进行询问以及有多名指控受害者的案件更有可能被起诉。与起诉可能性降低相关的因素包括父母之间持续的监护权纠纷、虐待发生之前的寄养安置，以及报告涉及一名男孩的情况。男孩和年龄较小的儿童接受询问的可能性也较小。结果表明，对涉及学龄前儿童的性虐待案件进行起诉仍然困难，这些调查仍有改进空间。
