Videotaping Child Sexual Abuse Investigation Interviews.

Abstract

The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled that videotaping investigative interviews with children suspected of having been sexually abused is mandatory.1 However, "[a]t the best child advocacy centers, interview protocols are followed, the interviews are videotaped, and both social services and the police observe the interviews in order to minimize the need for multiple interviews. Because the interviews are recorded, the exact words used by the interviewer and by the child can be closely scrutinized for evidence of suggestion, confabulation, or misinterpretation. If additional interviews are necessary, the additional interviews shall be conducted, to the extent possible, by the same interviewer who conducted the initial interview of the child. (g) A recorded interview of a child shall be preserved in the manner and for a period provided by law for maintaining evidence and records of a public agency. (h) A recorded interview of a child is subject to disclosure under the applicable court rules for discovery in a civil or criminal case..."