Community involvement
“I cannot go into the courtroom with a simple he-said-she-said-case. So what I do
is get with my social workers at DHR,
” said Vick.
Vick explained that social workers help gather the information and histories by
locating the victims and asking non-leading questions.
“Details are very important in sex abuse cases. If the details remain consistent
with what the child is saying throughout the case, it is easier to get a
conviction,
” said Vick.
“If you have a three-year-old girl describing in great detail to you anal or oral
sex,
then you have a good case because you only know those things if it’s happened to you.”
Vick then turns to the nurses to find the physical signs, and the history, of
sexual abuse.
“DNA is not going to hang around forever. With sexual abuse charges involving
touching the physical parts of the body, you can
’t collect fingerprints and definitely not semen,” said Vick.
“If there is physical evidence, it is the nurse’s job to collect it and to ask non-leading questions.
“Whatever the child tells you concerning what happened will be corroborating with
DHR.
”
According to Vick, most female genital exams are normal, even if the perpetrator
confessed.
“Nurses, please don’t stress about this, because whatever the child tells you and whatever you find
can be used in the court,
” said Vick.
Other parts of the community to help Vick is the sheriff’s departments, state troopers and Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) agents.
“It is important for them to stay up-to-date on the recent investigations and
cases going on,
” said Vick.
“The last step for me is to get my mental health people on the stand. Mental
health deals with the mental pain after the physical pain is gone.
“Mental health people need to explain to the jury the mental signs of a sexually
abused child.
”
According to Vick, the symptoms of a sexually abused child are as follows:
• Touching the genital area;
• Sexualized play;
• Detailed and age inappropriate knowledge of sexual activity;
• Excessive masturbation;
• Reluctance to undress;
• Increased startled response;
• Hypervigilance;
• Extreme fluxuation of heart rates;
• Bedwetting;
• Nightmares;
• Extreme change in appetite;
• Substance abuse;
• Heat and exhaustion;
• Lack of emotion;
• Progression to a younger developmental age;
• Depression;
• Anxiety;
• Irritability;
• Fear;
• Phobias;
• Excessive guilt;
• Feeling of helplessness;
• Low self-esteem;
• Obsessive ideas;
• Abrupt change in personality;
• Aggression;
• Drop in school performance;
• Temper tantrums;
• Truancy behavior;
• Flashbacks; and
• Lack of trust and isolation.
“One of the last cases that I tried, the victim in the case had every one of
those symptoms,
” said Vick.
“I want everyone in the community to realize that this is a problem that I deal with every day and it takes every one of you to stop it.”
