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  1. #1
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    Feb 2010
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    Default How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Louisiana
    I was molested when I was nine, but I never said anything. No one found out. It has been a little more than five years. My question is how do I go about trying to prosecute him? There is no physical evidence and I am the only witness. Is prosecution even possible?

  2. #2

    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Without a confession? Not likely. However, there are other forms of evidence than just the immediate physical evidence at the time of the commission of the crime. Finding out if there is any is the job of the police investigators.

    You don't have to "prosecute" - the state prosecutes crimes. As the victim, you report the crime to police, and if a case can be made via other evidence or a confession obtained, then the DA will move the case forward through the courts on your behalf.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Does it matter if the attack took place in a different state(New York), but both I and my attacker now live in Louisiana?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Quote Quoting lightshine
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    Does it matter if the attack took place in a different state(New York), but both I and my attacker now live in Louisiana?
    Have you spoken to your parents about this?

  5. #5
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Quote Quoting lightshine
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    Does it matter if the attack took place in a different state(New York), but both I and my attacker now live in Louisiana?
    The crime must be reported to the agency that had jurisdiction over the location where the molestation occurred. If the suspect and the victim now both live in Louisiana, this will make the case much harder to pursue as the investigating agency will have to ask for help from the local agencies where you and the suspect might live.

    The first step is to inform your parents what happened. The next is to make the call to the agency of jurisdiction.

    Uh ... you wouldn't happen to be accusing a parent, would you?

  6. #6
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    Jul 2009
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Quote Quoting lightshine
    View Post
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Louisiana
    I was molested when I was nine, but I never said anything. No one found out. It has been a little more than five years. My question is how do I go about trying to prosecute him? There is no physical evidence and I am the only witness. Is prosecution even possible?
    1) How do I go about trying to prosecute him?

    You make a police report, or a report to a relevant child protective agency.

    The child protective agency might take your report more seriously than the police.

    2) Is it even possible to prosecute him?

    It is possible. But if it's just your word against his, the state might not want to pursue it. Even if it does, a conviction would be unlikely.

    That doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth your while to make the report, if you are dedicated to having him prosecuted. The state might investigate, and criminals are famously stupid. He may confess under government questioning. Or if they can somehow find a way to search his stuff, he may have made a written confession somewhere (i.e., bragged about it in an email, or recorded it in his diary).

    Another thing to note: if the molester still lives with you, a child protective agency will take the situation very seriously. Not only are you in danger of further molestation, but living with the perpetrator is damaging to you.

    Caveat: once you report anything, you will lose control over the situation. Child protective agencies are notorious for their heavy-handed approaches. The outcome you "want," whatever it is, will have little relevance to what they do.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Note that no matter how "seriously" CPS might take the matter, they will still cross report it to the police, and the police will still have to do the criminal investigation if there is one. CPS can seek to remove a child from a home and place her into foster care or a group home, but they do not (in the states I know of) pursue criminal investigations.

  8. #8
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    Nov 2006
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    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    Quote Quoting cdwjava
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    Uh ... you wouldn't happen to be accusing a parent, would you?
    I get that same feeling. I've never seen a 14 year old write so well.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    9

    Default Re: How Do I Prosecute a Five Year Old Molestation Without Physical Evidence

    No, I am not accusing a parent, and I have not told my parents.

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