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104. Successful criminal prosecutions of sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors: A comparative analysis.
Child Maltreatment (2023)
  • Jodi A. Quas, University of California, Irvine
  • Shreya Mukhopadhyay, University of California, Irvine
  • Kaitlin M. H. Winks, University of California, Irvine
  • Thomas D. Lyon, University of Southern California Law School
  • Rachel Elizabeth Dianiska, University of California, Irvine
Abstract
Despite increased awareness of sex trafficking of minors in the U.S., prosecution of traffickers remains difficult, in part because of victim uncooperativeness. There are questions about how that uncooperativeness is expressed, whether it is evident in successfully prosecuted cases, and whether it is unique to trafficked minors or it emerges in similar age victims of sexual abuse. To provide insight relevant to these questions, we compared appellate opinions in two types of successfully prosecuted criminal cases: sex trafficking and sexual abuse of adolescent victims. In the trafficking opinions, victims were rarely described as disclosing on their own or as knowing their trafficker before the victimization. The opinions also often alluded to the trafficking victims’ uncooperativeness and delinquency history. Finally, the trafficking opinions frequently mentioned electronic evidence and prosecution experts. The sexual abuse opinions, in contrast, suggested that victims’ own disclosures initiated the case, perpetrators were known and trusted adults, and caregiver support during the case was common. Finally, the sexual abuse opinions never explicitly mentioned victim uncooperativeness or electronic evidence and rarely mentioned expert testimony or delinquency. The different characterizations of the two case types highlight the need for improved education concerning effective prosecution of sex crimes against minors.
Keywords
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation,
  • Sex Trafficking,
  • Minors,
  • Child Sexual Abuse,
  • criminal prosecution,
  • child abuse,
  • child forensic interviews,
  • child witness
Publication Date
Spring May 10, 2023
Citation Information
104. Quas, J.A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Winks, K.M.H., Dianiska, R.E., & Lyon, T.D. (2023). Successful criminal prosecutions of sex trafficking and sexual abuse of minors: A comparative analysis. Child Maltreatment, 28(3), 500-516.