JD thought his life was changing for the better when he was adopted from foster care by a stable, loving couple. Less than two years later his life became a nightmare when the adopted mother he trusted began to sexually abuse him. As a confused teenage boy JD struggled between disclosures and recantations - wanting the abuse to stop but not wanting to lose the new life that was so much better than his previous one. This case study illustrates how through a multi-disciplinary approach and creative corroboration a strong enough case can be built to overcome numerous recantations by JD. It will highlight the challenges of: working with teenage male victims, abuse within a family, female offenders, and bias that comes with recantations.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the importance of supporting a child’s disclosure with detailed corroboration.
Recognize the challenges that arise when the sexual assault victim is a teenage boy.
Discuss the importance of investigating all child sexual assault allegations, even when a recantation occurred in the past.
