Reporting Child Abuse: What to Do

The story of Stephanie Carter's short life and the horrible abuse she endured before her death is haunting.

It haunts Gloria Morris, Executive Director of The Parenting Place, home of Prevent Child Abuse Pickens County.

It's all the more haunting because it could have been prevented. Stephanie Carter, who died at the age of 4, could have been saved – if only some of the people in her life had spoken up and reported the abuse.

“This child was beaten so many times in the head that she actually became cross-eyed,” Morris said. Neighbors saw her chained to a tree in her yard. Stepmother would explain it away -'Oh, she runs away.' Now, is that logical?

“Nobody wanted to get involved,” Morris said. “Her stepmother finally killed her. The final blow to her head killed her.”

Before and after photos showed the abuse inflicted on the little girl over time, she said.

“You could see the physical changes in her,” Morris said. “Nobody stepped in.”

Stephanie's father, Derek Carter, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for homicide by child abuse. Her stepmother, Ila Michelle Carter, was sentenced to life without parole on the same charge.

Last month, the Children's Services Council of Pickens County sponsored training on Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse.

South Carolina does not require everyone to report suspected abuse – but your conscience should drive you to report, Morris believes.

“You're saving lives,” she said. “You need to report.”

If you suspect a child is being abused, report it to the County Department of Social Services Office, to law enforcement or to the coroner in the event the child has died.

DSS and law enforcement are required to keep the identity of the reporter confidential, but may share the name with each other as the investigation continues.

Reporters are immune from civil and criminal liability for reporting child abuse and neglect in good faith. The law presumes that child abuse and neglect reports are made in good faith.

The state requires the following people to report child abuse if they suspect it: doctors, nurses, dentists, optometrists, EMTs, mental health, allied health, clergy, teachers, counselors, principals and assistant principals, social workers, substance abuse counselors, childcare workers, foster care workers, police/law enforcement, undertakers (and staff), funeral directors and staff, film processors and computer technicians, judges, foster parents, school truancy/attendance officers, guardian ad litem and juvenile justice officers.

If you're a person required to report child abuse and neglect and you fail to do so, you have committed a crime and could face a $500 fine and 6 months imprisonment.

Assistant Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Baker Cleveland spoke to the training's attendees about how crucial getting as much information as you can about the abuse is in the early stages of any investigation.

“Pickens County, sadly, is very high on child abuse, child sexual abuse, child neglect cases,” Cleveland said.

“While we do everything we can in the courtroom to help bring these perpetrators to justice – child abusers, child sexual abusers, child neglectors, whether directly or indirectly, every case starts with a report,” he said. “And every single case usually hinges on that very first instance of reporting.”

He said the Solicitor's Office has a very strong commitment to the children of the Thirteenth Circuit.

“There are basically for us two types of cases, child abuse and child sex abuse cases, and everything else,” Cleveland said. “We take those cases very seriously. They're in a class of their own. They are very difficult to prosecute, they are often very, very sensitive, with dealing with the victims, families, dealing with the defendants, the perpetrators their families, their people, their lives.

“The problem with these cases is, when it boils down to it, is these crimes are private and they are so heinous that very few people, no matter what evidence is in front of them, will confess to the crime, will admit to it, will enter a guilty plea, will have their case resolved any other way than having a trial,” he continued.

Those trials are “lengthy, drawn out and can be very difficult for everyone involved,” Cleveland said.

“That's why it's so important to have strong evidence and to have an excellent record of what happened to these children,” he said. “I can't tell you how many times I've looked at a case and said, 'Wow, there was evidence there and it wasn't recorded.'”

“We can't rewind the clock,” Cleveland said. “We can go back and talk to people again, we can ask questions, but often times the evidence that is the best is that that's on the front end.

He talked about the important of “maintaining the record.”

“The first time a child comes to you with signs of abuse, with signs of neglect, it is imperative to maintain the record and get every piece of evidence that you can.”

If there's visible injuries on the child, take pictures with your phone.

“Camera phone pictures … they are just as admissible as if the policeman comes out there or you go to the hospital and the SANE nurse takes them,” Cleveland said. “If you record a statement, what the child is telling you, in their own words, by any way – a tape recorder, on your phone, leave yourself a voicemail, whatever you can, that is extremely useful and valuable later on down the road when these cases come to trial.”

Take note of the child's emotional state when he or she tells you about the abuse.

“How is the child demeanor normally, if you know the child? How is the child's demeanor when they're making this disclosure?” Cleveland asked. “Did the child blurt it out excitedly? Were they extremely distraught?”

Cleveland said prosecutors aren't allowed to use of out-of-court statements in court. The victim is going to have to testify in court, but that information can be helpful

“There are circumstances, such as what we call excited utterances, where someone is under the stress of a situation and they blurt out, we can use that in court,” Cleveland said. “If a child is hysterical and something causes them to do that, there's a good chance that if you record that, or take pictures or in any other way very accurately record what happened, we can use that as compelling evidence in court, where otherwise it could be lost.”

Cleveland said there are zero statutes of limitation in South Carolina for any criminal offense.

But victims waiting to come forward does make prosecution more difficult, as there's a lack of physical evidence, he said.

Since cases can take years to come to trial, any evidence collected is helpful.

“It's very, very helpful to have a recording, photograph, your own notes, even things that you might not think would be relevant, all of that can have a huge impact,” Cleveland said.

Some training attendees worried that heavy questioning could make a child stop talking about what happened to them, or begin to change their initial story.

“That's a good point,” Cleveland said. “When I say get a very detailed account, make good records, I don't necessarily mean interrogate the child. I just mean anything the child says, does, looks like, acts like, feels like – make a note of it, whether you think it's important or not.”

When a child is telling you about abuse, it's important you not indicate disbelief, shock or anger.

“We have to be calm listeners,” Morris said. “And the rule is never, ever, ever promise not to tell. Because if you promise … then you have to tell because it's reportable, there's another trust issue.

“You have to say, 'I have to do whatever I can to keep you safe,'” she said.