Attorney General Biden Letter to the Editor/Prosecuting Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Attorney General Biden submitted the following letter to the editor to the Wilmington News Journal on April 2, 2014.

Letter to the Editor

John Sweeney

The News Journal

950 W. Basin Road

New Castle, DE 19720

 

Child sexual abuse cases are among the most serious cases a prosecutor handles.  The harm to the victim is profound.  A child is vulnerable, and never more so than when the perpetrator is a parent.  Juxtaposed against the severity of the crime is the difficulty proving it in a court of law.

 

When a child reports sexual abuse, it is often that child’s word against the word of the alleged perpetrator.  Authorities who receive reports of abuse ensure that children are interviewed by the Children’s Advocacy Center, where an expert questions the child.  Often, however, the child has made previous statements to members of his or her family, and frequently those statements differ in some respects.  This is particularly true with very young children, who are on the cusp of being capable of relating an event in detail.  The younger the child, the less detailed the account is likely to be.

 

Authorities look for corroborating evidence to support the report of abuse.  They search for forensic evidence, such as DNA.  They look for medical evidence of abuse.  When the abuse occurs on a date prior to the report and investigation, there is rarely forensic evidence available.  Moreover, unless the abuse alleged is an act likely to inflict physical injury, evidence of medical trauma is likewise rare.

 

Therefore, in child sexual abuse cases, the sum total of the evidence is often the word of the child against the word of the alleged perpetrator.  The State bears the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest standard in our justice system.  For the State to meet that burden, the child must testify because a defendant has a Sixth Amendment constitutional right to confront witnesses against him.  This means that the child must testify in a sterile courtroom before a room full of strangers.

 

Before the child can even testify, the court must be satisfied that the child is competent, that is, whether the child knows the difference between right and wrong.  This determination is made after the court questions the child.

 

Assuming the child is deemed competent, the child faces additional trauma by having to recount the abuse in front of the very person who committed it.  Trials generally occur several months to a year after the event.  All memories fade with time, a child’s in particular.

 

For these reasons, a prosecutor’s decision about whether to take a child sexual abuse case to trial or to resolve it through a negotiated plea requires the striking of a difficult balance.  If the case proceeds to trial, and the jury returns a not guilty verdict, this means that the alleged perpetrator will walk away free, with no conditions attached. There will be no punishment. The defendant will not be required to register as a sex offender, will not be supervised by probation and parole, and will not receive sexual offense counseling. Indeed, he is free to resume his life, free to contact the child and to reenter the residence and resume his former life, absent a separate Family Court order to the contrary.

 

All of these considerations were in the mind of the prosecutor assigned to this case.  This was not a strong case, and a loss at trial was a distinct possibility.  The only eyewitness to the crime was the four year old victim. There was no medical or forensic evidence of any kind.  The defendant did not make a statement to the police, although he made an ambiguous apology to the victim’s mother.  A conviction would have required twelve jurors to find unanimously, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the crime had occurred.

 

In recognition of the weakness of the case, the assigned prosecutor offered a plea and sentence recommendation that guaranteed the defendant would be required to register as a sex offender, participate in court-ordered sex offender rehabilitation therapy and to have no contact with the victim and any other child under the age of sixteen.  A loss at trial would have rendered any of these restrictions impossible.

 

The judge who considered the appropriate sentence in this case did so after careful deliberation with due regard for all of the circumstances.  The Truth in Sentencing Guidelines, which judges use to inform their exercise of discretion, called for a sentence of 0 to 22 months in jail.  The Defendant had already entered treatment.  The Defendant accepted responsibility.  These factors are listed in the Guidelines as mitigators that the Court must take into account.  Moreover, the parties had agreed upon the recommendation to the Court.  The judge acted properly by imposing a sentence that placed the Defendant under supervision for a lengthy period of time, required him to complete counseling, placed him on the sex offender registry and prevented him from contacting the victim and any other child. Judge Jurden is an outstanding jurist.  She carefully considers the salient factors in all criminal cases without any regard for wealth or social status.  In this case, Judge Jurden exercised sound discretion based solely on the merits of the case before her.

 

Nothing is more important than protecting children from harm. That is why I ran for office in the first place.  One of my first acts in office was to create the Child Predator Task Force which, for the first time in Delaware, puts police and prosecutors side by side to identify and bring to justice the worst predators in society – those who seek to hurt Delaware’s children.  This work has led to the convictions of more than 180 predators and the rescue of more than 120 children who were being abused or groomed for future abuse. This past year, with the help of the legislature, we created the Child Victims Unit to provide more effective investigation and prosecution of child death and injury cases.  We have fought successfully for new laws that impose tough mandatory sentences on child pornographers, and this year, I am working with legislators to give kids targeted by predators even stronger protections.

 

I commend the hard working, dedicated prosecutors who strive to achieve justice in each and every case.  We will continue to fight for children.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Biden, III      Attorney General


Child Predator Task Force arrests Felton man on child pornography charges

Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force has a led to the arrest of a Felton man who now faces charges that he dealt in child pornography.

 

“Our Child Predator Task Force puts police and prosecutors side by side to track down those who seek to hurt our kids,” Biden said.

 

As part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the Internet, the Child Predator Task Force and the Delaware State Police executed a search warrant on March 21 at a residence on Vineyard Lane in Felton. As a result of the search warrant, multiple computers and other digital media were seized and taken to the DSP High Technology Crimes Unit for forensic analysis. A forensic preview revealed that a seized computer contained multiple images of child pornography.

 

During the search, a person of interest, Stephen M. Parsons, age 25, a resident of the Vineyard Lane address, was taken into custody.  Parsons was subsequently charged on March 21 with 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via video phone by JP Court #2 and is being held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $500,000 secured bail.

 

The Child Predator Task Force investigation continues.

 

A booking image of Parsons

Parsons Booking Image

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Scott, Biden Introduce Child Online Protection Act

COPA would require sites to shield children from tracking, block certain types of advertisements, remove material posted by minors on request

 

DOVER – Recognizing the rapidly evolving capabilities of technology designed to mine user data online and target advertisements to specific website visitors, Rep. Darryl Scott and Attorney General Beau Biden introduced legislation Tuesday designed to protect the online privacy of children and ensure greater control over content posted online by minors.

 

The Child Online Protection Act outlines several key provisions that websites would be required to implement for users in Delaware, including a requirement to comply with requests from users to take down material they posted as minors, even if the person making the request is no longer a minor. This rule would cover websites and mobile applications, but would not allow a user to request the removal of content posted by another person.

 

House Bill 261 also prohibits website hosts from targeting advertising for products such as alcohol, drugs, tobacco and weapons to users they know are under the age of 18. The bill also would prevent sites from gathering “personally identifiable information” from known minor users for the purpose of targeting any advertisements to them. Personally identifiable information includes home address, email address, phone numbers and geolocation data.

 

“We’ve already agreed as a society that children should not be exposed to ads for products like alcohol and cigarettes, this legislation attempts to bring those values to the digital realm,” said Rep. Scott, D-Dover. “Young people spend a lot of their time online surfing websites and using social networking sites, and they can easily be subjected to ads that are not age-appropriate. We know from history that laws are often slow to evolve in the face of new technology, but it’s vitally important that the law stay current when it comes to protecting our children.”

 

“Kids share way too much information about themselves online, and the pictures they post when they are young can come back to haunt them when they apply for their first job or apply for college,” said Attorney General Biden. “This bill will help protect kids’ privacy now and in the future.”

 

In order to enforce its provisions, the bill would also require sites to use some form of age verification for users whose information would be tracked or stored. Website hosts found to be in violation of COPA rules would be subject to prosecution by Biden’s Consumer Protection Unit under the state’s existing Consumer Fraud Act and face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

 

The legislation is modeled on a similar California law, the first and only of its kind in the nation so far. HB 261 has been assigned to the House Telecommunications, Internet and Technology Committee.

 


New Legislation Will Increase Fight Against Child Predators

Bill backed by Attorney General Biden, Kids Caucus will give children more protections against online sexual predators and strengthen Child Predator Task Force undercover investigations

DOVER – Attorney General Beau Biden and a bipartisan group of legislators – led by Kids Caucus co-chairs Rep. Debra Heffernan and Sen. Harris McDowell – unveiled legislation today that will strengthen law enforcement’s ability to stop sexual predators from hurting children.

 

The bill, which will be pre-filed in the House of Representatives on Thursday, builds on the work done by the Child Predator Task Force over the past seven years to track down and arrest sexual predators. Since 2007, the task force’s work has led to the conviction of more than 180 predators and the rescue of 119 children who were being abused or being groomed for future victimization. The task force has increasingly focused on conducting undercover online investigations to finding predators lurking online looking to meet children. The legislation ensures that predators caught in these undercover investigations face appropriate charges and punishment.

 

“Nothing is more important than protecting our kids,” said Biden, who last month asked the legislature’s budget-writing committee to fund an additional prosecutor and investigator for the task force. “The more predators we take off of the street, the safer we make our children. This legislation will strengthen our efforts to stop sexual predators before they have a chance to hurt a child. I am proud to work with Rep. Heffernan, Sen. McDowell and the rest of the Kids Caucus in the fight against the worst of society.”

 

Specifically, the bill makes clear that a sexual predator is guilty of sexual solicitation of a child online whether the individual is soliciting an actual child or an undercover investigator whom the predator believes to be a child. The bill also elevates the offense from a Class C to a Class B felony in cases in which the predator actually travels to meet the individual he is soliciting online, whether the subject is a child or an undercover investigator.

 

“With more and more young people using electronic devices to communicate with a broader audience, law enforcement need every tool possible to help keep our children safe and protect them from sexual predators,” said Rep. Heffernan, D-Brandywine Hundred South. “Gone are the days of just worrying when your child goes to the park or store. They can be solicited inside the home at any hour of the day. This bill will update our code to include all electronic devices and modes of communication that sexual predator could use to sexually solicit a child and makes sure that any predator caught faces the appropriate punishment.”

 

Sen. McDowell, D-Wilmington North, said the law’s expanded scope and increased penalties are needed more than ever to protect children.

“We’ve all heard sobering testimony about the growing size and scope of this threat to our children – especially in the Internet Age,” said Sen. McDowell, who co-chairs both the Kids Caucus and the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee. “I hope these changes will provide a deterrent to those who would prey on children and, failing that, the stern penalties included in this bill will put those who are caught and convicted away from our children for a long time.”

 

In addition to Rep. Heffernan and Sen. McDowell, 22 lawmakers have already signed onto the legislation, including Sen. Bryan Townsend and Rep. Deborah Hudson, who are co-prime sponsors.

 

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Child Predator Task Force arrests Dover man on child pornography charges

Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that a Delaware Child Predator Task Force investigation into the online distribution of child pornography has resulted in the arrest of a Dover man.

“Each time an image of video of child pornography is received or shared the abused child is victimized all over again,” Biden said.  “Through the efforts of our Child Predator Task Force we’re acting to put a stop to this illicit and harmful trade.”

During the investigation, detectives tracked the distribution of child pornography files to a residence in Dover, and the ongoing investigation led to the execution of a search warrant yesterday, March 5, by Task Force detectives and Dover Police officers at an apartment in the unit block of West Loockerman Street.  During the search, detectives seized a computer and it was taken to the DSP High Technology Crimes Unit for forensic analysis.   A person of interest, 22 year-old resident Derek K. DeYoung, was taken into custody a short time later by detectives and taken to DSP Troop #3 for further investigation.

As a result of the investigation, DeYoung was arrested and charged with 10 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.  He was arraigned via videophone by JP Court #2 and is being held on $200,000 cash bail.

The Task Force investigation continues.