Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 22, 1991 TAG: 9104220172
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sledd, assistant director of the city's victim-witness program, works with young children who have to go to court.
"I'm just there to make sure the kids' experience is as comfortable as possible," she said.
Which explains the toys. Sometimes a young girl will appear to testify in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court still clutching a doll Sledd gave her to make her feel more at ease.
If it helps, parents and children can bring a favorite toy from home. And sometimes a child who shows up for court empty-handed goes home with a new toy from a collection Sledd keeps in a courthouse waiting room designated especially for young children.
Sledd's job begins long before a child appears in court as a victim or a witness.
As soon as any felony arrest involving a child victim is made - and sometimes before - Sledd contacts the parents to tell them what her program offers.
One of the most important things is to explain the judicial process as much as possible to reduce the trauma of someone being called to court for the first time at such an early age, she said.
Before going to court, Sledd takes a child on a tour of an empty courtroom - letting him or her sit in the witness stand, wander behind the defense table and even perch in the judge's chair for a minute.
And she tries to explain legal terms and procedures in a way that even a 4-year-old can understand.
"You have to be very basic," Sledd said. "You don't use words like testify, you say: `talk to the man sitting up there.'"
With two preschoolers recently being shot in Roanoke while caught in the cross fire of gunfights, Sledd said it might appear that children are becoming the victims of violent crime more often.
"I'm really shocked that little children are being caught in the cross fire," she said. "We haven't really seen that before."
But in reality, the majority of Sledd's cases are the victims of sexual abuse - often by an older family member or a friend.
While young victims of sexual abuse may not comprehend the complexities of preliminary hearings and grand juries, they usually understand perfectly well why they are in court.
"They know why they're there, and that the person they're there because of is in trouble," Sledd said. "That can be real hard on them, especially if it's Daddy or a stepdaddy."
In sex-abuse cases where a victim is especially reluctant to testify, the victim-witness program has anatomically correct dolls that the child can use to demonstrate what happened to him or her.
Another problem in cases with younger witnesses is simply "qualifying" them to testify - establishing with the first few questions whether the child understands the difference between lying and telling the truth. That's almost impossible sometimes, such as a recent case in which a 2-year-old was molested.
Some children come to court as witnesses, but think they might be sent to jail. Sledd's job is to dismiss unfounded fears, while trying to explain some of the realities.
"A lot of kids will be real candid and ask: `Will Daddy go to jail?'" said Mary Ann Myers, director of the Victim-Witness Assistance Program.
While Sledd and Myers try to deal with those concerns as much as possible, they also suggest that parents seek professional counseling for their children if they believe it is needed.
With the victim-witness program tracking hundreds of cases at any given time, Sledd says it's hard to keep up with all the details, especially in former cases.
But she remembers the faces.
"The facts in a lot of the cases will escape me," Sledd said. "But what remains in my mind is the kids."
\ This week is National Victims Rights Week, a tribute to the thousands of people affected by violent crimes each year and the programs designed to assist them. The Roanoke Victim-Witness Assistance Program is accepting volunteers to help with the program. For more information, call 981-2683.
by CNB