Project: Children's Advocacy Project
Organization: Community Health Center of Central Wyoming
Casper, WY
Written by Sandy Cole, former Project Director

“It’s okay Mommy. We don’t have to tell anyone.”

Hailey was listening to her mother, Amy, talk on the telephone, but was pretending to watch cartoons with her little brother. Amy had been on the phone talking with relatives a lot lately.  Hailey was aware that they were talking about Grandpa and her friend, Lexi.

Hailey, seven years old, fair skinned, long brown hair, and big brown eyes, lived in Montana with her mother and younger brother. Hailey’s maternal grandparents reside in Wyoming. She gets to visit them with her family for holidays and sporadically throughout the summer. Hailey has several friends to play with in her grandparents’ neighborhood. Grandpa often sits outside and chats with the neighborhood children playing in his yard or riding their bikes up and down the quiet street. Grandpa has a shiny red camper that sits parked in the driveway. Often, Grandpa would invite the children into the camper to play house and other games. Sometimes he would even drive them to Mini Mart for juice drinks and candy.

As Hailey continued to listen to her mother’s phone conversation she became anxious. When her mother hung up, Hailey asked her if everyone thought Lexi was lying. Lexi was Hailey’s friend who lived across the street from Grandpa. Amy stated that she did not think Lexi was lying, but Lexi and Grandpa have different stories about what happened. Hailey’s eyes welled up with tears; she became fidgety and began talking very rapidly. Hailey told her mother that she knew Lexi was telling the truth because she was there when Grandpa showed them his penis. “Lot’s of times we play naked games and Lexi will ask Grandpa to take down his pants so we can see his penis, and Grandpa does it.”

Amy sat down in shock while Hailey began crying. She hugged Hailey and told her it would be okay. She wasn’t sure what to do or who to call. Amy took her little girl into her lap and asked Hailey if Grandpa had ever done anything to her that had made her uncomfortable. Hailey continued to cry, telling her mother that she had slept in Grandpa’s bed last Christmas. He had touched her pee-pee by putting his hand underneath her nightgown. Amy started to sob, shaking with her arms still wrapped around Hailey. Hailey stood up and whispered in her mother’s ear, “It’s okay Mommy. We don’t have to tell anyone.”

Amy struggled for three days, trying to decide what to do. Lexi was the fifth child to make allegations of sexual abuse against her father. The first accusations were from three female children between the ages of five and seven. That case had been dismissed; no charges were ever brought against her father.  No one believed it was true. This time the allegations came from Lexi, the six-year-old from across the street and a five-year-old girl who had just recently moved in next door to Grandpa.

She pulled herself together and called the Wyoming detective who had worked on the initial case involving her father. He suggested that Hailey participate in an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center.

On the day of her interview, Hailey walked into a comfortable, friendly building designed for children. After playing with her brother in the playroom, Hailey spoke with a trained forensic interviewer chosen by a team of professionals because she was female, had interviewed several school-age children, and the team believed Hailey would be most at ease with her. While telling her story to the interviewer, the other team members were watching via camera from the monitoring room on the other side of the building. The team consists of representatives from Child Protective Services, Law Enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, and medical and mental health professionals. The team monitors the interview to ensure that all of their questions are asked.

After the interview Amy met with the investigators from Law Enforcement, Child Protective Services and the medical and mental health professionals who had observed Hailey’s interview. Law Enforcement informed her of the next steps they would be taking in their investigation; the medical and mental health professionals discussed with Amy how to best meet Hailey’s needs. Hailey received a medical exam on site, held in a room further down the hallway from the interview room. The exam room is painted in an “Underwater” theme with fish and turtles on the walls and ceiling. The social worker was able to locate a counselor in Montana with experience in child sexual abuse and scheduled Hailey’s first appointment. Amy left the Children’s Advocacy Project with a folder filled with educational information regarding sexual abuse, contact information for the investigators, and a note regarding their first counseling session.

A year later Hailey was still in counseling. Further disclosures had been made regarding the sexual abuse perpetrated by Grandpa in the neighborhood. Grandpa had made a plea bargain regarding the allegations involving Lexi and another neighbor girl, but denied the allegations that he had sexually abused his granddaughter. He pled not guilty in court and chose to have a jury trial. The trial proceeded for five days as the jury listened to several witnesses testify, including Amy and team members of the Children’s Advocacy Project. The jury was able to watch Hailey’s taped forensic interview, then Hailey took the stand and pointed Grandpa out in the courtroom. After deliberating for a few hours the jury found Grandpa guilty. He was sentenced to seven to thirteen years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

A few days after the trial, the Children’s Advocacy Project received a phone call from a gentleman who had served as one of the jury members. He stated that after the trial, he had gone home and spoken to his children about private parts; educating his two young girls that no one was ever allowed to touch them. When he was finished, his older daughter disclosed that their uncle had sexually abused them often when they had gone to his house. He said he was horrified, but at least he had learned that he could turn to the Children’s Advocacy Project for help. He made an appointment for his daughters to be interviewed and begin counseling later in the week.

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