‘When a child is the victim or witness of a sexual assault or other violent crime, the trauma they can experience at the hands of their perpetrator can have deep and lasting effects on their lives.

When legal proceedings against the perpetrator go through the justice system, those same children are often traumatized further by having their identities unprotected and by having to go through the legal process with a variety of advocates and legal professionals, or without any at all.

The state should do all it can to ensure that criminal proceedings leading to the punishment of the guilty party and justice for the victim is conducted with as little additional impact on the children involved as possible.

The courts and the state law already provide special........

© The Leader Herald