RT Article
T1 Mock Jurors’ Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse Cases: Investigating the Role of Delayed Disclosure and Relationship to the Perpetrator
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 37
IS 23/24
A1 Miller, Quincy C.
A2 Call, Alissa Anderson
A2 London, Kamala
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1883760631
AB Child sexual abuse (CSA) claims brought forward weeks, months, or years after the alleged events are commonplace, yet the trial-level ramifications of delayed disclosure remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the influence of length of delayed disclosure (1 day, 1 month, 10 months) as a function of the victim-perpetrator relationship (next-door neighbor, stepfather) on mock jurors? perceptions of a CSA case. Jury-eligible participants (N = 328) read a mock trial summary describing an alleged incident of CSA between an adult male defendant and a seven-year-old female victim. Participants then rendered various case judgments. When length of delay was 10 months versus 1 day, mock jurors rendered fewer guilty verdicts and lower ratings of victim trustworthiness, believability, memory strength, and memory accuracy. Effects of length of delay varied as a function of the victim-perpetrator relationship, but only when the perpetrator was the victim?s next-door neighbor versus stepfather. When the perpetrator was the victim?s next-door neighbor, participants rated the likelihood of abuse as higher and the victim?s memory as stronger with shorter versus longer lengths of delay. Delay did not vary as a function of the victim-perpetrator relationship when the perpetrator was the victim?s stepfather. Findings have implications for trial-level safeguards (e.g., expert testimony) in CSA cases involving delayed disclosure.
K1 child credibility
K1 Child Sexual Abuse
K1 Child witnesses
K1 delayed disclosure
K1 Expert Testimony
K1 mock juror decisions
K1 relationship to perpetrator
DO 10.1177/08862605221078812