Handling Juvenile on Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Webinar
April 13, 2022
90-minute presentation
1:30 p.m. EDT

More than one third of all child sexual abuse is committed by older or more powerful juveniles. These cases are difficult to handle because the families of the victim and offender often have a relationship, because the victims are very young, and because our system of justice is not adapted to the needs of child sexual abuse victims. Join this webinar to learn common missteps in the handling and trying of these cases and how to avoid them.

Presented by: 

Whitney Belich
Child Abuse Resource Prosecutor
North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys

Whitney graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Criminology and then attended Wake Forest School of Law.  Whitney began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney for the Honorable Susan Doyle in Johnston County, North Carolina.  As a prosecutor, Whitney handled cases involving impaired driving and sexual and physical abuse of both children and adults.

In 2014, Whitney accepted a position with the Attorney General’s Office and was stationed at the North Carolina Justice Academy in Salemburg, North Carolina. While there, she developed and delivered training for law enforcement across the state on a variety of legal issues including search and seizure and courtroom testimony. A year after taking the position at the Justice Academy, Whitney was promoted to another position within the Law Enforcement Liaison section of the Attorney General’s Office. While working in Raleigh, Whitney served as the primary attorney for the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, which regulates law enforcement conduct and training throughout the state.  In addition to her responsibilities with CJ Standards, Whitney continued to train both law enforcement officers and prosecutors across the state and handled criminal appeals. After serving as a guest instructor for the Conference of District Attorneys for many years, Whitney was honored to accept the position of Child Abuse Resource Prosecutor with the Conference in 2019.  The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys provides support and training for all of North Carolina’s elected District Attorneys as well as Assistant District Attorneys and other staff within the District Attorney’s Office as well as others. The Child Abuse Resource Prosecutor or “CARP” specifically provides technical assistance on issues related to the physical or sexual abuse of children. In addition to assisting with legal questions from prosecutors, officers, child welfare workers, physicians, and other allied professionals in the child welfare field, the CARP develops and delivers training addressing existing and emerging legal issues in child abuse. The CARP also handles conflict prosecutions in child abuse cases upon a request from the District Attorney.

Cost:
FREE
If you would like to become a member, please join here!

Questions?

Please contact Senior Attorney, Rachel Larsen.

If you are a state’s attorney or assistant district attorney working in juvenile court, you will automatically be joined to NDAA’s national listserv of prosecutors working in juvenile court.  You will receive training updates, federal juvenile law updates, and juvenile court trends and best practices posts about twice a month.  We can only add you to the listserv if you included your official state or county email address and designated yourself as a prosecutor at registration.  You can opt out of the group at any time.