Sexual assault is a prevalent crime in McKean County, and
officials from law enforcement and medical and social work have
banded together to address the problem.

At a kick-off event held Wednesday at Bradford Regional Medical
Center, members of the Sexual Assault Response Team explained what
it is all about.

“In the last few years, we’ve had the unfortunate distinction of
being the county with the highest per capita rate of child sexual
abuse,” explained Christa Schott, first assistant district
attorney.

But that, according to Cpl. Martin Henneman, crime unit
supervisor with the Kane-based state police, also means we have the
highest rate of prosecution.

“This is a very unique opportunity here in McKean County,”
Henneman said. “This is the first place I’ve found where this team
approach is taking place.”

The agencies involved in the team approach include law
enforcement, Children and Youth Services, the District Attorney’s
office, victim/witness coordinators and advocates, rape crisis
intervention, medical services, children’s advocacy and therapeutic
services.

“Police initially start the investigation,” Schott explained.
They can be notified in any number of ways, including by the
victim, a family member or medical personnel.

“With the team approach, our office is involved much earlier
than we used to be,” Schott said. The advantages to that include
having a prosecutor involved while evidence is being gathered and
charges are being considered against the perpetrator.

“And we find out the victim’s needs,” she said. Consultations
with the victim and family can begin from the start of the
investigation and continue throughout the disposition of the
case.

When the victim is a juvenile, early involvement of the
prosecutor – and the training of the entire team – are vitally
important, she explained.

“If your juvenile victim has been talked to or questioned in an
inappropriate fashion, we may lose that information,” Schott said,
adding any information obtained could be tainted by improper
questions.

And with a team approach, every agency is involved from the
beginning, thereby assuring the victim will be subjected to fewer
interviews.

With everyone’s involvement, “we get better, more effective and
more efficient information,” she explained. “We want to make the
victim’s experience with the criminal justice system the least
traumatic that we can.”

While the SART program is up and running – and has been for
about six months – Henneman explained the program is still
evolving.

“We have more things in the works,” he said, adding they are
working on specializing a response protocol for juvenile assault
victims.

Schott said juvenile victims are interviewed at the CYS center
in Smethport, which has rooms with 2-way mirrors and audio/visual
equipment.

“Our goal with juvenile victims is to have one person trained as
an interviewer,” she said, explaining that one person could be in
the room with the child while team members were on the other side
of the mirror.

“Then the child is only faced with only adults asking
questions,” Schott said.

Schott introduced another member of the team, Judy Flynn, a
nurse practitioner at BRMC, who is one of six nurses trained as a
sexual assault nurse examiner. Three of the nurses are also trained
for pediatric victims.

Their training has taught them how to obtain the necessary
evidence from the victim during a sexual assault examination and
also to offer pregnancy prevention and counseling, and sexually
transmitted disease prevention and counseling.

“We want a higher reporting rate,” Flynn said, explaining the
team wants to help victims and prosecute perpetrators. And several
steps are in place to make the hospital trip less traumatic for the
victims, she added.

“The victim will be treated with dignity, respect and
professionalism,” she said.

Debbie Price, vice president of patient services at BRMC, added
that in the new emergency room design in the hospital addition,
there is an exam room designed for sexual assault victims and an
interview room as well.

“It’s a very small community,” Flynn said. “When someone comes
in with a sexual assault, we want to protect their privacy.”

District Attorney John Pavlock pointed out that the steps taken
by BRMC – including training the nurses and incorporating a special
exam room for victims into the design of their new addition – have
been a tremendous asset to the program.

“This isn’t a money maker,” he said. “This is a community
issue.”

Nancy Chesnut, director of the YWCA Victims’ Resources Center,
explained her agency offers multiple services to assist victims
through the process of treatment for and prosecution of a sexual
assault.

There is a hotline accessible around the clock at
1-888-822-6325.

“Victims can speak to an advocate to support and encourage them
to come to the emergency room,” Chesnut said. There is also crisis
counseling available 24 hours a day, she added.

“We offer emergency room accompaniment,” she explained. Trained
advocates can assist a victim in understanding what to expect from
a rape exam, and can stay with them through the exam.

The Resource Center also offers legal advocacy to help victims
understand their rights and options and accompany them to hearings
and a trial.

“We also have an emergency domestic violence shelter,” Chesnut
said, “where victims can stay up to 30 days with their children … a
safe place while she decides what her next steps are going to
be.”

There are also support groups where victims can interact with
other victims to learn they are not alone in their feelings.

Chesnut explained the agency also offers community prevention
education.

“By educating the public, we hope to dispel some of the myths of
sexual assault,” she said, adding the biggest myth is blaming the
victim.

“The things they do are not the cause of the abuse,” she said.
Referring to sexual assault, she said, “it’s not about sex, it’s
about power. A victim didn’t cause this to happen. She shouldn’t be
ostracized.”