The Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) is a Connecticut agency in charge of investigating allegations of abuse and neglect against children. This includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, medical neglect, emotional neglect, and moral neglect.
Sexual abuse is defined by DCF as any incident involving an intentional exposure to sexual behavior to a child. For example: oral or genital contact, indecent exposure, exposure to pornography, and other behavior designed to “groom” a child for future sexual abuse.
If a report of sexual assault is made to DCF, they will make a referral to the police to loop them in. DCF and the police will share information and investigate together. This is especially true for sex crimes where DCF and the police conduct forensic interviews together for minor children. To learn more about police investigations for sex crimes, click here.
The forensic interview one of the major tools that DCF uses to get evidence in a sexual abuse investigation. A professional therapist interviews the child, one on one, and asks questions meant to find out if the child has been sexually abused. This interview is recorded and used as evidence against you.
A DCF investigation must be closed within 45 days but the police are only limited by the statute of limitations, which often gives them years to investigate, which can be up to 5 years. All the best Connecticut DCF attorneys know how crucial the investigation can be to your future and they can help protect you.
Yes. The best Connecticut DCF attorneys will tell you if the child lives in your home, DCF can interview your child without you knowing. DCF often does this by going to your child’s school and pulling them out of class to talk.
At the end of their investigation, if DCF finds there is reasonable cause that sexual abuse has occurred, they will substantiate the allegations against you. You will automatically be placed on the DCF Central Abuse and Neglect Registry. While these findings are not public, being placed on the registry can negatively impact your employment opportunities.
Yes. You can appeal both the substantiation finding and placement on the registry. Click here to learn more about appealing DCF findings.
Fighting DCF sexual abuse allegations can be the battle of a lifetime. Hire a Connecticut DCF sexual abuse investigation attorney to fight for you. Read from our hundreds of certified Avvo.com reviews. Then call Mark Sherman Law today.
