THUMB AWARD NO EXCUSE FOR CHILD ABUSE

Thumbs Up to Tarrant County District Attorney Tim Curry for getting tough about dropping child abuse charges against relatives at the request of victims. In the past, child abuse cases were often dismissed after family members pressured children into recanting accusations against accused relatives. “We’re not going to drop charges of interfamily child abuse if we can keep from it,” says Curry. “Interfamily child abuse is one of the few crimes where a defendant on bail has frequent access to the victim.” In addition, Curry says that psychological counseling will be required of all child-abuse defendants placed on probation. He hopes that the move will speed up handling of child abuse cases and help change statistics. Last year, prosecutors were forced to dismiss 11 cases of child sexual abuse because the victims said they no longer wanted to pursue the matter.