Sexual abuse includes fondling a child’s genitals, penetration, incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation through prostitution or producing pornographic materials.

Suspect Sexual Abuse When You See:

• Physical signs of sexually transmitted diseases

• Evidence of injury to the genital area

• Pregnancy in a young girl

• Difficulty in sitting or walking

• Extreme fear of being alone with adults of a certain sex

• Sexual comments, behaviors or play

• Knowledge of sexual relations beyond what is expected for a child’s age

• Sexual victimization of other children

Physical abuse is physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child. The physical injury (ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death) can result from punching, beating, shaking, kicking, biting, throwing, stabbing, hitting, burning, choking, or otherwise harming a child. Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caretaker intended to hurt the child.

Suspect Physical Abuse When You See:

• Frequent injuries such as bruises, cuts, black eyes, or burns without adequate explanations

• Frequent complaints of pain without obvious injury

• Burns or bruises in unusual patterns that may indicate the use of an instrument or human bite; cigarette burns on any part of the body

• Lack of reaction to pain

• Aggressive, disruptive, and destructive behavior

• Passive, withdrawn, and emotionless behavior

• Fear of going home or seeing parents

• Injuries that appear after a child has not been seen for several days

• Unreasonable clothing that may hide injuries to arms or legs

Emotional abuse is mental or emotional injury that results in an observable and material impairment in a child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning. It includes extreme forms of punishment such as confining a child in a dark closet, habitual scapegoating, belittling, and rejecting treatment for a child.

Suspect Emotional Abuse When You See:

• Over compliance

• Low self-esteem

• Severe depression, anxiety, or aggression

• Difficulty making friends or doing things with other children

• Lagging in physical, emotional, and intellectual development

• Caregiver who belittles the child, withholds love, and seems unconcerned about the child’s problems

Neglect is failure to provide for a child’s basic needs necessary to sustain the life or health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by financial inability unless relief services have been offered and refused.

Suspect Neglect When You See:

• Obvious malnourishment

• Lack of personal cleanliness

• Torn or dirty clothing

• Stealing or begging for food

• Child unattended for long periods of time

• Need for glasses, dental care, or other medical attention

• Frequent tardiness or absence from school

The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, commercial sex acts, or slavery. However, when it comes to minors, no force, fraud, or coercion is required.

Human trafficking does not discriminate against ethnicity, gender, and age, nor does it take into consideration immigration, socioeconomic, or family status.

• Victims or witnesses of sexual sbuse (approximately 80% of our cases)

• Victims or witnesses of physical abuse

• Witness to homicide

• Witness to domestic violence

• Witness to drug use

• Other type of witnesses, or if the child was a victim of a crime

• Only the interviewer and the child are in the room during the interview, unless an interpreter is needed. If an interpreter is needed, Patsy’s House will contact the appropriate agency to set up a neutral interpreter.

• There is no cost for any of our services.

• Only investigators or Patsy’s House staff may observe the forensic interviews.

• Children and families must be referred by Children’s Protective Services or Law Enforcement. These are the agencies responsible for investigating reports, and in order to ensure a coordinated investigation, they must be present for the interview and coordinate the appointments.

• Children are referred through either Child Protective Services or Law Enforcement. Per our protocols, direct appointments cannot be accepted.

• No. According to the confrontation clause in the U.S. Constitution, it is the defendant’s right to be able to cross-examine their accuser. The videotape serves two purposes by (1) eliminating the need for the child to be interviewed multiple times by investigative agencies, and (2) the videotape can be used during the trial in addition to the child testifying. Often times, the video tape can assist in lessening the amount of time the child is on the stand.

• Patsy’s House provides services to Wichita, Archer, Clay, Montague, Hardeman, Foard, Baylor, and Wilbarger counties, as well as many other surrounding counties in the area.

National Children’s Alliance

CAC of Texas

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children