In the high-stakes world of prosecuting child sexual abuse, a prosecutor typically must work with little or no medical evidence, medical experts with varying degrees of expertise, a jury panel in need of education about the crime, and a victim who may (understandably) crumble on the stand. Written by Harris County assistant DAs Terese M. Buess and Michael E. Trent, Investigation & Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse walks prosecutors of all experience levels through the case, from investigation to punishment phase of trial, with suggestions on handling such areas as:

• charging decisions, including 3g offenses and sex offender registration;
• physical evidence, including preparing your medical expert and educating jurors about no-evidence cases;
  complainant relations;
• statutory pretrial requirements and their deadlines;
• jury selection and educating panelists about common myths in child sexual abuse cases;
• trial strategy, including examination of state’s witnesses, closed-circuit television, and admission of the complainant’s videotaped statements; and
• State's and defense medical and psychological experts and how to handle common defense strategies.

Chapter titles include: Completing the Investigation, The Charging Decision, Complainant Relations, Interviewing the Complainant, Preparing for Trial, Jury Selection, Presenting the Case, Medical Evidence, State’s Psychological Evidence, The Defense Case, Closing Argument & Punishment, and Maintaining your Equilibrium & Sanity.