Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

MCAC director visits Rotary Club

Anita Cabe invited representatives of the Murphy Child Advocacy Center from St. Josephs Medical Center to speak at the Rotary Club meeting Thursday, March 27.

Larry Levi, Chairman of the Board of St. Josephs Foundation, took the floor first, noting that he has been a Rotarian for 30 years. He then introduced the guest speaker, Janice McCutcheon, Director of Murphy Child Advocacy Group.

The bottom line is: Im a mom, was the first thing McCutcheon said. McCutcheon, who has trained as a forensic interviewer since 2000 for sexual or physical abuse victims or witnesses of abuse, has conducted her training on a national level.

She told a story about a hypothetical abuse victim to offer two conclusions for the victim. She said that: either the victim will be intimidated by police and embarrassed by the numerous people who will know about the situation after the ordeal settles, or the parents can choose to go through the MCAC with a comfortable, non-intimidating environment for a young victim.

McCutcheon said MCAC videotapes and records all interviews of victims or witnesses and supports unoffending parents through the court process.

She gave statistics about abuse. She said that one out of every four young girls are abused, and that last year there were 41 abuse cases in Clark County alone.

Some criminal investigators turn their cases over to MCAC.

You need to praise your investigators for bringing them to the center, she said.

The services are free for victims as a part of their ministry, but it costs about $3,000 per abused child.

St. Josephs Medical Center helps fund the program where grants and donations fall short to help untangle the web of sin, McCutcheon said.

Last year, MCAC conducted 362 interviews and 130 medical exams.

Conviction rates are higher when victims choose to go through the program, she said.

Judges have handed out some healthy sentences, Levi said.

He said that, in the past month, sentences of 20 and 25 years have been given to convicted child abusers.

Outside of Arkansas, McCutcheon has done forensic work in Florida and Texas.

It is a misdemeanor for not reporting child abuse.

To report abuse to the MCAC program, call the child abuse hotline at 501-622-2531.