The District Attorney’s Child Abuse Prosecution Unit (CAPU) marks its 20th anniversary this month.   Created on October 1, 1995, with grant funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit was founded with one mission-improve the manner in which child abuse allegations are investigated and prosecuted.  Grant money allowed the District Attorney’s Office to fill three specialized positions dedicated solely to child abuse cases.   As a result, the District Attorney’s Office, for the first time, was able to dedicate an assistant district attorney full time to prosecuting child abuse cases.  PCCD grant funding also provided for the hiring of a county detective dedicated to investigating child abuse allegations and a newly created Child Abuse Prosecution Coordinator position.  Chief Deputy District Attorney Seán McCormack, who has headed the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit since its inception in 1995, reminisced about the unit’s beginnings:

I tell the story often about how clueless I really was back in October 1995 when we started this unit.  I had successfully prosecuted a few child abuse cases and frankly thought I knew all I needed to know about improving the way child abuse cases were investigated and prosecuted.  I went out, bought a Snoopy necktie and I was ready to fix the system.  The problem was, in order to fix something, you have to understand all the ins and outs of the existing system.  I discovered quickly I didn’t understand much about child abuse investigations beyond my own office.  Despite having prosecuted a few child abuse cases, I had never even spoken to a Children and Youth caseworker before, and as I would learn, they play a huge role in child abuse cases.  Luckily, here in Dauphin County, we had all the right people in all the right positions at exactly the right time.  I found like-minded people like Joe Dougher, at Dauphin County’s Children and Youth Agency and Dr. Earl Greenwald and Teresa Smith at Pinnacle Health and numerous others who put the interests of abused children ahead of their own agencies.  As a result we have been able to accomplish so much over these past twenty years that, looking back, I recognize now how really primitive our investigations were back in 1995.

Over these past twenty years the CAPU has pursued its mission to improve child abuse investigations and prosecutions without ever losing sight that the children come first.  Since the unit’s formation in 1995, the way in which child abuse cases are handled has been completely overhauled.  Once upon a time a child was subjected to multiple interviews during uncoordinated investigations conducted by the various agencies responsible for investigating child abuse.  Today children are interviewed once while representatives from the police, the District Attorney’s Office and Children and Youth observe the interview as part of a multi-discipline investigative team (MDIT) process.  Police officers, Children and Youth case workers and the District Attorney’s Office work together during an investigation to gather evidence, interview parents, witnesses and suspects in an effort to get to the truth.  The team meets regularly to review the status of investigations, plan the next investigative steps and approve criminal charges.  All of this was unheard of in Dauphin County in 1995.  This coordination between agencies resulted in better investigations which in turn led to stronger cases in court.  And, stronger cases meant more guilty pleas, which in turn resulted in less children have to testify in court.          

For twenty years Dauphin County has been at the forefront of many initiatives to improve the quality of child abuse investigations.  One of the first initiatives of the CAPU was the Child Abuse Task Force.  The CAPU encouraged police departments and Dauphin County CYS to assign experienced, and specially trained, police officers and caseworkers to the Task Force to improve the quality of child abuse investigations county-wide.  The CAPU was also the driving force in the formation of a Child Abduction Recovery Team, the CARE Team.  The CARE team (short for Child Abduction Recovery Effort) was created to organize a team of police officers, CYS caseworkers and assistant district attorneys, specially trained on how to investigate child abductions to ensure the safe return of abducted children to their families.  Recently, the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit formed a multi-agency Child Fatality Investigative Team.  This team, builds upon earlier successful efforts like the Child Abuse Task Force and the CARE Team, to bring together representatives from all the agencies involved in investigating a child’s death to train police officers, caseworkers, assistant district attorneys and deputy coroners to coordinate the investigation of these often complicated cases.             

As the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit was getting started another important piece of the puzzle was being put into place.  Central Pennsylvania’s first Child Advocacy Center, the Pinnacle Health Children’s Resource Center (CRC) was founded through a coordinated effort between Polyclinic Hospital, Dauphin County CYS, District Attorney’s Office and Dauphin County’s Law Enforcement agencies.  The CRC, located in Harrisburg, is a nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center.  At the CRC, specially trained child interview specialist conduct of interviews of children suspected of being victims of abuse.  The CRC was the first Child Advocacy Center in Pennsylvania to make it a policy to regularly video tape their child interviews.  While at the Children’s Resource Center, children also receive medical exams performed by medical specialist, using specialized equipment, trained to recognize the signs of physical and sexual abuse.

Trooper Brian Krause of the Pennsylvania State Police, and a former longtime member of the Child Abuse Task Force described his experience investigating child abuse cases in Dauphin County and the difference the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit has brought to child abuse investigations and prosecutions:

Speaking from an investigator’s point of view, the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit was tremendous to work with over the years.  It was particularly nice for me and others who investigated child abuse cases prior to the advent of the CAPU, as well as the Children’s Resource Center.  The coordination and cooperation between your unit, the CRC, CYS, and police improved the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases beyond measure.  Parents, children, and families throughout Dauphin County have been served very well throughout the years because of the CAPU and those who have been instrumental in it, such as [Seán], Sue [Kolanda], Jo Sterner, Jen Gettle, and countless others.  Thank you and congratulations. 

Scott Smith, a former Children and Youth caseworker and current child interview specialist at the Children’s Resource Center agreed, “The Child Abuse Prosecution Unit has played an integral role in this process and has become the foundation to one of the model MDIT’s in Central Pennsylvania.  From the top on down I am in awe of the dedication and consideration in ensuring due process is served to the children and families in Dauphin County.” 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle, described what being a member of the team has meant to her.  "I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with such a dedicated team of professionals who have a collective mission to help our youngest and most vulnerable citizens."

Child Abuse Unit Coordinator Sue Kolanda summed up the CAPU’s greatest accomplishments:

“This unit has seen many successes in obtaining convictions.  However, if you really want to see how successful this unit is, you have to look beyond the wins and losses in court.  The real success of this unit can be found in the countless thousands of children this unit has helped.  It brings me great professional and personal joy to know that we have helped empower so many children.  To see our kids grow from the early stages of an investigation, often times frightened of what lies ahead, to bravely taking the witness stand and testifying in court about some of the most unthinkable abuse is incredible to watch.  Members of this unit have been invited to family gatherings and graduations of victims long after their court cases have concluded.  That doesn’t happen in any other type of case prosecuted by this office.  To know that we have had that kind of impact on a child’s life is humbling.”       

The Child Abuse Prosecution Unit is currently comprised of:

• Seán McCormack, Chief Deputy District Attorney   
• Jennifer Gettle, Chief Deputy District Attorney 
• Susan Kolanda, Child Abuse Unit Coordinator
• Pete Fure, County Detective
• Clair Martin, County Detective

The following current member of the District Attorney's staff have made significant contributions to the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit over the past year:

• Jack Canavan, Senior Deputy District Attorney
• Christopher Jason, Deputy District Attorney 
•  Abby Trovinger, Deputy District Attorney
• Jennifer Hartlep, Deputy District Attorney
• Meghan McNaughton, Deputy District Attorney
• Katie Adam, Deputy District Attorney
• Tony Corby, Deputy District Attorney
• April Schantz, Deputy District Attorney

Acknowledgements:  Child Abuse Unit supervisor Seán McCormack also wants to acknowledge the many other people who contributed to the unit's success over the years.  This list includes, but certainly is not limited to, District Attorney Ed Marsico, who has expanded the role of the CAPU far beyond its original mandate, former District Attorney John Cherry, under whose guidance the unit was founded, former deputy district attorneys Brian Perry, Kim Sanchez, Meredith Taylor, Lisa Miller, Kristen Weisenberger, Eric Augustine, County Detectives Andrew Dixon and Emily Ladino and former Chief Deputy District Attorney Deborah Curcillo.  Finally, Jo Sterner the unit's first Child Abuse Coordinator who helped to steer the unit during its early formative years!   "Whenever you try to compile a list like this, looking back over 20 years, you are sure to miss some important people.  Those oversights are unintentional and deeply regretted."