Domestic Violence Program

Domestic violence is abuse, both physical and emotional, which occurs within the home or among people who live together, who once lived together or have a child together. Domestic violence is serious resulting in thousands of deaths each year in the United Stated and countless injuries. It is important to remember that it affects not only adults but children as well. Research has shown that children raised in violent homes are several times more likely to abuse others and be abused themselves, as well as more likely commit suicide, commit sexual assaults, and abuse drugs. Accordingly, it is important to intervene and break the cycle of violence, which results in abuse and injury. It takes agencies working together to break the cycle and offer assistance and alternatives to victims and accountability, punishment, and rehabilitation to offenders.

As Spencer County Prosecutor my goals are to:

1. Seek justice for victims by promptly filing charges in domestic violence cases. I work with law enforcement, which now has a pro-arrest policy in domestic violence situations to attempt to obtain arrest warrants promptly in cases where the offender could not immediately be located. Our goal is to promptly file and aggressively prosecute battery cases and restraining/protective order violation cases. I also serve on the Spencer County Child Protection Team which meets monthly to identify, protect, and offer services to at-risk children in our county. I aggressively prosecute substantiated child molesting and child abuse cases every time there is sufficient evidence.
   
   
2. My office has implemented a "no automatic drop" policy meaning we will seek to obtain convictions even in cases where the victim later decides he or she does not want to pursue the case if children witness the violence, because it is so important to provide consequences and services in these cases to avoid potentially harmful long term consequences for the children.
   
   
3. I seek the victim's input in the case and in the decision of what sentence to recommend to the Court and attempt to deter, punish and offer rehabilitation to offenders. A typical sentence for first time offenders would include a no-contact order if victims desire the same and counseling for the offenders, including substance abuse counseling if alcohol or drugs are a contributing factor to the violence. My office has requested council funding and applied for a grant to obtain the first ever victim's advocate for Spencer County to even better serve crime victims, but has not yet had that request approved. We will continue to work to obtain a victim's advocate for our office.
   
   
4. We attempt to place increasingly harsh penalties on repeat offenders, including jail time.
   
   
5. My office also aggressively prosecutes other forms of domestic abuse including the filing of non-support of dependent criminal charges against parents who intentionally fail or refuse to pay child support for their children despite being able to do so. We also file Neglect of a Dependent criminal charges against adults who drive intoxicated with children in their vehicles or who ingest, deal, or manufacture drugs in the presence of their children.
   
   
6. I attempt to work with others to increase awareness of domestic violence in our community. For example, I am a member of the Spencer County Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force and I give presentations to community groups upon request about Domestic Violence, the most recent one being Tri-Kappa in Rockport (with the Sheriff's Department). I also requested and obtained funding from the County Council from monies we collected from offenders to help sponsor a recent Domestic Violence Training Workshop for law enforcement and others which was held in Dale. I have worked through Christian Resource Center to help fund and secure temporary housing for victims of abuse and I have worked with other prosecutors to prepare and train area Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners for trial and courtroom experiences.

In conclusion, there is "No Excuse For Abuse." The Spencer County Prosecutor's Office is trying to intervene to help break the cycle of violence that many of our families are experiencing but it takes the communication, cooperation, and efforts of several agencies to effectively fight domestic violence. That is our goal and we still have a long way to go, but we are making progress.

SPENCER COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE POLICY

Goals:

1. To protect the victim and others from additional acts of violence by the defendant;
2. To deter battering in Spencer County by the consistent and aggressive prosecution of batterers; and
3. To whenever possible encourage preservation of the family unit and rehabilitation of the offender by requiring counseling and/or treatment for less serious and first-time offenders.

Policy:

1. The prosecutor's office will take a "no automatic drop" policy against batterers and seek to obtain convictions of offenders;
2. In cases where the victim will not cooperate, prefers dismissal, or evidence for trial is not as strong as desired the prosecutor's office will consider the use of pretrial diversion agreements to require offenders to pay a fee, undergo counseling, treatment, and to monitor offenders for a year. Otherwise, the general policy of the prosecutor's office will be to proceed to trial.
3. The prosecutor's office will work to keep outright dismissals of domestic violence cases to a minimum.
4. The prosecutor's office will recommend as a general policy on first offenses where defendants plead guilty that defendants be given a suspended jail sentence, place defendant on probation for one year; require payment of fine and court costs; and, as appropriate, require defendants to undergo counseling and/or treatment, and request the issuance of no contact orders. In some first offenses jail time will be required depending on the circumstances of the individual case.
5. Upon conviction of a second offense or similar offense in a domestic related case, jail time will be requested and a one to three year probationary period will be requested. Defendants will also have to pay a fine, court costs, and may be requested to undergo additional counseling and/or treatment.
6. The prosecutor's office will also assist in the issuance of no contact orders in domestic violence cases.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMMUNITY RESOURCES