More Than 2,000 Child Sex Abuse Cases in 2012

Nashua Police Department’s Youth Services Division arrested a 14-year-old male on Feb. 25, charging him with delinquent child: attempted felonious sexual assault, a class B felony; and lewd and indecent exposure, a class A misdemeanor.

The arrest comes in the context of the release earlier this week of statistics from Nashua's Granite State Children’s Alliance, which documented more than 2,000 cases of sexual abuse of children in New Hampshire in 2012.

Police said the Feb. 25 arrest originated from a call to police from a residence in Nashua in which it was reported that the 14-year-old was suspected of having had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor child under the age of 13, who is known to him. This matter was further investigated by detectives in the Youth Services Division and it was subsequently learned that the defendant had in fact attempted to have sexual contact with the minor child.

The Delinquent Child offenses could result in commitment to the Sununu Youth Detention Center. The juvenile was released to the custody of legal
guardian pending a juvenile hearing at the 9th Circuit Nashua District Court.

“People shy away from talking about child sexual abuse, but we release these statistics to remind people that abuse happens, and that it happens in every corner of New Hampshire,” said Kristie Palestino, executive director of the Nashua-based Granite State Children’s Alliance.

Of the 2,065 child victims of crime served by CAC in 2012, 1,655 of those children were victims of sexual abuse.

“Particularly striking in this year’s data is that only 1 percent of the children we served were abused by strangers, which underscores how important it is for parents to be vigilant, even with people they know and trust.”

Based on a nationally recognized model, child advocacy centers are community partnerships dedicated to pursuing the truth in child abuse cases and providing social services to child victims. By bringing together New Hampshire’s law enforcement, county attorneys, state protective services, victim advocates and health professionals, child advocacy centers provide safe, child friendly locations for interviewing child victims, coordinating the investigative team and providing ongoing help for the victim’s recovery. 

Palestino said child advocacy centers help break the cycle of child abuse by improving prosecution rates of abusers and putting victims on a path to healing.

2012 Statistics on Child Sex Abuse

Total Cases: 2,065

Sexual Abuse: 1,655

Physical Abuse: 189

Witness to Crime: 146

Neglect: 59

Other: 16

Victim Gender

Male: 36 percent

Female: 64 percent

Victim Ages:

< 6 years: 30 percent

7-12 years: 40 percent

12-18 years: 30 percent

For additional information on the members of the Granite State Children’s Alliance, child abuse or related subjects, contact Kristie Palestino at (603) 498-8909 or kpalestino@cac-nh.org.