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18 S. Cal. Interdisc. L.J. 651 (2008-2009)
Unwarranted Skepticism: The Federal Courts' Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse Accommodations Syndrome

handle is hein.journals/scid18 and id is 657 raw text is: NOTES UNWARRANTED SKEPTICISM: THE FEDERAL COURTS' TREATMENT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ACCOMMODATION SYNDROME MARGARET H. SHIU* I. INTRODUCTION Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent problem in our society, with estimates indicating as many as 500,000 new incidents in the United States each year.' Although some statistics signal a relative decrease in substantiated CSA cases between 1990 and 2004,2 the figures are nonetheless alarming. In 2005 alone, over 300,000 children were reported to U.S. state and local child protection services as victims of sexual abuse.3 Further, one studl, reported that more than 8% of U.S. children are victims of sexual abuse. While CSA happens to children of both sexes and all ages, from infants to adolescents, more than one-half of the defendants sentenced in 2006 for CSA abused a victim under the age of twelve.6 Furthermore, between 25% and 35% of all sexual abuse victims involve children under the age of 7 .7 The bottom line is that CSA remains a serious problem. * J.D., University of Southern California, 2009; B.A., Amherst College, 2006. I would like to thank Professor Thomas D. Lyon for his invaluable advice, guidance, and patience throughout the writing ?rocess. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their unwavering love and support. See David Finkelhor, Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse, 4 FUTURE OF CHILDREN 31,34 (1994). 2 See David Finkelhor & Lisa Jones, Why Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined?, 62 J. SOC. ISSUES 685, 685 (2006). 3 See U.S. DEP'T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS., ADMIN. ON CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES, CHILD MALTREATMENT 2005 (2007), available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/cmO5.pdf. 4 David Finkelhor, Richard Ormrod, Heather Turner & Sherry L. Hamby, The Victimization of Children and Youth: A Comprehensive, National Survey, 10 CHILD MALTREATMENT 5, 10 (2005). See, e.g., Lucy Berliner & Diana M. Elliott, Sexual Abuse of Children, in THE APSAC HANDBOOK ON CHILD MALTREATMENT 55, 56 (John E. B. Myers, Lucy Berliner, John Briere, C. Terry Hendrix, Carole Jenny, & Theresa A. Reid eds., Sage Publ'ns 2d ed. 2002). 6 MARK MOTIVANS & TRACEY KYCKELHAHN, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS SPECIAL REPORT: 2006 FEDERAL PROSECUTION OF CHILD SEX EXPLOITATION OFFENDERS 6 (2007), http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/fpcseo06.pdf. 7 Sonja N. Brilleslijper-Kater, William N. Friedrich & David L. Corwin, Sexual Knowledge and Emotional Reaction as Indicators of Sexual Abuse in Young Children: Theory and Research Challenges, 28 CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 1007, 1007 (2004).

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