You get a phone call from the Houston County DHR Office. The Swartz County DHR social worker told you they had received a report from Morris County DHR about a young girl being the potential victim of a rape/incest offense. The Swartz County DHR worker further stated that according to DHR policy, DHR's jurisdiction is based on the victim's county of residence; it is NOT based on the offense location. 

During the phone call, the worker stated a mother had called Morris County DHR after she had a diary/journal belonging to her teenage daughter. The mother was cleaning her daughter's room and came across the diary. Being a good mother, she picked up the diary and started to read several entries. 

The mother became alarmed when she read the daughter's journal entry describing what happened when her teenage daughter had gone to visit her grandmother in Rockford, Alabama, on July 1, 2020 (this past summer). The mother read in the diary the following entry:

ENTRY: My first cousin, Jane Doe, went to our grandmother's house on August 15, 2001. I have always thought he was cute when I was a younger girl, but when he came over this time, he started to look at me in a very strange way. He sat beside me on the couch and was very talkative, outside his normal behavior. That night, I went to bed early. I awoke to John on top of me and he was having sexual intercourse with me. I didn't know what to do. I just laid there. 

 

Of course, after reading this entry, the mother immediately called Morris County DHR, who then called Swartz County DHR so they could report it to the Rockford Police Department. 

After learning you will have to go to Morris County to interview the teenage daughter named Carol Smith, you meet up with the Morris County DHR worker at her office. After going to Carol's house and realizing she was not home, the Morris County DHR worker and you decide to go to Carol's school.

The principal agrees to let you interview Carol, in the gym, for about 45 minutes. 

Once the three of you get seated, the Morris County DHR worker starts to ask several questions to Carol. Carol just sits there in silence. After asking Carol several questions for about ten minutes with an absolute ZERO response, you decide to start asking questions. You ask numerous questions in different ways, but Carol just SITS THERE WITH NO RESPONSE. 

She is NOT responding to any of your questions or from the Morris County DHR worker. 

You are running out of time. 

 

 

What options you would use at this point to obtain ANY INFORMATION FROM Carol.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In this situation where Carol is not responding to any questions from both the Morris County DHR worker and yourself its important to approach the sit... View the full answer