Matters Not for Publication

Matters of record which are sealed by the court pursuant to statute or court order shall not be furnished by the court for publication or given out for inspection to anyone except as provided by statute, by these Rules of Practice as specified herein, or by order of the court. Whenever a child victim is identified in any child molestation sexual assault case, a dual filing system shall be established for that case. During the prosecution and disposition of such a case, a “public file” and a “confidential court file” shall be maintained. The public file shall contain the charging document (indictment, information, or application filed in accordance with the Rhode Island post- conviction relief statute, G.L. § 1956 10-9.1-1) with the name and identifying information of the child victim redacted. “Redaction” is defined as the obliteration of victim-identifying information in the documents placed in the public file. The name and address of the victim shall be redacted along with any familial-identifying information such as the relationship, if any, between the child victim and the accused. A fictitious name may be substituted for the victim's actual name. Such redaction or substitution shall be carried out by the party placing the material on file, e.g. the Office of the Attorney General in criminal cases and the plaintiff or other party placing material on file in related civil suits. When applicable, a party submitting material that identifies a victim shall submit two (2) versions of each document to be placed on file: one version from which all victim-identifying information has been redacted or made fictitious, to be placed in the public file; a second version of the same document, unredacted, to be placed in the confidential court file. The foregoing does not preclude the submission, when appropriate, of two (2) identical copies of a non-victim-identifying document, one of which is to be placed in the public file and one in the confidential court file. The public file shall not include in any form, redacted or otherwise, victim- specific documents relating to the child victim that are otherwise confidential in accordance with statute or policy. Such excluded documents include, but are not limited to, school records, medical records, reports from the Department of Children, Page 8 of 9 February 2024 Youth and Families, reports or records of counselors, therapists, and social workers, or other similar victim-specific documents which are privileged by law or custom. All other documents, not victim-specific, shall be placed in the public file, in redacted form as necessary in accordance with this rule. Rule 3.4. [Reserved.]