The Reliability of Expert Psychological Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Prosecutions

For more than a decade now, courts have grappled with the distinctive evidentiary problems of child sexual abuse prosecutions. Unlike other prosecutions, child sexual abuse prosecutions rarely are supported by physical or medical evidence or a nonparticipant eyewitness to the crime. Unlike other complainants, the child sexual abuse victim generally is not forceful, convincing, nor consistent in her allegations. The case usually comes down to a credibility match between the child and the defendant, and expert psychological testimony offered by the prosecution often is the determinative factor.