The statistics will bear out that most of the children are between 7 and 14. Most offenders are stepfathers, live-in paramours or boyfriends of mothers. An anonymous neighbor reported that children in the home are not well cared for and are seen in the neighborhood dirty and hungry. It is reported the mother does not manage money well and runs out of food after the middle of the month. The house is dirty, and there are no cleaning supplies or detergent to wash clothes.
Mother seems unmotivated and overwhelmed.
There is a fathe r, but he is mostly away from the home. The utilities are about to be shut off. What increases the level of risk for the child victim is whether the alleged perpetrator has ongoing access. The younger the child, the greater the risk. In 1996, Children Services completed 9,015 investigations of alleged abuse and neglect.