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Center safe place for abused children There are over 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States," said Heidi Gaillard, victim advocate with the Regional Child Advocacy Center in Grove Hill. There are over 8,000 in the State of Alabama. There are 41 offenders living in Clarke County listed on the U.S. Department of Justice web site. "These people are all around us." Gaillard mentioned those statistics "not to make everybody paranoid," she said, "but just be aware." Gaillard spoke to the current class of Leadership Clarke County Nov. 15 at Alabama Southern Community College in Thomasville. The new Advocacy Center was opened in April 2006. It is an umbrella organization for two programs, "Almost Home," a temporary foster program for children, and the Advocacy Center, which provides interviewers experienced in questioning children suspected of being abused or molested. The center serves Clarke, Washington and Choctaw Counties. The "Almost Home" facility on Cobb Street can house up to six children and includes tutors to help the children with studies. "They provide a lot of enrichment activities for the kids," she said. It is licensed by the Department of Human Resources. The center is helping establish telemedicine interview rooms so child victims of sexual abuse can be interviewed by medical professionals through video conferencing. The doctors are "experts in sexual abuse exams of children, and they are willing to go to court to testify," Gaillard said. A video interview room is currently available at the Washington County Hospital in Chatom, and another room is being developed for Grove Hill Memorial Hospital, she said. The victim must only talk to one person. A law enforcement officer, a counselor and representatives from DHR and the DA's office are also on hand to view the video session and offer questions to the interviewer. An 11-year-old victim recently came to the Grove Hill center, saying the abuse from her father was her own fault. "One of the first things I tell victims when they come in, of any age, is number one, you are here and it is not your fault," Gaillard said. "What we would like from you today is the truth - whatever it is. Don't make up anything. Don't leave anything out. "This is a safe place to come," Gaillard will tell victims from age three to 17. Without the advocacy center, a victim might have to talk to several people, including a pastor, doctor, school counselor, DHR, law enforcement, lawyer and District Attorney. They had to tell the story over and over and over, she said. "Sometimes children get to the point where they just don't want to keep (talking about the incident), and they just say 'I don't want to do it anymore. It never happened.'" "There's a lot of effort that goes in to making sure all the questions are asked and the child doesn't have to go through that interview ever again and never has to talk about that (incident) again," said Marc Keahey, state representative and member of the current Leadership Clarke County class. The Advocacy Center is very careful in the process to try to detect if the child has been influenced to say things as part of a custody battle. However, "well over 90 percent of the time, the child is telling the truth," Gaillard said.
The center "gives a true benefit to the entire system, all the way from the victim to prosecuting the case," Keahey said. "(Gaillard) should be commended for how she handles those children. Only a special person could do something like that."
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