Family Crimes And Sexual Assault Unit
The Family Crimes and Sexual Assault Unit is made up of Assistant District Attorneys, Victim-Witness Advocates, Forensic Interviewers and Police Investigators. The Unit is dedicated to providing specialized investigative approaches, assessment tools, prosecution strategies, and victim-witness services for crimes involving sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse and disabled persons abuse. The Unit works closely with the Department of Social Services, Elder Services Agencies and the Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
The Essex County Child Abuse Project or ECCAP is a collaborative effort between the District Attorney’s Office, Department of Social Services, and local and state law enforcement agencies. ECCAP, established in 1986 to ensure a sensitive, multidisciplinary response to child abuse, coordinates team investigations of children who allege sexual assault or serious physical abuse. Teams consist of an assistant district attorney, a victim witness advocate, a police officer, a forensic interview specialist and social worker(s) from the Department of Social Services. The investigations are child-sensitive and conducted by professionals who have experience in the assessment and management of cases involving children. The Project was designed to help families during a very difficult time to understand what will happen, to coordinate the efforts of all agencies who must be involved by state mandate to investigate allegations of abuse, and to assist children and families with navigating the criminal justice system and finding appropriate services for evaluation and treatment when necessary.