Allegations of Child or Sexual Abuse

 Child abuse comes in several different forms, and includes physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse. The signs of child abuse include unexplained bruises, overly aggressive behavior, lack of necessities, and drastic changes in behavioral and eating habits. Unfortunately, child abuse remains common throughout the world, including in the United States. In 2020, there were 618,399 reported cases of child abuse and the most common form of maltreatment in the U.S. was neglect. 

One in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime. Nearly a quarter (24.8%) of men in the U.S. experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. One in three female victims of completed or attempted rape experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17. 

About one in four male victims of completed or attempted rape first experienced it between the ages of 11 and 17. It is estimated that 734,630 people were raped (including threatened, attempted, or completed rape) in the U.S. in 2018. Forty percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police in 2017, but only about 25% were reported to police in 2018. The prevalence of false reporting for sexual assault crimes is low — between two percent and 10 percent. 

About half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance. Over half (52.4%) of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger.

• Abuse of a Child
• Sexual Abuse of a Child
• Sexual Abuse of an Adult
• Sexual Activity which includes the Use of Force, Coercion, Threats, etc.

Sexual abuse is one of the few crimes where the victims rarely speak up straight away, especially when the victims are children. In fact in many instances, children do not realize the abuse is wrong, as they are led by their abusers to believe the abuse is normal. Some victims hold this inside for years.

A telltale sign something might be wrong is when the person being abused starts to withdraw from the rest of the world and act slightly different, but in terms of physical evidence there can be little to go on and so it can be difficult to prove guilt.

If you suspect that someone you love is being abused and have a suspicion about who their abuser may be, or if the abused individual does finally name their abuser, you may still struggle to prove it. Contact law enforcement. But also know that a polygraph test, when done under the care of their private attorney, may be an excellent and effective means to find out if a person really has committed the crimes of which they are being accused.

Unless done for the accused's private attorney under attorney client privilege, PPoT will decline conducting abuse-related polygraph examinations of the accused. You may either hire a private attorney or contact law enforcement. Texas is a mandatory reporting state, and PPoT will not take the liability of becoming that mandatory reporter.

PPoT will not typically conduct an examination if you are seeking to prove that you are the abused person. PPoT cannot take the liability of becoming the mandatory first reporter.

Sexual Assault has a statute of limitations of 10 years. It's 20 years from the victim's 18th birthday if the perpetrator had kidnapped the child and had intent to commit sexual assault. Sexual Assault of a Child, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, Sexual Assaults where DNA was collected, and Continuous Sexual Assault have no statute of limitations within Texas.

If you are reading this because you are the victim, please get assistance. And contact law enforcement.