Investigators should have a working knowledge
of battered child syndrome and what it means
to an investigation. Battered child syndrome
is defined as the collection of injuries sustained
by a child as a result of repeated mistreatment or beating. If a child’s injuries indicate intentional trauma or appear to be more severe than could reasonably be expected to result from an accident, battered child syndrome should be suspected. In such cases, an investigator must do more than collect information about the currently reported
injury. A full investigation requires interviewing
possible witnesses about other injuries that the child
may have suffered, obtaining the caretakers’ explanation
for those injuries, and assessing the conclusions of
medical personnel who may have seen the victim before. The issue of whether information on the victim’s prior
injuries or medical conditions will be admissible at
a trial should be left to the prosecutor. However, an
investigator’s failure to collect such information leaves
the prosecutor without one of the most important pieces
of corroborative evidence for proving an intentional
act of child abuse. Evidence of past inflicted injuries
also may be the only information available to help the
prosecutor distinguish between two or more possible
perpetrators in the current case, and may help refute
claims by the child’s parents or caretakers that injuries
suggestive of physical abuse were caused by an accident. 