Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28Washington County Attorney’s Office—2016 Annual Report 14 Juvenile Division “Protecting kids is our top priority. ” The Juvenile Division is the legal advisor on child protection cases for Washington County Community Services. In that role, assistant county attorneys from the Juvenile Division provide legal advice, draft legal documents, and appear in court on behalf of social workers from Washington County Community Services. Those cases involve children in Washington County who have been either neglected or abused by their parent or legal guardian. In 2016, those cases included children who were just a few days old as well as children who were in their high school years. Protecting the safety and welfare of children has always been a priority for the Washington County Attorney’s Office. That purpose was illustrated through the following cases in 2016: Examples of an office-wide effort 1. Community Services contacted our office regarding the physical abuse of an elementary school aged child. Community Services investigated the case concurrently with a law enforcement agency. A child protection petition was filed in juvenile court and a court order was obtained which placed the children in the custody of Community Services. As part of that same case, the Criminal Division consulted with law enforcement and charged the parent with three felony assault charges and a malicious punishment of a child offense. In addition, it was learned that the parent held a license to provide child care. The Civil Division immediately began the process to revoke that child care license. 2. In another case, the Criminal Division of the County Attorney’s office convicted an adult male of a criminal sexual conduct offense against a child. The adult male was sentenced to over 14 years in prison. Based on that conviction, the Juvenile Division filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of that adult male to two of his own children. That case went to trial in May of 2016 and an order was obtained terminating parental rights. The Juvenile Division also handled the appeal of that order which was upheld by the appellate court. 3. The Juvenile Division also works with the Major Crimes Unit of the County Attorney’s office regarding juvenile runaways. In 2016, a database was created to monitor all cases where a juvenile warrant was issued. Past experience has shown that in too many cases, juveniles absent from their home become victims of sexually exploitation. Juvenile Division staff regularly communicates with the Major Crimes Unit on at risk juveniles and updates the Major Crimes Unit on children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Juvenile Division Chief Tony Zdroik