A documentary about child abuse in the Stateline area followed by a panel discussion of community leaders.

This short documentary takes an inside look at the child abuse epidemic in America. Interviews with professionals from the Carrie-Lynn Center Rockford, Illinois address the misconceptions of the system that adds to societies fear and failure to report suspected abuse.

Additional “man on the streets” interviews are conducted to see what the general population knows and doesn’t realize about child abuse in the Stateline area. Insight from community leaders will shed light on how we can be a part of the solution during a panel discussion after the presentation.

 

Panel Discussion Participants:

Chief Judge James P. Daley, Presiding Judge Rock Co. Circuit Courts

James Daley was raised in Elkhorn, Wisconsin where he graduated Elkhorn High School in 1965. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1966, served with distinction in Vietnam with “B” Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade and then the Third Marine Division. He was released from active duty as a Sergeant in 1969. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1977. He graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1981 with a Juris Doctoris degree. Before attending law school Judge Daley held several different jobs including police officer, police investigator, foundry worker, and railroad section hand. Upon graduation from law school Judge Daley practiced as a litigation attorney from 1981 until his election as District Attorney in 1984. He was elected District Attornery three times and served in that capacity until appointed Circuit Court Judge for Rock County in 1989 by Governor Tommy Thompson. He was then elected to that position in 1990, and reelected in 1996, 2002, and 2008. In 1996 he was appointed Presiding Judge for the Rock County Circuit Courts, a position he presently holds.

Judge Daley enlisted in the Wisconsn Army National Guard in 1974 as an infantry sergeant, and received a commission as an infantry officer in 1977. He attended the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses in Fort Benning, GA in 1978 and 1981; the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS in 1991; and the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA in 1998. He retired from active reserves as a Brigadier General. He held various infantry commands including two infantry company commands, an infantry battalion command, and command of the 32nd Infantry Brigade, the largest unit in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

Judge Daley and his wife Shirley married in 1969. They reside in Janesville, WI where they raised four daughters.

Detective Sargent Curt Wilson, Loves Park Police Department

Sergeant Curt Wilson has served in law enforcement for the past twenty one years. Currently Sgt. Wilson is assigned with the Investigations & Tactical Command of the Loves Park Police Department, Loves Park, IL. Sgt. Wilson was born in the garden state of New Jersey, however at an early age moved to Illinois. He has BA in Law Enforcement Administration from Western Illinois University. Sgt. Wilson is a seasoned investigator responsible for numerous investigations of alleged child abuse and neglect and homicide in Winnebago and Boone County. For the last 8 years Sgt. Wilson has been assigned to investigations as a detective. Promoted 2005 to sergeant and worked the road for 4 years and reassigned as Detective Sergeant in March 2009. Oversee 4 detectives, 1 Crime Scene Investigator.

As a detective, Sgt. Wilson was among the first police officers in the area to successfully investigate, prosecute and convict an online predator from California who used a Christian website to prey on a child over the course of 13 months. The suspect traveled to Loves Park from Las Angeles on at least two occasions.

Kathy Pomahac, Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, Rockford, Il.

Kathy Pomahac (pronounced tomahawk with a “p”) began her tenure in the social service field in the late 80’s working at Family Advocate, Inc. Family Advocate was a treatment agency working specifically with sexually abused children and their family members; including the offenders.

She remained there until 1999 when she was hired by the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, a children’s advocacy center, as a Victim Advocate and Forensic Interviewer. In 2001, Kathy was hired as the Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois; a statewide association for all of the children’s advocacy centers in Illinois. In 2007, she assumed the Executive Director position at the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center.

Dr. Ray Davis

Dr. Ray Davis attended medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria where he also completed his residency. He is Board certified in Pediatrics and Board Eligible in Child Abuse and Neglect.

Dr. Davis has been a practicing pediatrician at Rockford Health Systems for 23 years; developing an expertise in cases of child abuse and neglect for 21 of those years. In addition, as the Medical Director of the MERIT Program, he has a 50% faculty appointment with the University of Illinois.

Dr. Davis was on the original design and development committee for the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center in the early 1990’s; then referred to as the Children’s Justice Center or the Children’s Advocacy Project. As the Center developed, he stepped into the role of Co-medical Director eventually taking on the title of Medical Director. He conducted specialized medical exams on a volunteer basis from 1992 until the MERIT Program was developed in 2008.

Dr. Davis has given many presentations on child abuse and neglect to various professionals in the field. In addition, he has given CME lectures to Physicians throughout the region (i.e. Milwaukee Children’s Hospital, CGH, Dixon, Rockford, and suburbs, etc.) since 1998.

Marisol Tishman, Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, Rockford, Il

Marisol Tischman began her work in social services in 1996 as a Juvenile Probation Officer for Winnebago County. This involved her monitoring delinquent minors placed on probation and addressing their various social needs.

Working with delinquent minors and their families prepared her well for her next job as a Child Protection Investigator with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services which she started in the fall of 1999. As an investigator, which she did for four years, she was responsible for responding to allegations of child abuse and neglect in Winnebago and Boone County that were made through the statewide hotline.

In 2003 she started her current position as a Forensic Interviewer with the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center.

Pastor Kurt Handrich, Spirit of Hope, Beloit, WI

Married 21 years to wife Kristy with two boys, Joshua and Jacob. He pastors Spirit of Hope in Beloit. Kurt delivers a unique message utilizing movie clips and pop culture video in Spirit of Hope’s message that “faith is a journey not a guilt trip.” (http://www.youtube.com/user/SpiritofHopeBeloit) Kurt attended Carthage College, graduating in 1991 with a Major in Religion and a Minor in History. He received his Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1995. Kurt was ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in August of that same year.

Kurt has had training in dealing with domestic violence and pastoral care and counseling through Seminary classes in pastoral care, a summer unit of CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) and continuing education events dealing with the issue of domestic violence. He has also had experience in counseling adults who were child victims, though he notes that, as pastors, “we are counseled to ‘refer’ those in difficult places on to those whose primary training is in dealing with domestic abuse. Our role is pastors is to support them in their journey.”

Kurt has served on an array of boards including: Hands of Faith (first vice president) and J.O.B. Justice Overcoming Boarders (first president), where he was deeply involved in the creation of both organizations. He also served as president for: Caritas, Stateline Literacy Council, and the Beloit School board. Other boards, committees and positions include; State Leadership Board of Wisdom, Den leader & Cub master for Pack #625 Boy Scouts of America, Chaplain for Camp Indian Trails (2009-present), Latino Coalition of Rock County, Latino Service Providers Coalition, Received NAACP community service award 2005, and served at Wright School as Paraeducator of Technology.

Judge Janet R. Holmgren, Judge Winnebago & Boone Co.

Judge Janet Holmgren currently serves as the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile and Specialty Courts Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois which includes Boone and Winnebago Counties. Her responsibilities include presiding over all of the defendants participating in Adult Drug Court, the Therapeutic Intervention Program (T.I.P.) Adult Mental Health Court as well as the court proceedings in the Family Drug Court in the Winnebago County Abuse and Neglect Court and all juvenile proceedings in Boone County. In April, 2012, Judge Holmgren will add the Youth Recovery Court to her responsibilities, which is a new problem-solving court that targets youths with serious emotional disturbances who are adjudicated delinquents and provides them with intensive wraparound case management and therapeutic services coupled with court oversight with the concurrent goals of helping them achieve and maintain recovery and reducing recidivism.

Judge Holmgren has been on the bench since 1995 when she was appointed as an Associate Judge. In 1998, she was elected Circuit Judge and has been retained as a Circuit Judge in 2004 and 2010. Judge Holmgren served as Chief Judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit from 2007 to 2012, overseeing the administration of all court operations, personnel and offices in Winnebago and Boone Counties. During her tenure as Chief Judge, Judge Holmgren spearheaded initiatives that expanded the scope of therapeutic justice in the 17th Circuit Court by providing two dedicated Guardian ad Litems to represent children in abuse and neglect court and court programs that include intensive wraparound services and supervision to eligible children and families involved in juvenile court which has resulted in better outcomes. From 1997 through 2001, Judge Holmgren presided over all juvenile abuse and neglect cases in Winnebago County, and she has remained engaged in community initiatives addressing issues of truancy and families in the courts on a local and statewide basis. Most recently, she has joined Alignment Rockford, an organization of multi-disciplinary professionals and community activists who are committed to improving educational outcomes for the 28,000 students in Rockford Public School District #205,and serves as co-chair of the Behavioral Health Committee. Judge Holmgren also is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning, the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Conference, and has previously served as a member of the Illinois Children’s Justice Task Force, a principal supporter of Child Advocacy Projects in Illinois and as a member of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.

Kate Zucchi, Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, Rockford, Il.

Kate Zucchi received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Norbert College in DePere, WI. From there she went on to receive her master’s degree in social work at the University of WI, Madison in 1993. During that time, Kate interned at Oasis, a group treatment center for sexual abuse victims servicing both adults and children. Then she became a therapist for the Youth Service Bureau in Ottawa, IL after receiving her graduate degree in 1993.

In 1995, Kate was hired by Family Advocate in Rockford, IL as the Rehabilitation Program Supervisor. The Rehabilitation Program serviced the entire family who had experienced sexual abuse within their family. She eventually became the CSVCSAVES treatment supervisor which was a treatment program for victims of sexual abuse.

In 1997, Kate was hired by the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, which is a child advocacy center, as the Consultation Team Coordinator. In this role Kate created and facilitated a multidisciplinary group of professionals in the community to provide consultation on some of the most difficult child abuse cases being serviced by DCFS. In 1999, Kate was promoted to Clinical Director, supervising the clinical programs at the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center. Kate is now a part- time employee at the Carrie Lynn Children’s Center, serving as the Co-clinical Director and the Crisis Counseling Therapist. The Crisis Counseling program provides assessment and counseling services for the children who have had a forensic interview for child sexual abuse or severe physical abuse at the Carrie Lynn Center, as well as for their parentscaretakers and siblings. Kate has been privileged to attend numerous trainings on child abuse over the last 20 years, including attending the Midwest Conference on Child Sexual abuse each year, since 1992. Kate received her license in clinical social work in 1997, and continues to provided private practice therapy for children, as well.[/toggle]20 years of law enforcement experience. Detective LeCaptain’s current and primary assignment since 2003 is the investigation of crimes against children of which include the following crimes: Sexual assault of children, child abuse, child neglect causing death, the production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and child enticement.

Detective LeCaptain maintains extensive training and experience in the interviewing of child victims, and the Interviewing/interrogation of alleged offenders. As a result of these investigations, Detective LeCaptain has been involved in the prosecution of offenders in both the state and federal courts.