A child psychologist expert testified this morning that he saw several factors that could have influenced the children’s answers in the molestation case against Tonya Craft.
“You can’t just rely on what the child said in a 30 or 40 minute interview,” Dr. William Bernet said. “You have to find out what happened before.”
Dr. Bernet, professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, testified after reviewing the interviews of children who alleged that Ms. Craft molested them. He said outside factors including “parental influence,” “rumors” and “children blaming” can result in normal behavior turning into “serious allegations.”
Dr. Bernet was called to the stand as an expert witness for the defense in Ms. Craft’s trial.
Ms. Craft, a former Chickamauga Elementary School teacher, is charged with 22 counts of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation. The charges involve three girls.
When Dr. Bernet reviewed the girls’ previous interviews with local social workers, he said it was apparent the girls had been touching one another. He testified this was “normal behavior” for young children to engage in.
But it appeared that the children’s parents grilled the children about the incidents based on the girl’s testimonies in their taped interviews, Dr. Bernet said.
Dr. Bernet then went through each interview with defense attorney Dr. Demosthenes Lorandos pointing out the problems he saw in the children’s interviews.
Court will resume at 1:15 with Dr. Bernet continuing his testimony.