An expert witness at the trial of a former teacher charged with child molestation told the jury this morning that questions asked the wrong way in an interview can contaminate a child’s answer.
Dr. Ann Hazzard, an associate professor in the department of pediatrics and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University, testified that in her 33 years of experience that 20 to 25 percent of the children she has interviewed who claim sexual abuse had questionable stories.
Dr. Hazzard took the witness stand this morning in Tonya 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 defense attorney Demosthenes Lorandos asked Dr. Hazzard about how important it was not to lead or suggest questions to a child during an interview, she agreed it was crucial.
“It’s hard for children to distinguish between what actually happened and what they heard and, in some cases, what they added out of their own imagination,” Dr. Hazzard said, explaining that can happen when a child’s interview is contaminated.