Legal questioning of adolescent victims of minor sex trafficking versus sexual abuse.

Authors

Sarah C Kim, Emma Simpson, Rachel E Dianiska, Jodi A Quas

Published in

Law and human behavior. Oct 05, 2026. Epub Oct 05, 2026.

Abstract

We compared court transcripts of adolescent victims' testimonies in minor sex trafficking and child sexual abuse criminal cases to understand how attorney questioning behavior may vary as a function of attorney type, case type, and victim age at trial.
We predicted (1) prosecutors would use strategies (instructions, rapport building, and support) that promote a positive relational context more than defense attorneys, (2) effects of attorney type would be more robust in sexual abuse than trafficking cases, (3) attorneys would use more relational context strategies with younger than older victims, (4) attorneys would ask more option-posing than open-ended prompts, (5) defense attorneys would ask more leading questions than prosecutors, and (6) victim productivity would be higher when asked open-ended questions and when asked questions by prosecutors.
Criminal trial transcripts of testimony from victims in cases involving charges of minor sex trafficking (n = 20) or child sexual abuse (n = 20) in California between 2012 and 2018 were coded for relational context strategies and question format. Cases were matched on victim age at trial.
(a) Relational context strategies were used minimally overall but more so by prosecutors than defense attorneys; (b) attorneys were more supportive when questioning sex abuse than trafficking victims, and prosecutors used more rapport building in general; (c) prosecutors gave instructions more than defense attorneys with younger trafficking victims, and this pattern was reversed with sexual abuse victims; (d) with increasing victim age at trial, attorneys provided less support to trafficking victims; and (e) defense attorneys asked more option-posing and leading questions than prosecutors.
Attorney behavior varies depending on attorney type, case type, and victim age at trial in ways that likely shape attorney-child interactions in court and potentially victim productivity and reluctance. Ongoing research is needed to fully understand courtroom behaviors on the parts of both attorneys and victims. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:
42831827
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Oct 2026.

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