A question of procedure - for a minor incident in a novel...
A question of procedure - for a minor incident in a novella I'm working on (this has NOTHING to do with anything in my Real Life).
Is there anyone out there who knows what would be the proper legal procedure in this situation?
Our heroine has reason to believe that, in a family she has met once, the step-father is molesting the daughter. She deduces this from seeing them together - body-language, subtle cues - and from events that she knows have taken place in the family at large that don't seem to have anything to do with the step-father/daughter relationship. She later hacks into his computer and notes that he visits a LOT of porn sites, but knows this isn't evidence. (The daughter is fifteen). She's pretty certain the mother isn't going to back her up.
IS there anything she can or should do?
It's a small incident in the story, but I need to get it right.
Thanks in advance...
Is there anyone out there who knows what would be the proper legal procedure in this situation?
Our heroine has reason to believe that, in a family she has met once, the step-father is molesting the daughter. She deduces this from seeing them together - body-language, subtle cues - and from events that she knows have taken place in the family at large that don't seem to have anything to do with the step-father/daughter relationship. She later hacks into his computer and notes that he visits a LOT of porn sites, but knows this isn't evidence. (The daughter is fifteen). She's pretty certain the mother isn't going to back her up.
IS there anything she can or should do?
It's a small incident in the story, but I need to get it right.
Thanks in advance...
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First of all, does the 15 year old really want it to stop. I can see, although I don't agree with, the mother's point. If things are done, it's going to make a big change in her life and life style that she doesn't want. I would talk to authorities, CPS, maybe, but haven't necessarily found them effective. Other than that, what can you really do that is effective. no one has found a good general system yet.
PS I'm not a lawyer or social worker, so I don't know all the related laws. I'm just a teacher.