Foreword by Noted Los Angeles Defense Attorney Mark Geragos
“Robin Sax continues to impress with her in depth knowledge of crimes against children. As a long time child safety advocate I find Robin’s insider perspective of the criminal justice system educational and illustrative. She provides clarity where there was previously ambiguity.
It Happens Every Day is a must read for anyone wishing to understand the inner workings of the criminal justice system.”
—Marc Klaas, President KlaasKids Foundation
"Robin Sax is a seasoned DA with a wealth of real life stories to draw from as she walks you through the nuts and bolts behind-the-scenes of sex crimes prosecution. She's both frank and fascinating, debunking myths and painting a realistic, unflinching portrait of this important topic."
—Lisa R. Cohen, author of After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive
“Robin Sax is at the top of her game. A strikingly upfront view into the world of one the most high-profiled District Attorney’s office in the country, Sax in It Happens Everyday gives a disturbing account of the sexual predator, and the means used to stop him. It’s what the public doesn’t see behind closed doors—very compelling.”
—Stacey Dittrich, former sex crime detective, and author of The Devil’s Closet
"Our children are being sexually assaulted at an astounding rate in this country and no one knows that better than prosecutor Robin Sax. Her years of front line dedication to sex crimes cases has helped improve the way law enforcement relates to these young victims as they pursue their cases. It Happens Every Day is a must have guidebook toward keeping our kids safe and, in the event that something horrible happens, it's an empowering map to understanding how the criminal justice system works—and doesn't work."
—Diane Dimond, crime and justice journalist and columnist
According to crime statistics from the Department of Justice, 67 percent of sexual assault victims in 2008 were juveniles and an astonishing 93 percent of these victims knew their attackers. This is not news to veteran prosecutor Robin Sax. When she worked as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County specializing in sex crimes against children, she personally reviewed at least five new cases every day. In this county alone, there are some sixty prosecutors, all of whom deal with a similar caseload.
What really happens when law enforcement decides to prosecute a child sexual assault case? In this revealing, informative, and disturbing book, Sax shows readers how the real criminal justice system works, in terms you rarely hear about on the news. She candidly assesses what’s right about the system and what needs to be changed. Her hope is that, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of our current judicial system, we’ll all be in a better position to protect our children.
Dividing the work into two parts, she begins with “Behind the One-Way Mirror,” which deals with the investigation portion of child sexual assault. She defines exactly what constitutes sexual assault and then presents the ingredients of what makes a case “fileable.” She also explains why some cases never get filed.
In the second part, “Behind the Counsel Table,” Sax sheds light on the whole court process. She discusses a range of issues, including mandatory sentencing, plea bargains, unsupportive parents, using children’s testimony to prosecute the perpetrator, DNA evidence, the importance of corroboration, and the weaknesses of the jury system.
This gritty, in-depth discussion from an insider on the front lines of law enforcement’s campaign against child sexual assault makes an important contribution toward protecting society’s most vulnerable citizens from a crime that is reaching near-epidemic proportions.
279 pages
Binding:
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59102-758-4
Shipping Weight: 2lbs
Author Bio:
Robin Sax (Los Angeles, CA) is a former deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County who specialized in child sexual assault cases. She is the author of Predators and Child Molesters: What Every Parent Needs to Know to Keep Kids Safe and the forthcoming It Happens Every Day: Inside the World of a Sex Crimes D.A. She is the Director of Child/Family Protection and Education for the Amber Alert Registry and is a prominent expert on sexual assault, family violence, domestic abuse, stalking, Internet safety, and the criminal justice system. Sax is also an instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department, Sheriff's Department, University of California at Los Angeles, and California State University, Los Angeles. She is a regular legal commentator on Nancy Grace, Larry King Live, Fox News and has a weekly radio show, Justice Interrupted. Sax lives with her husband and three children in Los Angeles, California. For more about Robin Sax, visit www.robinsax.com.
