VERTICAL PROSECUTION SEXUAL ASSAULT UNIT
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has a specialized Sexual Assault Unit. All cases taken by the Sexual Assault Unit are prosecuted vertically, that is, the same Team handles the case from beginning to end. The surviving victim will see the same Deputy District Attorney, the same Inspector and the same Victim Witness Advocate throughout the entire process. The Team members are the some of the most experienced and exceptional available within the office.
The most serious and sensitive cases are assigned to this unit. The priority for the unit is child sexual assault cases. When a child is sexually assaulted, the child, as well as the family of that child needs special care and attention. Within the Sexual Assault Unit, the Team members have received special training to address the complicated and serious issues attendant to these types of cases. The Team also endeavors to handle any sexual assault case in which the survivor-victim is differently-abled by either physical or cognitive special needs.
The Team is very familiar with the community and professional resources that can assist a survivor-victim in coping with these most difficult of cases. Not only is the Alameda County Child Interview Center, CALICO, hopefully always used, but the Alameda County Protocol for Intervention into Child Abuse is followed.