A new way to try domestic violence cases

For many victims of domestic violence, sometimes the only thing worse than letting their abuser get away with it is having that person convicted.

That's why dozens of domestic violence cases are dismissed every year in McHenry County when a victim either recants accusations or simply refuses to show up in court to testify against a perpetrator.

Fortunately, the county, advocacy groups and county authorities are working on a way to make those responsible for violence in the home pay for it whether or not their victims testify.

It's called "evidence-based prosecution," and it's just what it sounds like: collecting enough evidence against a domestic violence suspect that prosecutors can prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt with or without the victim's cooperation.

That means interviewing neighbors and other witnesses to an incident, taking voluminous photographs of the victim and crime scene and collecting other physical evidence to prove a crime took place even if the victim says otherwise.

"Our emphasis is to be able to have police build a case without the victim," McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said.

Since it started using the method in earnest earlier this year, Bianchi's office has succeeded in winning domestic battery convictions despite a victim's refusal to testify against the accused.

And to keep those successes coming, Bianchi's office recently hosted more then 50 county law enforcement officers for a seminar on building domestic battery cases without a cooperating victim.

The seminar, also put on by the 22nd Judicial Circuit's Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Turning Point and the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, focused on evidence collection, techniques, interviewing witnesses and documentation in domestic violence cases.

"Law enforcement here does their job very well, but this gives them a chance to work with the State's Attorney's Office and to make themselves even more effective," said Mary Batson of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

Experts say there are several reasons why an abuse victim wouldn't want to see their abuser punished. It could be to keep a family together. It could be out of fear of repercussions. It could be for finances.

For others, Bianchi said, it's a matter of survival.

"Oftentimes the perpetrator is the primary provider of support for the household," Bianchi said. "He's providing food and shelter."

The recent training is part of an ongoing series of seminars Bianchi said his office is conducting for county law enforcement officers. Others, he said, have or will focus on obtaining warrants and prosecution of drunk driving offenses.