SAN ANTONIO – Detective Sylvia Perez will tell you there's nothing routine about her job with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office specializing in crimes against children.
"It's more than a job. You have to be a strong person," Perez said.
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Perez is among the law enforcement officers assigned to ChildSafe, a child advocacy center where young victims of abuse are first interviewed.
The agency also offers counseling and treatment.
"I'm a fact finder and so my job is to sit, and listen and gather as much facts as I can regarding the case," Perez said.
Given the victim often is traumatized, Perez said a forensic interviewer and the child are in a room with a camera discreetly watching overhead.
Perez said by not being law enforcement, a forensic interviewer tries to help the victim feel more comfortable.
Law enforcement and Child Protective Services have a monitor in the next room where they watch and listen intently.
Perez said at times, "I feel like I just want to get up and I can't take it. I can't hear it."
She said, "(I) see their demeanor, see their faces, see the tears coming down their eyes, hear the pain in their voice describing the act that was committed on them, be it physical or sexual
abuse."
And yet, Perez said as a professional, she must focus on the case and the victim.
"I'm here to tell their story," Perez said.
Perez said she also must keep an open mind, "making sure that I'm fair with representing the facts and that I represent all the facts."
To help get a conviction, "the burden of proof on those detectives is 99 percent," said Kim Abernathy, ChildSafe president and CEO.
After a perpetrator is convicted, Perez said she knows, "I helped this child close that chapter in their life."
While their recovery may be long and difficult, Perez said, "I go home and regroup, and come back the following day and be ready to go all over again."