Child Abuse/Sexual Assault Section

Detectives assigned to the section conduct joint investigations at the Howard County Child Advocacy Center. Cases involving sexual and serious physical child abuse are investigated through a multi-disciplinary framework, including Child Protective Services, the Howard County States Attorney’s Office, the Howard County Health Department, the STTAR Center and the Domestic Violence Center. Select child pornography cases, as well as sex offender registrations and investigations are also conducted by child abuse detectives.

The sections’ detectives conduct all adult rape and sexual assault investigations, through an emerging Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). SART is a victim-centered response to sex offense investigations, coordinating joint response and case follow-up from allied agencies such as the Howard County Police Department, the States Attorney’s Office, Howard County General Hospital, the Department of Social Services and the STTAR Center.