Investigator Jeff Brown 

One of the many things I do in my job is respond to parents or a mandated reporter after they have discovered an inappropriate relationship or inappropriate communication between an adult and a minor. Many times how the situation is handled from the beginning dictates the success rate of my investigation and whether or not the case gets prosecuted.

It is not uncommon to have someone tell a fellow church member or school employee of some inappropriate acts they are doing or acts they discovered someone else doing. Many times the church or school will try to address the issue without or before notifying law enforcement. I understand this, as many churches have specific programs to address certain behaviors. However, my suggestion is to notify the local law enforcement agency, having jurisdiction, prior to doing anything. Often times we can offer valuable input on how to proceed without risking or jeopardizing the investigation.

The uniqueness of my job in sex crimes is often times there are no witnesses to the crime. These types of sexual crimes are referred to as "one on one," meaning no one else was present. This is one of the reasons we (law enforcement) need to rely so heavily on the physical evidence of a case. With law enforcement involved early on, we can limit the destruction of evidence and/or request the evidence from Internet Service Providers or phone service companies.