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Protecting The Most Vulnerable Victims: Prosecution Of Child Sex Offenses In Illinois Post Crawford V. Washington, Jennifer A. Lindt

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment examines the prosecution of pedophiles in Illinois after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Crawford v. Washington. The prosecution of pedophiles had frequently involved the use of extra judicial statements by victims to protect them from re-victimization after testifying at trial. The ability to use a statutorily mandated hearsay exception has been in question and is directly linked to the definition of the term "testimonial. " The author provides a test to determine whether the out of court statements by pedophilia victims are "testimonial" to make this tool for protecting the victims still viable.