The DeKalb area records one of the largest rates of reported child battery cases in Illinois, according to the Department of Children Family Resources in Springfield.

In DeKalb County, an average of 39.7 cases of child abuse were reported per 1,000 children in the past year, said Tom Teague, the department’s administrator of community relations. Two years ago the rate of reported child abuse cases was 23.5.

Although the average number of reported cases statewide is 29 reports per 1,000 children, “I don’t think incidents (of child abuse) in the rural areas are any greater than anywhere else,” Teague said.

Nationally, at least 20 percent of the 469 children of the battered women who went to shelters last year were battered as well, said Pam Wiseman, executive director of Safe Passage, Inc. for Battered Women in DeKalb.

In another 25 percent of the cases whether or not the child was battered was uncertain, Wiseman said.

The shelter has seen an increasing number of battered women this year, which leads to a larger number of battered children, she said.

DeKalb County States Attorney Mike Coghlan said his office “in the last four years has investigated and prosecuted four times as many child sexual assault cases than in the past 13 years.”

The key to this increase is a more effective prosecution that has led abuse victims to feel they will be helped, prompting more reported incidents, Coghlan said.

In fiscal year 1987, about 91,000 cases of battered or neglected children were reported throughout Illinois. In FY88, 94,000 cases were logged, and 104,000 cases were reported in FY89, Teague said.

Of the reported cases, 42 percent were proven child abuse cases and “a lot more” cases could not be fully investigated because the children were too young to testify in court, he said.

Nearly half of the nation’s abused children had an abused mother, and the rate of child abuse increases from between six and 15 times when the mother is abused, Wiseman said.

The abuse of a child’s mother is likely to have long lasting effects. The male child of an abused mother is six times more likely to abuse his own children, she said.

Even if a child does not witness abuse firsthand, he or she will still be affected, she said.

Male abusers often threaten or attack the children of battered women to enforce their authority over the women, she said.

Most children feel responsible for their mother’s battery, reasoning that if they had been a “good boy or girl” then their mother would not have been beaten, Wiseman said. “(The children) always feel guilty.”

One root of child abuse is unwed teenagers who do not know how to take care of their babies, Teague said. “It’s time unwed teenage mothers gave up their children for adoption.”

Giving the child to an adoption agency allows the child a better home and often is so traumatic for the mother that she will not have another child before she marries, Teague said.

Some teenage mothers come to parenting classes with coffee in their baby’s bottle, Teague said. “The amount of ignorance in young parents is appalling.”

Eighty-two percent of the time, the child’s mother is most likely to abuse or neglect the child, Teague said.

Most abusers’ motives lie in their own ignorance or inability to cope with their children. Some children just repeat their parents’ abuse, Teague said.

There are three different forms of battery: physical, sexual and psychological, Wiseman said. All three can include a “variety of abuses.”

Physical abuse can include anything from beating to burning, and emotional or psychological abuse can range from name-calling to tying a child up or keeping a child in closed confinement, Teague said.

Child neglect consists of abandonment, inadequate shelter or food or what Teague called the “most serious form of neglect”—death.

Behavior problems of abused children might include the child’s refusal to obey rules, continuing sickness, bedwetting and eating disorders, Wiseman said. Mistreated children also might be withdrawn, isolated and suffer unexplained injuries, Teague said.

Many abused children fear abandonment, refuse to leave their mother’s side, express worry about their future and try to gain attention, Wiseman said.

The shelter tries to help battered children express their feelings and build self-esteem. “We tell them it’s not their fault,” she said.

“I think the real answer to child abuse problems is to emphasize family values,” Teague said.

Even if child abuse by the parents is proven, the parents may not lose their parental rights, Teague said. “We have to look in general how to repair the family.”

If an abuse case goes to court—usually only five to 10 percent do—the child is issued an attorney acting as a “guardian ad litem,” representing the child’s interests independent of the parents, Teague said.

In most cases, there are only two witnesses, the child and the parent or guardian who abused the child, which causes complications in cases, Teague said.

The child’s and adult’s testimony is considered differently case by case, Coghlan said. The judge or jury set no testimony standard for adults or children.

“I don’t find that judge or jury side with the adult or the child,” he said. The determination of whether the adult or child is telling the truth depends on each case.