Child abuse reports are up in Utah
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The most commonly charged form of abuse against Salt Lake County kids is violence against other family members while the children are watching.
Driving the news: Nearly 1,900 people were charged with domestic violence in front of a child last year in Salt Lake County, according to statistics released Monday by District Attorney Sim Gill.
- More than 500 people have been charged with the same crime so far in 2023.
By the numbers: To compare, there were about 300 people charged last year with sexually abusing children and 179 charged with other types of physical child abuse.
- So far this year, the DA's office has charged 92 people with child sex abuse — from lewdness to rape — and 21 with other physical child abuse, such as assault, abandonment and reckless endangerment.
What we're watching: The number of child abuse victims jumped in 2020, from 2,450 to 2,857, according to state child protection reports — and the numbers aren't going down as fast as they rose.
- Meanwhile, there were 1,595 new investigations launched during the first quarter of this year — up from the 1,460 new investigations launched as of April 1 last year.