Will County forensic interviewers work with police to fight child abuse

Jaclyn Lundquist and Cruz Arzuaga consider themselves first responders who are on the front lines of investigating child abuse and helping victims heal.

Both work as forensic interviewers for the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, an agency dedicated to helping hundreds of children each year who are victims of sexual and physical abuse and other crimes.

Much of their work comes down to simply listening to children share their stories of abuse.

“It gives the opportunity to give a child the chance to finally have a voice, and to finally have somebody who’s completely unbiased [and] listen without any extreme emotion,” said Lundquist, who’s also the center’s assistant director.

Lundquist estimates that she and Arzuaga have dealt with more than 5,000 children in their career thus far. The work is tough as they try to connect with victims of horrible crimes or witnesses to those crimes. But they both love the work because it can hopefully help those children begin to heal.

Arzuaga said forensic interviewers speak with children in designated rooms at the center, and they are completely open with them. They will, for instance, let children know they can correct them if they make a mistake, something that surprises many of them.

“In that room, I love it, because they feel empowered,” Arzuaga said.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, chairman of the agency, said their forensic interviews are critical for the prosecution of offenders who’ve victimized those children. A multidisciplinary team takes great care in conducting those interviews.

“If you ask any leading questions during the interview, it’s ruined. It won’t be admissible [in court],” Glasgow said.

Glasgow and Jeff Brown, chief of Glasgow’s sex crimes unit, praised the work of the forensic interviewers.

“We have a crew of incredibly decorated people that have dedicated their lives to helping children get through traumatic events,” said Brown, who touted the forensic interviewers in Will County as “some of the best” in Illinois.

Brown said a case will typically start with an outcry from a child who reports they’ve been a victim of a crime. A teacher, a doctor, a counselor or other professionals – otherwise known as mandated reporters – will then notify the police.

The police are responsible for bringing the child to the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, where the child gives what is considered their first statement about the crime.

“The whole point of it is we don’t want the kid repeating it over and over and over. It retraumatizes them. Also, at some point, when they have to tell the story over and over, they don’t want to keep saying it and they may not talk,” Brown said.

“We have a crew of incredibly decorated people that have dedicated their lives to helping children get through traumatic events.”

—  Jeff Brown, chief of Will County State's Attorney's Office sex crimes unit,

Lundquist said sex abuse in particular is a “very secretive type of abuse” because the perpetrator limits witnesses to their crimes. That is what makes those cases difficult and sometimes impossible to prosecute.

“They take a lot of precaution, so they don’t leave any evidence behind,” Lundquist said.

Lundquist has been with the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center since 2002. Glasgow said he always asks how she is able to compartmentalize the horrible, tragic stories she hears.

“It would drive me crazy, personally. I couldn’t do it,” Glasgow said.

Lundquist and Arzuaga not only count on their support system at work to help them cope, but their own families as well. Lundquist said it’s hard having a normal life, but forensic interviewers do their best and the “fun chaos” of her family serves as a “really good distraction.”

“I keep busy being a parent, doing a lot of activities with [my children]. I think that’s where my self-care goes,” Arzuaga said.

Brown said Arzuaga is “phenomenal” and is one of several bilingual staff members at the center. There is a great need for bilingual forensic interviewers, according to Cruz.

“For a long time, I was traveling all the way to McHenry County and I was helping out that [Children Advocacy Center] so I could cover some of their interviews because they didn’t have a Spanish-speaking interviewer over there,” Arzuaga said.

One of many successful prosecutions that began with the work of forensic interviewers at the Will County Children Advocacy Center includes the case against Jose Vilchis, 73, who’s serving 96 years in prison.

Vilchis is a former gymnastics coach from Mexico who was convicted in 2022 of sexually assaulting a teen gymnast in Channahon. The jury also heard evidence of his crimes against three other teens going back as far as 1997.

“That guy was essentially Larry Nassar,” Brown said, referring to the former Olympic gymnastics sports doctor who’s serving life in prison for numerous sex crimes.

Lundquist said forensic interviewers are not trying to “prove sex abuse,” but to “find the truth.” But while their work is key for the prosecution of sex crimes cases, their work can also help child victims begin the recovery process.

“You can see their wall go down a little bit as you talk to them. … In that hour to two hours, it just helps the first beginning part of that healing process that they need,” Lundquist said.