Wamp reflects on Sanders trial and impact on victims of child sex abuse

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)-  On Thursday night, Duane Sanders was convicted of 15 child sex abuse counts including a count of aggravated child rape.

Sanders had been a first grade teacher at Wallace A. Smith Elementary School when multiple children came forward and said they had been abused by him.

Seven of those children and their parents elected to testify against Sanders.

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp is calling those who testified the “Heroic Seven” as she says that their bravery led to his conviction.

General Wamp said, “It was honestly sort of miraculous to watch how each of them would look Duane Sanders right in the face and sit there and tell the jury what he did to them. I can’t imagine being eight years old and being able to do that and their stories were consistent.”

The parents involved had to consent to testify once it was clear this case was going to trial.

General Wamp said, “Once it became clear that this case was going to trial after Sanders refused to plead guilty and accept any of our deals, we had to make it clear to the families that they may need to testify… It’s a very risky thing to do because if you lose that trial, you risk retraumatizing those children and making them believe that no one will listen to them.”

She says that preparing young children for court is a process that requires patience.

General Wamp said, “Unlike other cases you have to spend time getting to know the children and the children and have to get to know the children and in this case it wasn’t just one or just two, it was seven in this case so it was a labor of love from my office.”

She also shouted out the Children’s Advocacy Center who conducted the forensic interviews in this case.

General Wamp said, “I hope that the county is paying attention to this for the CAC and the work that they do not just on this case but on every case… It’s not just important, it’s invaluable.”

She, along with RAINN, the nation’s largest anti sexual-violence hotline, hope this case can help educate on the signs of child sex abuse.

Jennifer Simmons Kaleba of RAINN said, “Traumas, genital trauma, or STIs or something like that. Behavioral changes, expressing excessive knowledge about sexual topics or being secretive or withdrawn. Emotional signs like dips in self esteem.”

She says that if someone, especially a child but any abuse victim comes to you saying they’ve abused, “The best thing you can is to support and believe them. If you don’t do that, you risk them not trusting anyone to open up to with that kind of abuse.”

General Wamp also says this should be a wakeup call for parents on who is watching their children.

She said, “A large majority of child sex offenders are males, that’s just a statistic…Be aware. You need to overly explain to your kids what is proper touching and what is improper touching and there is not an age that is young enough, and go ahead and talk to them about that.”

Despite the defense’s attempt to paint Sanders in a positive light, she says that the children were ultimately the stronger witnesses.

General Wamp said, “There is no stronger character witness than a child who says their teacher molested them.”

She says that Sanders will receive life without parole in prison due to his aggravated child rape conviction, and added death was not an option for the state in this case due to timing.

The sentencing hearing for Duane Sanders will be in August.

If you or someone else you know is a victim of sexual violence, RAINN has a 24/7 hotline you can access here.