Developmental Challenges Underlying the Impeachment of Child Witnesses With Prior Inconsistent Statements

Colleen E. Sullivan, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Shanna Dewit-Williams, Thomas D. Lyon, University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, Los Angeles, Arizona State University, Criminology and Criminal Justice, McGill University, Educational and Counselling Psychology

Child Maltreatment

Published online on June 24, 2026

Abstract

Child Maltreatment, Ahead of Print.
One way attorneys challenge witnesses’ credibility is through impeachment by prior inconsistent statements. We examined the testimony of 6- to 12-year-old child witnesses in 120 sexual abuse prosecutions and identified 96 cases in which attorneys ...