BLOOMINGTON - A dozen Central Illinois families are preparing their children for an experience that all of them wish they could avoid. The children, ranging in age from about 8 to 14, are being asked to take the stand against their former teacher.

The children are expected to be key witnesses in the trial of Jon White on charges that he molested nine girls at Urbana's Thomas Paine Elementary School and two girls at Unit 5's Colene Hoose Elementary School. The Champaign County case opens Feb. 25 in Decatur, where the trial was moved because of extensive news coverage in the Twin City and Champaign-Urbana areas.

Among those on the state's witness list is a girl who told police White followed her around Colene Hoose, gave her photos of an actress he said she resembled and rubbed her back. The girl's younger brother was a student in White's first-grade class.

After the girl's mother complained to school officials, White resigned in April 2005. The incidents were not reported to police by the school district or the family until White's arrest in Champaign County last year. Prosecutors are expected to use the girl's testimony to show a pattern of inappropriate behavior by White toward students.

A support network that includes parents and child advocates is working with families to help minimize the effects of the unsettling experience that awaits the children. That work began after the alleged victims started talking to their parents, which is where initial disclosure of suspected abuse often begins.

Sometimes, it comes up in casual conversation. In the White case, children at both schools allegedly told their parents about a "taste testing" game that took place in his classroom. One mother recalled at a pre-trial hearing how she tried to maintain her composure on the ride home from school as her daughter innocently told her about the classroom activity. The girl, who is scheduled to testify at White's trial, never returned to Thomas Paine School.

Almost 500 interviews in 2007

When potential abuse is reported to police or the state Department of Children and Family Services in McLean, DeWitt or Livingston counties, the Bloomington-based Children's Advocacy Center is contacted and an interview is set up with the child.

Last year, the CAC conducted 318 interviews in Bloomington, 64 in DeWitt County and 95 in Livingston County. The center's 11-member multi-disciplinary team includes police, prosecutors, DCFS staff, a counselor and family advocates.

"We try to have the interviews done at the CAC, if at all possible. We don't talk to children at the scene," said Bloomington Police Detective Mike Burns. The practice allows a specially trained interviewer to ask the child open-ended questions that provide authorities with the child's first account of what happened.

Resources available to authorities help police move forward in a sensitive, non-threatening way, added Normal Police Detective Brian Eggleston.

"Everything is right there for us. When we do the interview, we're all on the same page," he said.

'It's a very good system'

The CAC interview room where children are asked about the alleged abuse resembles a small, comfortable living room. Police and other team members watch the interview on a monitor in an adjacent room. The goal is to gather all the information needed in one session to avoid having children repeat the story multiple times.

"This approach definitely should be less traumatic for the child, even in the worst circumstances," said Mary Whitaker, CAC's associate director of operations.

The mother of the girl allegedly followed by White praised the handling of her daughter's complaint by Normal police and the advocacy center.

"It's a very good system. They showed us everything and explained how the interview would take place. It's not like we were bombarded by nine people," she said.

Not all interviews result in criminal charges; referrals for services to end a cycle of neglect may be the best response.

"We always error on the side of caution and do an interview with the child," said Eggleston. "The goal is not necessarily putting someone in jail."

If criminal charges are filed based on a child's accusations, family advocates are available to help the family follow the legal process without the need for relatives to be present in the courtroom.

"Most people choose not to go (to court)," said Susan Thomas, family advocate for McLean County.

Others do go.

"It's hard for me to sleep at night. I like to know where he's at," said the mother whose daughter was allegedly followed by White of her decision to attend hearings.

A scary place

The courtroom can be a scary place for a child called to testify about abuse, or a violent crime they've witnessed.

"It's very, very intimidating" for children to walk into a courtroom filled with adults, including the accused who may be a family member or other trusted caregiver, said First Assistant State's Attorney Kim Campbell.

The youngest child Campbell escorted to the witness chair was 4 years old.

"He was under the bench" as soon as he came forward, said Campbell, who was still able to question the child to some degree.

Not all children involved in abuse cases tell their stories to juries. The defense has a right to question a person who has made accusations against them.

The defense attorneys in the White case, Carol Dison and Brett Olmstead, have not been allowed to talk to the children but have seen the videotaped CAC interviews. Asking children about abuse is tough, Olmstead acknowledged.

"Depending upon the age of the child, you ask questions in a different manner," he said, adding children can be confused about what's happened to them and may not understand the court process.

Brian McEldowney, a McLean County public defender, agreed cases involving children are never easy.

"Regardless of the merits of any particular case, all good people instinctively want to protect children. Many trials are resolved solely on the credibility of witnesses. In my experience, jurors are inclined to believe children, particularly regarding allegations of some kind of abuse at the hands of a loved one," said McEldowney.

And, lawyers acknowledge it's not uncommon for the stressful ordeal of a child's testimony to be used as a bargaining chip during plea negotiations.

"What we take into account is the strength of our case and what damage might be done to a child who may not be able to testify versus allowing a perpetrator to go free," said Campbell.