The hallways of the Child Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois are hand painted with pictures of cartoonish animals and well-known characters when 200 children pass through the hallways each year.

Each one of them having survived some sort of physical or sexual abuse.

Tina Huston is a family advocate from Charleston who has worked at the center for the past four years.

Huston said the Child Advocacy Center of East Central Illinois generally sees victims from the ages of 5 to 12.

The center is seeing children who are continually becoming younger because they are barely verbal and not enrolled in school, Huston said.

“They can’t cry out for help,” Huston said.

Inside the interview room at the Child Advocacy Center is a large couch and a chest filled with anatomically correct cloth people in various colors and sizes.

Opposite the couch is a camera that is mounted inside the wall and looks similar to a light switch that is designed to record the facial expressions of the child being interviewed.

In the adjoining room, a group of investigators, advocates and Department of Child and Family Service workers observe the investigation.

The interviews are recorded and are used as evidence in the court of law when the case goes to trial.

“It’s very powerful for the jury to see a child insert the penis (of a male doll) into the vagina of a baby doll,” Huston said.

Huston said a conviction of a sex offender is always a good thing, but wishes sexual assault would not happen in the first place.

Huston also said she does not only work with children; in fact her main job is to stabilize the parents and help the family through the process of interviewing and the legal process they will face.

Every family is different and requires different needs, Huston said.

Huston said she feels her job is about raising awareness and empowering families to be more aware.

“Once it gets to me, it’s too late,” Huston said. “As a mother of daughters, I want to make sure they have the knowledge to protect themselves before an offense occurs.”

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].