The Children's Justice Center in Tooele may break a record this year.

Officials with the center report that 113 interviews have been conducted with potential victims of abuse since the beginning of this year, compared with 179 total interviews last year. That's nearly two-thirds of last year's caseload in just the first third of this year.

The center has seen a steady increase in cases since it opened in 1996. In its first full year of operation in 1997, the center conducted 89 interviews. Last year, nearly 180 interviews were conducted, according to recently released statistics from the center.

"Some of that increase can be accounted for by the increase in population," said center director Carolyn Jensen. "But the huge increase in the first four months of this year was unforeseen and has been taxing on our staff and volunteers."

Jensen said there are several explanations for this year's overwhelming increase in the number of interviews.

"There have been more prevention and education programs directed at youth as well as a couple of high profile cases last year that were successfully prosecuted and well-publicized," Jensen said, referring to the cases of former East Elementary School teacher Chris Burton and Curtis Crittenden, former head of Tooele County's 4-H program. Burton pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual abuse of a child and Crittenden pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of a child and three counts of forcible sexual abuse.

"These cases have given young victims of abuse permission to speak," Jensen said. "They know that people will believe them and perpetrators will be convicted."

Jensen said she has seen an increase in the number of self-reported abuse cases, where the victims have stepped forward and told people about abuse on their own.

"We are seeing some pretty brave young victims," she said.

Jensen, who has directed the center since it opened, has noticed other changes in trends over the years.

"The age of perpetrators is getting younger," she said. "It is no longer surprising to see a 6-year-old perpetrator of abuse."

Jensen also said they are seeing more physical abuse, including six cases of shaken baby syndrome so far in 2008.

The center facilitates a multi-disciplinary team composed of prosecutors, law enforcement, Department of Children and Family Services, therapists, probation officers, and school officials that monitor the progress of each case to ensure nothing falls through the cracks in the process of the case and that the victims and their families receive the support they need.

At the beginning of this year, the center employed two dogs, Bruno and Rutger, to support victims and help them feel more comfortable during the interview process. They have been involved in 100 interviews so far this year. Jensen describes the response of the children to the dogs as "miraculous."

"We are fortunate in our community to have the kind of support we do," Jensen said. "From the different agencies that participate with us to the individuals that make contributions of money and time, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without them."

tgillie@tooeletranscript.com