El Paso County District Attorney’s Office gets mock courtroom Tuesday to help kids prepare for testifying

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Being a witness in a criminal court proceeding can be unsettling for adults testifying.

Imagine the effect on a child.

"Age three and younger is usually considered too young, but unfortunately we've occasionally had children ages four and five," said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen. "Around twice a month, we have kids testifying in murder cases, sex assault cases, domestic violence cases, you name it. Where a kid might be a witness, it's very likely that they could testify -- and it could run the entire gamut."

To better prepare kids for coping with the stress and intimidation of being in a courtroom, the D.A.'s office has acquired a miniature mock courtroom -- complete with figurines of a judge, a court reporter, prosecutor, defense attorney and jury.

The D.A.'s office partnered with Safe Passage, a national advocacy organization in Colorado Springs that promotes healing for child abuse and neglect victims.

"You know, a child's a smaller person, it's this big room, it's wooden, it's dark, and there's just all these people sort of watching you as you walk," said executive director Maureen Basenberg. "So, just the act of physically coming in the space, let alone having to sit and talk about what happened to you, when you've already told... that's difficult."

The mock courtroom allows kids to roleplay -- learning courtroom personnel and procedures in a relaxed setting, and better prepare them for the real thing.

"This is a tool that we've never had before.," said Kelson Castain, senior deputy district in the Special Victims Unit. "So, we're really excited to have it and be able to use it now. In the past, what we've done is physically take kids to the courthouse."

Basenberg's daughter, Maeve, demonstrated how the mock courtroom works.

"If I was testifying, this would definitely help me," she said. "Because now I can know where I would look, and whom I would have to talk to the whole time."

The mini-courtroom is one of dozens made by Josef Soper, founder of Imagination Dollhouses for Children, in Traverse City, Michigan; he spent 40 years in the criminal justice profession.

Soper provides courtrooms free to nonprofit organizations that are preparing young children for testifying in court; since 2008, he has built models for agencies in 22 states.

"Child victims have been traumatized enough already," Maureen Basenberg said. "In the courtroom, we want them to feel like they're comfortable and in control. If they do, it's easier for them to remember details and be truthful on the stand."