Martha Finnegan, MSW, LCSW

Child Interview Specialist

The FBI

C9 CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: PROSECUTIONS BASED ON A STRONG FORENSIC PROCESS, PART 1

D9 CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION: PROSECUTIONS BASED ON A STRONG FORENSIC PROCESS, PART 2

Martha J. Finnegan received her B.A. degree from Providence College in 1990 and her Master of Social Work degree from Tulane University in 1994.  Before coming to the FBI she worked at Children’s Hospital Center for Child Protection in San Diego, CA where she was the Kids in Court Coordinator and a forensic interview specialist.  As the Kids in Court Coordinator she prepared children to testify in court.  She also, along with colleagues, developed and implemented a Teens in Court program to meet the needs of adolescents.  As a forensic interview specialist she facilitated legally defensible interviews with children and teenagers in order to obtain information regarding abuse.  

Ms. Finnegan next worked as the Victim Witness Specialist at APRI’s National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, where she was responsible for integrating victim witness issues into APRI trainings and providing technical assistance to victims and child abuse professionals around the country.  She was also responsible for coordinating and participating in national, state, and local conferences regarding victim assistance and forensic interviewing issues.  Ms. Finnegan has published an article entitled Creating and Administering a Kids Court Program and is co-author of an article entitled The Use of Anatomical Diagrams in Child Sexual Abuse Forensic Interviews. 

Ms. Finnegan was then hired as the Child Interview Specialist for Innocent Images, the FBI’s multiagency investigative initiative to combat child pornography and child exploitation facilitated through the use of online computers.  The FBI then moved Ms. Finnegan’s Child Interview Specialist position to the Office for Victim Assistance where she is available to provide technical assistance and training to all FBI personnel, U.S. Attorneys, and other federal, state and local agencies in the areas of forensic interviewing of child victims of abuse and exploitation. She is also available to conduct child victim interviews and/or help agents locate qualified interviewers in their area.  Ms. Finnegan currently authored a guide for agents entitled Investigative Interviews of Adolescent Victims.