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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 424-3 Filed 11/08/21 Page 22 of 29 116 J. Engle and W. O'Donobue because the legal process can be daunting and there may be repercussions from filing the allegation. Studies have indicated that sexual assaults among populations with ID are most likely to be perpetrated by peer service users (Brown, Stein, & Turk, 1995). Abuse by family members and care providers is also com- mon, whereas perpetration by strangers is the least common. In cases where peer service users are the alleged perpetrators, issues of consent are often the focus of the investigation. Establishing the capacity to consent can be challenging in this population as it may be unclear whether individuals have sufficient knowledge and understanding to provide fully informed consent Joyce, 2003). For instance, in some sexual assault cases, individuals with ID do not have the ability to name the body parts that were involved in the assault. Clear protocols for determining informed consent in this population would be useful, as adults with ID have specific challenges that increase their potential for coercion and. exploitation. Intellectually disabled individuals, compared to individuals without ID, have vulnerabilities related to memory and communication that the legal system may not be equipped to handle adequately. Individuals with moderate-to-profound ID may have significant difficulty communicating about the events that occurred because of language skills deficits or other communication-interfering conditions (e.g., related neurological conditions). Ahgrim-Delzell and Dudley’s (2001) findings indicate that communications skills are essential in filing a sexual assault charge; alleged victims with mild ID were more likely than individuals with moderate or severe ID not only to file sexual assault charges but to have their allegations confirmed. Difficulties with memory may also complicate the investigation process for individuals with ID (Gudjonsson & Henry, 2003) who have been shown to have poorer memory than control groups and are more likely than control participants to fill in memory gaps with confabulated material (Clare & Gudjonsson, 1993). However, memories of individuals with ID are not necessarily unreliable; rather, when information is gathered in a non-leading way, they are likely to provide accurate, although usually more limited, information about the event (Ternes & Yuille, 2008). In other words, individuals with ID are less likely to remember the details of the event (Kebbel & Hatton, 1999). Specific vulnerabilities in individuals with ID, in addition to poorer memory, may account for inaccurate reporting of events (Gudjonsson & Joyce, 2011). Individuals with ID have been shown to be significantly more suggestible to leading questions (Gudjonsson & Henry, 2003; Everington & Fulero, 1999) and significantly more likely to acquiesce (Clare & Gudjonsson, 1993) compared to individuals without ID, although there is variability among individuals with ID on these traits. Suggestibility refers to a tendency toward accepting information communicated by others and incorporating this information into beliefs and memories. Acquiescence refers to the pre- disposition to passively accept or actively agree with information that is presented (Chronbach, 1946). Thus, investigative procedures that involve DOJ-OGR-00006290