Ex-bus driver gets 160 years in child abuse
Former special needs school bus driver John Allen Wright will serve 160 years in federal prison for raping three "voiceless and vulnerable" autistic young boys onboard his bus while videotaping his exploits, the state's top federal prosecutor said Friday in asking for the maximum sentence.
"Rather than be their custodian, he was their predator. He was their pornographer and their tormentor," U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire John P. Kacavas said.
Wright, 47, formerly of Milton, parked his bus on the side of roads and in parking lots, then raped the boys - ages 4, 4½ and 8 - while wearing sunglasses equipped with a battery-operated digital camera, Kacavas said in U.S. District Court.
While the victims - who also are developmentally disabled - are seen on his videotapes "screaming, crying out and trying to resist" Wright's assaults, their disabilities made the unable to communicate with their parents or teachers, Kacavas said.
"These children were prisoners of their disabilities and the defendant knew it," the prosecutor added of Wright, who he said drove a special needs school bus from 2008 until his arrest in 2011.
"I classify it as torture," Kacavas said after the one-hour sentencing hearing.
Two boys were assaulted in New Hampshire between Nov. 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011. One was assaulted in New Hampshire and Maine between July 1 and July 31, 2011.
None of the victims or their families were in court, Kacavas said.
Defense attorney Harry N. Starbranch immediately appealed the sentence to the First Circuit Court in Boston.
Starbranch pressed Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to impose a 25-year sentence with mental health treatment to be followed by full supervision upon release.
Wright suffers from an unspecified psychotic disorder and schizophrenia, he said.
"He had a horrific childhood. (There was) both physical and sexual abuse in his household," Starbranch said.
Wright, he added, was unable to hold down a job, was dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army and has no criminal record.
While McAuliffe agreed Wright likely suffers from major mental illnesses, he imposed the maximum 160-year penalty and ordered him to undergo sexual offender treatment.
"These crimes are terribly destructive," McAuliffe said.
"The primary issue for me is the need to protect the public, and the need to protect the public warrants a life sentence," the judge explained.
Wright's wife, Charlotte, wept quietly in her front row seat behind her husband. Wright cast a slight smile at his wife and blew her a kiss as U.S. marshals led him from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Wright's school bus exploits were discovered by members of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in 2011 when they found him downloading and trading child pornography, Kacavas said.
Upon executing a search warrant at his Milton home, authorities found thousands of child sexual assault images. A subsequent federal search warrant revealed evidence linking Wright to the production of the videos. Wright was has been in custody since his indictment in October 2011.
Cases pending against Wright by the states of New Hampshire and Maine likely won't be prosecuted given the lengthy prison sentence he received, Kacavas said.
Rochester, New London, Dover and Kittery, Maine, police departments, the FBI, and Strafford County Attorney's office also investigated the case.
Wright was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130222/NEWS03/130229630
EVERY SIGNATURE MATTERS - THIS BILL MUST PASS!
CLICK - GOAL - 100,000 NEW SIGNATURES! 75,000 SIGNATURES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO!
EFF Urges Court to Block Dragnet Subpoenas Targeting Online Commenters
CLICK! For the full motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/hersh_v_cohen/UOJ-motiontoquashmemo.pdf
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Disgraced And Exiled Rabbi Is Back In Business!
Leib Tropper is teaching and lecturing in Staten Island
By Allison Hoffman
February 21, 2013 3:17 PM
The last time we heard from Rabbi Leib Tropper, the ultra-Orthodox rabbi and conversion specialist, he was caught up in both a sex scandal and a multi-million-dollar court battle between the billionaire Thomas Kaplan, chair of the 92nd Street Y board, and his nephew, Guma Aguiar, the former owner of the controversial Beitar Jerusalem soccer team who disappeared off his yacht last year in Florida. Tropper, accused of trading Jewish conversion papers for sexual favors, was forced to leave the Rockland County enclave of Monsey in disgrace.
But that was 2010. Now, Tropper is back, apparently lecturing and teaching at a Staten Island yeshiva headed by Reuven Feinstein, who declined to condemn Tropper at the height of the controversy and who, perhaps not coincidentally, was the beneficiary of a $3 million donation from Tropper’s sponsors Kaplan and Aguiar. (Tropper’s father, Yehuda Tropper, also taught at the school for three decades.)
He’s also been busy building a robust online presence: Tropper now has a Twitter account, a Tumblr, a Flickr feed, a Vimeo page, a Google+ page, and both his own .org and .net domains. He also has a blog, where he advertises his latest appearances and writes about his travels, including a trip to Paris, where he visited an exhibit on Algerian Jews as well as the “must-see” galleries at the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay and the Grand Palais.
In January, Tropper also blogged about a lecture he gave on the pursuit of happiness. “Happiness is not the ecstacy [sic] expected by the feel Good culture in America,” he wrote. “It is a more Benign feeling of inner gratification by doing the Right thing.” Indeed.
READ MUCH MORE:
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/124946/george-galloway-channels-sir-robin
By Allison Hoffman
February 21, 2013 3:17 PM
The last time we heard from Rabbi Leib Tropper, the ultra-Orthodox rabbi and conversion specialist, he was caught up in both a sex scandal and a multi-million-dollar court battle between the billionaire Thomas Kaplan, chair of the 92nd Street Y board, and his nephew, Guma Aguiar, the former owner of the controversial Beitar Jerusalem soccer team who disappeared off his yacht last year in Florida. Tropper, accused of trading Jewish conversion papers for sexual favors, was forced to leave the Rockland County enclave of Monsey in disgrace.
But that was 2010. Now, Tropper is back, apparently lecturing and teaching at a Staten Island yeshiva headed by Reuven Feinstein, who declined to condemn Tropper at the height of the controversy and who, perhaps not coincidentally, was the beneficiary of a $3 million donation from Tropper’s sponsors Kaplan and Aguiar. (Tropper’s father, Yehuda Tropper, also taught at the school for three decades.)
He’s also been busy building a robust online presence: Tropper now has a Twitter account, a Tumblr, a Flickr feed, a Vimeo page, a Google+ page, and both his own .org and .net domains. He also has a blog, where he advertises his latest appearances and writes about his travels, including a trip to Paris, where he visited an exhibit on Algerian Jews as well as the “must-see” galleries at the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay and the Grand Palais.
In January, Tropper also blogged about a lecture he gave on the pursuit of happiness. “Happiness is not the ecstacy [sic] expected by the feel Good culture in America,” he wrote. “It is a more Benign feeling of inner gratification by doing the Right thing.” Indeed.
READ MUCH MORE:
http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/124946/george-galloway-channels-sir-robin
Peter Turkson Has My Vote For Pope - I Need New Material!
Pope Contender Cardinal Peter Turkson Says No Priest Sex Abuse In Africa Because Of Anti-Gay Laws
The Cardinal heralded as the man who could be the first black Pope has said sex abuse could not happen in Africa, on the same scale as Europe, because of tough anti-homosexuality laws.
Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson caused outrage among former victims of sexual abuse by priests for linking progressive attitudes to homosexuality and child abuse.
Survivors of abuse by priests say they "fear for the safety of kids in Turkson's diocese if he denies there are predatory priests there".
Ghanean Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson (C) gives the sign of peace to another cardinal during a mass led by Pope Benedict XVI
Cardinal Turkson is currently the second favourite to be the next pontiff, and had been championed by progressives who have urged the Vatican to elect the first African pope.
Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan is currently favourite to succeed Benedict XVI.
In an interview with CNN, when asked about whether it was possible the Catholic sex abuse scandal could happen in Africa, the cardinal said it would not happen, "to the same extent or proportion as we have seen in Europe"
He continued: "African traditional systems kind of protect or have protected its population against this tendency.
“Because in several communities, in several cultures in Africa homosexuality or for that matter any affair between two sexes of the same kind, are not countenanced in our society.
"So that cultural taboo, that tradition has been there. It has served to keep it out.”
He also defended the ban on any women ministry in the Church, saying: "If one does not have access to ordination, it is not discrimination. It is just how the church has understood this order of ministry to be.”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement: “To say that Cardinal Peter Turkson’s claims about clergy abuse in Africa are uninformed would be far too kind. We hope this awful comment disqualifies him from consideration as the next pope.
"We hear less about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Africa for the same reasons we do throughout the developing world: there tends to be lesser funding for law enforcement, less vigorous civil justice systems, less independent journalism, and an even greater power and wealth difference between church officials and their congregants."
The group continued: " Not only is the link between homosexuality and child abuse a fallacy, but it is a weak shield to hide behind.
"It's hard to address a crisis you don't think exists. So we fear for the safety of kids in Turkson's diocese if he denies there are predatory priests there.
"It’s far more likely that Turkson’s brother bishops in Africa have been involved in covering up clergy sex abuse crimes just like their colleagues across the globe. To pretend that Turkson’s home is devoid of the problem is erroneous, and offensive to still-suffering victims in Africa.”
Homosexuality is a crime in 37 countries in Africa. Most high profile is Uganda, where members of parliament are still fighting to introduce the death penalty for gay people.
Cardinal Turkson said he believed it was certainly possible for a non-European pope to be chosen: "It is certainly possible to have a Cardinal come from the Southern part of the globe.
"There are churchmen from there certainly capable of exercising leadership.
Asked by CNN's Christaine Amanpour about how the church could stay relevant in the modern world if it remained anti-homosexual and rejected women priests, he said: "We need to be true and faithful to the faith, and we need to be relevant to the society to which we preach our faith.
"We may not sacrifice one for the other. We seek to be relevant to society and meet the needs of humankind, we also need to be mindful of what it is that a church believes.
"Do you know where I am going? Otherwise we cease to be a church."
It is not the first time the Cardinal has voiced controversial views about homosexuality. Last year, the National Catholic Register reported the Cardinal saying it is important people understand the ‘reasons’ why some African governments have created legislation against homosexuality.
Turkson argues the ‘intensity of the reaction is probably commensurate with tradition’, saying the African culture needs to be respected.
‘When you’re talking about what’s called “an alternative lifestyle”, are those human rights?’ he said.
‘There’s a subtle distinction between morality and human rights, and that’s what needs to be clarified.’
The other Pope potential from Africa, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze likened homosexuality with pornography, infanticide and adultery in a 2003 speech at Georgetown University.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/20/black-pope-contender-peter-turkson-gay-abuse-africa_n_2723040.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
The Cardinal heralded as the man who could be the first black Pope has said sex abuse could not happen in Africa, on the same scale as Europe, because of tough anti-homosexuality laws.
Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson caused outrage among former victims of sexual abuse by priests for linking progressive attitudes to homosexuality and child abuse.
Survivors of abuse by priests say they "fear for the safety of kids in Turkson's diocese if he denies there are predatory priests there".
Ghanean Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson (C) gives the sign of peace to another cardinal during a mass led by Pope Benedict XVI
Cardinal Turkson is currently the second favourite to be the next pontiff, and had been championed by progressives who have urged the Vatican to elect the first African pope.
Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan is currently favourite to succeed Benedict XVI.
In an interview with CNN, when asked about whether it was possible the Catholic sex abuse scandal could happen in Africa, the cardinal said it would not happen, "to the same extent or proportion as we have seen in Europe"
He continued: "African traditional systems kind of protect or have protected its population against this tendency.
“Because in several communities, in several cultures in Africa homosexuality or for that matter any affair between two sexes of the same kind, are not countenanced in our society.
"So that cultural taboo, that tradition has been there. It has served to keep it out.”
He also defended the ban on any women ministry in the Church, saying: "If one does not have access to ordination, it is not discrimination. It is just how the church has understood this order of ministry to be.”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement: “To say that Cardinal Peter Turkson’s claims about clergy abuse in Africa are uninformed would be far too kind. We hope this awful comment disqualifies him from consideration as the next pope.
"We hear less about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Africa for the same reasons we do throughout the developing world: there tends to be lesser funding for law enforcement, less vigorous civil justice systems, less independent journalism, and an even greater power and wealth difference between church officials and their congregants."
The group continued: " Not only is the link between homosexuality and child abuse a fallacy, but it is a weak shield to hide behind.
"It's hard to address a crisis you don't think exists. So we fear for the safety of kids in Turkson's diocese if he denies there are predatory priests there.
"It’s far more likely that Turkson’s brother bishops in Africa have been involved in covering up clergy sex abuse crimes just like their colleagues across the globe. To pretend that Turkson’s home is devoid of the problem is erroneous, and offensive to still-suffering victims in Africa.”
Homosexuality is a crime in 37 countries in Africa. Most high profile is Uganda, where members of parliament are still fighting to introduce the death penalty for gay people.
Cardinal Turkson said he believed it was certainly possible for a non-European pope to be chosen: "It is certainly possible to have a Cardinal come from the Southern part of the globe.
"There are churchmen from there certainly capable of exercising leadership.
Asked by CNN's Christaine Amanpour about how the church could stay relevant in the modern world if it remained anti-homosexual and rejected women priests, he said: "We need to be true and faithful to the faith, and we need to be relevant to the society to which we preach our faith.
"We may not sacrifice one for the other. We seek to be relevant to society and meet the needs of humankind, we also need to be mindful of what it is that a church believes.
"Do you know where I am going? Otherwise we cease to be a church."
It is not the first time the Cardinal has voiced controversial views about homosexuality. Last year, the National Catholic Register reported the Cardinal saying it is important people understand the ‘reasons’ why some African governments have created legislation against homosexuality.
Turkson argues the ‘intensity of the reaction is probably commensurate with tradition’, saying the African culture needs to be respected.
‘When you’re talking about what’s called “an alternative lifestyle”, are those human rights?’ he said.
‘There’s a subtle distinction between morality and human rights, and that’s what needs to be clarified.’
The other Pope potential from Africa, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze likened homosexuality with pornography, infanticide and adultery in a 2003 speech at Georgetown University.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/20/black-pope-contender-peter-turkson-gay-abuse-africa_n_2723040.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Nail The Bastard!
Pope received news of his warrant of arrest before resignation
On February 4, a week before Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, Vatican allegedly received a note from an undisclosed European government that stated that there are plans to issue a warrant for the Pope's arrest.
With his resignation announced, the former pope will have a meeting with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano on February 23 to beg for immunity against prosecution for allegations of child rape.
Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign in 600 years, which shocked almost everyone. And he did so after panicking about an impending arrest in the midst of a hastily arranged meeting begging for protection from the Italian government.
But for him this will not be easy as the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State calls upon the Italian President to deny help to Ratzinger. If the Italian President does cave there may be another venue to make sure he doesn't get away.
In addition to these alleged attempts by this European government to prosecute, a New York based organization, The Centre for Constitutional Rights, has accussed the Pope and his Cardinals of possible crimes against humanity for sheltering pedophile priests. The non-profit legal group has requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivor’s Network, citing the church’s “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence.”
The Catholic Church truly knows no bounds when it comes to protecting their priests, no matter how heinous the crimes. They are the biggest example of religion getting people passes. All we can do is hope that these attempts of legal action will become succesful.
http://notocbcp.weebly.com/2/post/2013/02/pope-received-news-of-his-warrant-of-arrest-before-resignation.html
On February 4, a week before Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, Vatican allegedly received a note from an undisclosed European government that stated that there are plans to issue a warrant for the Pope's arrest.
With his resignation announced, the former pope will have a meeting with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano on February 23 to beg for immunity against prosecution for allegations of child rape.
Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign in 600 years, which shocked almost everyone. And he did so after panicking about an impending arrest in the midst of a hastily arranged meeting begging for protection from the Italian government.
But for him this will not be easy as the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State calls upon the Italian President to deny help to Ratzinger. If the Italian President does cave there may be another venue to make sure he doesn't get away.
In addition to these alleged attempts by this European government to prosecute, a New York based organization, The Centre for Constitutional Rights, has accussed the Pope and his Cardinals of possible crimes against humanity for sheltering pedophile priests. The non-profit legal group has requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivor’s Network, citing the church’s “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence.”
The Catholic Church truly knows no bounds when it comes to protecting their priests, no matter how heinous the crimes. They are the biggest example of religion getting people passes. All we can do is hope that these attempts of legal action will become succesful.
http://notocbcp.weebly.com/2/post/2013/02/pope-received-news-of-his-warrant-of-arrest-before-resignation.html
"Typically, a victim waits until after the statute of limitations is up before they are ready to admit that he or she has been abused."
Proposal would lift statute of limitations on child sexual abuse
A proposal in the House would lift the statutes of limitations on civil and criminal actions in cases of child abuse and child sexual abuse.
Missouri law has a 10-year statute of limitations on actions for damage or personal injury caused by child sexual abuse and allows prosecution of sex crimes against people up to age 18 only up to 30 years after that person turns 18.
Representative Brandon Ellington’s (D-Kansas City) proposal, HB 247, would change that.
“By removing the statute of limitations we’re not guaranteeing conviction. The only thing that we’re doing is allowing people to go back and prosecute or face their abuser.”
Ellington says typically, a victim waits until after the statute of limitations is up before they are ready to admit that he or she has been abused.
Human Rights worker Alvin Sykes says this was the case for him. He says he was sexually abused when he was 11 but didn’t tell anyone for 16 years.
“I didn’t know what to do. I knew I couldn’t go back and tell mama because she told me to stay away from these people in the first place … I didn’t think about the police because I thought they were too far away.”
Missouri Kids First Child Deputy Director Emily Van Schenkhof tells a House Committee, child sex abuse crimes are the least likely to be reported, and most likely to be reported long after they occur, of all the crimes in Missouri’s criminal code.
“We estimate that probably only around 25% of child sex crimes, if that, are ever reported to the authorities. In my time in doing this work I have spoken to probably more than 100 victims of child sexual abuse and when most of them end their story, they end by saying “I have never told anyone.”
Van Schenkhof says a common concern about lifting the statute is that there could be an influx of accusations. She reminds lawmakers that due process provisions will still be in place to protect the accused.
She says the situations most likely to be affected would be the most egregious ones, “Where there was a serial predator and multiple victims. Those would probably be the only type of cases where the changes to the statute of limitations, particularly on the criminal side, would come into play.”
The legislation would also specify that prosecutions for child abuse can begin at any time.
No vote has been taken yet on the proposal.
http://www.missourinet.com/2013/02/19/proposal-would-lift-statute-of-limitations-on-child-sexual-abuse/
A proposal in the House would lift the statutes of limitations on civil and criminal actions in cases of child abuse and child sexual abuse.
Missouri law has a 10-year statute of limitations on actions for damage or personal injury caused by child sexual abuse and allows prosecution of sex crimes against people up to age 18 only up to 30 years after that person turns 18.
Representative Brandon Ellington’s (D-Kansas City) proposal, HB 247, would change that.
“By removing the statute of limitations we’re not guaranteeing conviction. The only thing that we’re doing is allowing people to go back and prosecute or face their abuser.”
Ellington says typically, a victim waits until after the statute of limitations is up before they are ready to admit that he or she has been abused.
Human Rights worker Alvin Sykes says this was the case for him. He says he was sexually abused when he was 11 but didn’t tell anyone for 16 years.
“I didn’t know what to do. I knew I couldn’t go back and tell mama because she told me to stay away from these people in the first place … I didn’t think about the police because I thought they were too far away.”
Missouri Kids First Child Deputy Director Emily Van Schenkhof tells a House Committee, child sex abuse crimes are the least likely to be reported, and most likely to be reported long after they occur, of all the crimes in Missouri’s criminal code.
“We estimate that probably only around 25% of child sex crimes, if that, are ever reported to the authorities. In my time in doing this work I have spoken to probably more than 100 victims of child sexual abuse and when most of them end their story, they end by saying “I have never told anyone.”
Van Schenkhof says a common concern about lifting the statute is that there could be an influx of accusations. She reminds lawmakers that due process provisions will still be in place to protect the accused.
She says the situations most likely to be affected would be the most egregious ones, “Where there was a serial predator and multiple victims. Those would probably be the only type of cases where the changes to the statute of limitations, particularly on the criminal side, would come into play.”
The legislation would also specify that prosecutions for child abuse can begin at any time.
No vote has been taken yet on the proposal.
http://www.missourinet.com/2013/02/19/proposal-would-lift-statute-of-limitations-on-child-sexual-abuse/
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Clerical training fostered a predisposition to perpetrate child sexual abuse, study shows
The emotional and sexual development issues which likely predisposed some men who entered the seminary in Ireland to perpetrate child sexual abuse were exacerbated by the clerical training and culture they experienced, according to study findings published in the International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect.
The research highlights that the prohibition of friendship, and the promotion of sexuality as sinful served to compound and amplify psychological conflicts that had developed during the offender’s early life.
“What our research shows is a culture within the training of Irish Catholic priests that militated against the integration of emotional and sexual development and hindered psychological maturation, resulting in some men with very serious intimacy and relationship difficulties,” says the first author of the report, Dr Paul D’Alton, UCD School of Psychology, University College Dublin, and St Vincent's University Hospital.
The study involved nine clergy who had perpetrated child sexual abuse and were attending professional psychotherapy. The interview schedules with the offenders were taken from a thematic analysis of a random selection of ‘life stories’ (autobiographical accounts of participants’ life histories completed as part of group therapy).
All of the participants displayed significant difficulties forming friendships and close relationships, a condition common among perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
“What appears among our study participants, and therefore is likely for other clerical offenders, is the experience of a culture and system that failed to re-balance or correct any early problems they may have had but rather acted to compound them through the strict imposition of certain beliefs and ideology,” adds Dr D’Alton.
The findings published in The International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect point to a prevailing ideology that compounded psychosexual and psychosocial vulnerabilities during the participants’ clerical training, and thus fostered any predisposition to perpetrate sexual abuse.
According to Dr D’Alton, the findings support other studies suggesting several unique factors associated with sexual abuse within the clerical environment. Thus a multifactoral model of the development child sex offenders in indicated.
The study shows a failure of the culture and practices within clerical training to re-balance or resolve any psychological conflicts that had already developed during the offender’s early life.
http://www.ispcan.org/?page=CAN_Journal
The research highlights that the prohibition of friendship, and the promotion of sexuality as sinful served to compound and amplify psychological conflicts that had developed during the offender’s early life.
“What our research shows is a culture within the training of Irish Catholic priests that militated against the integration of emotional and sexual development and hindered psychological maturation, resulting in some men with very serious intimacy and relationship difficulties,” says the first author of the report, Dr Paul D’Alton, UCD School of Psychology, University College Dublin, and St Vincent's University Hospital.
The study involved nine clergy who had perpetrated child sexual abuse and were attending professional psychotherapy. The interview schedules with the offenders were taken from a thematic analysis of a random selection of ‘life stories’ (autobiographical accounts of participants’ life histories completed as part of group therapy).
All of the participants displayed significant difficulties forming friendships and close relationships, a condition common among perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
“What appears among our study participants, and therefore is likely for other clerical offenders, is the experience of a culture and system that failed to re-balance or correct any early problems they may have had but rather acted to compound them through the strict imposition of certain beliefs and ideology,” adds Dr D’Alton.
The findings published in The International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect point to a prevailing ideology that compounded psychosexual and psychosocial vulnerabilities during the participants’ clerical training, and thus fostered any predisposition to perpetrate sexual abuse.
According to Dr D’Alton, the findings support other studies suggesting several unique factors associated with sexual abuse within the clerical environment. Thus a multifactoral model of the development child sex offenders in indicated.
The study shows a failure of the culture and practices within clerical training to re-balance or resolve any psychological conflicts that had already developed during the offender’s early life.
http://www.ispcan.org/?page=CAN_Journal
Monday, February 18, 2013
Rabbi A was deeply manipulative.....
When my sister and I were growing up in the Haredi community, we were abused by a rabbi. Between the ages of six and 11, this man — a member of our close family — physically abused me, and sexually abused my younger sister.
* C4's Jewish abuse documentary didn't tell the whole story
* Orthodox Jewish community, Joe Byrne feels cheated by a recent C4 documentary.
When Dispatches: Britain’s Hidden Child Abuse aired at the end of last month on Channel 4, I watched it with interest. The programme had been widely advertised. Its central revelation was to be that British orthodox rabbis were forbidding their followers to report child abuse to the police. As a member of the orthodox community who suffered abuse as a child, I knew how important this was.
The documentary began, and it soon became apparent that Jackie Long, the presenter, hadn’t learnt how to pronounce correctly the word Haredi (meaning the Ultra Orthodox Jewish community). She made it sound like “Harrods”, when it should be pronounced “Cha-rei-dee”, with a strong stress on the middle syllable. Would it have been so difficult, I thought, to ask one of the Jews in the programme for a few pronunciation tips?
A few minutes later, she called one of her principle interviewees “Ephrom” when his name was actually “Eph-ruy-im”. She later showed an important document, written in Hebrew, to the camera. She was holding it upside down.
These errors seemed minor at first, but they indicated a more serious problem. The Dispatches team had clearly been slapdash in their research, and did not seem concerned with creating an accurate portrayal. Sadly, this impression was confirmed in the substance of the documentary.
When my sister and I were growing up in the Haredi community, we were abused by a rabbi. Between the ages of six and 11, this man — a member of our close family — physically abused me, and sexually abused my younger sister. The matter eventually came into the open, and it caused a split in the community. Many people made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the authorities should not be involved. But there was another group that supported our right to report our abuser to the police. We did so, and the man went to prison for a number of years.
The abuser in question – let’s call him Rabbi A – was no drunken reprobate. His violence towards me was clinical and systematic, carried out in response to minor infringements such as failing to keep my room tidy enough. He would keep a detailed tally of my “crimes”, and look for an opportunity when he had me alone. Then he would secrete me away behind some bushes, in an upstairs room at the synagogue, or behind the garden shed, and administer the beatings with a leather belt or a length of garden hose. This happened to me weekly, sometimes daily.
Actually, I count myself lucky. Compared to the abuse which many children suffer, my own was not that bad. Certainly it was eclipsed by the treatment my sister received. I did not ever see him sexually abusing her, but looking back I can recognise the signs.
Rabbi A was deeply manipulative, and managed to ensure that neither my sister nor myself told my mother what was happening. So it all first came out at school. I went to a Haredi school and the headmaster – another rabbi – had a special concern for me. Noticing that something wasn’t right, he called me into his office one day and asked me about things at home. Without thinking, I began to let the whole story come tumbling out.
He told my mother immediately. She came into school that same day, and we had a meeting in the headmaster’s office. He told me that he had spoken harshly to Rabbi A on the phone, and had given him one last chance. I can still remember his words: “If he does it again, I’ll throw the book at him.”
I suppose he should have informed the police immediately. But he didn’t yet know about the sexual abuse, and things are always much clearer with the benefit of hindsight. As soon as Rabbi A had me alone, he hit me across the face and told me never to tell on him again. I didn’t reply; but deep down I knew his time had come. The following day I told my headmaster what had happened. True to his word, that was the last time I saw Rabbi A.
I have since pieced together what happened next. My mother and headmaster called the police, and they marched in to the synagogue to arrest Rabbi A. In a darkly comic moment, they seized the wrong rabbi and dragged him out in the middle of prayers. But eventually they got their man. The case went to court 18 months later, and I was cross-examined by an aggressive QC for two days. I was 11 years old, and broke down only once.
This period of our lives was the most stressful our family had ever experienced. While the court case was going on, my mother was targeted by a group of ultra-orthodox hardliners who despised us for having talked to the police. Somehow, she protected my sister and I from it at the time, and told me the details only recently. It was a campaign of intimidation. Her car was vandalised. Rubbish, including soiled nappies, was pushed through our letterbox. She was spat at in the street, and cursed for generations. Many kosher shops refused her service. She received threatening letters; even our solicitor – a Haredi man – was sent a note saying that if he continued to represent us, his house would be burned down and his children killed.
And most humiliating of all, letters appeared under the windscreen wipers of all the cars in the synagogue car park, stating my mother was mad and we were under her influence. The same letters were sent to our teachers, and to my mother’s employer. Reading this, you are probably wondering why I criticise the Channel 4 programme. The reason is simple. The intimidation was carried out only by a hardcore element of the Haredi community. Many others stood up to them, including my headmaster and our solicitor, both high-ranking rabbis and ordinary people. These people gave us emotional, practical and even financial support, and refused to be intimidated.
A group of senior rabbis even held meetings with those who attacked us, and argued with them, citing Talmudic sources, to suggest that going to the police was the right thing to do. I will always be grateful to these people for their courage and compassion. It was wrong of Dispatches to ignore them, and irresponsible to allow the hardline sects to characterise the entire Haredi community.
The orthodox Jewish community is not a monolithic entity. There are countless sects and sub-sects, and each has a slightly different set of values. Nobody can know the numbers for certain. Perhaps there are more hardliners than moderates; personally, I suspect it is vice versa.
Either way, I can assure you from my own experience that a great many within the orthodox community are appalled by the notion of keeping abuse under wraps. These are good people, and I believe Dispatches should have given them a voice.
Joe Byrne is a pseudonym
"Haredi" - Ultra-Orthodox Jew - One who trembles before God!" A new and frightening expression that surfaced in the 1980s.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9872924/C4s-Jewish-abuse-documentary-didnt-tell-the-whole-story.html
* C4's Jewish abuse documentary didn't tell the whole story
* Orthodox Jewish community, Joe Byrne feels cheated by a recent C4 documentary.
When Dispatches: Britain’s Hidden Child Abuse aired at the end of last month on Channel 4, I watched it with interest. The programme had been widely advertised. Its central revelation was to be that British orthodox rabbis were forbidding their followers to report child abuse to the police. As a member of the orthodox community who suffered abuse as a child, I knew how important this was.
The documentary began, and it soon became apparent that Jackie Long, the presenter, hadn’t learnt how to pronounce correctly the word Haredi (meaning the Ultra Orthodox Jewish community). She made it sound like “Harrods”, when it should be pronounced “Cha-rei-dee”, with a strong stress on the middle syllable. Would it have been so difficult, I thought, to ask one of the Jews in the programme for a few pronunciation tips?
A few minutes later, she called one of her principle interviewees “Ephrom” when his name was actually “Eph-ruy-im”. She later showed an important document, written in Hebrew, to the camera. She was holding it upside down.
These errors seemed minor at first, but they indicated a more serious problem. The Dispatches team had clearly been slapdash in their research, and did not seem concerned with creating an accurate portrayal. Sadly, this impression was confirmed in the substance of the documentary.
When my sister and I were growing up in the Haredi community, we were abused by a rabbi. Between the ages of six and 11, this man — a member of our close family — physically abused me, and sexually abused my younger sister. The matter eventually came into the open, and it caused a split in the community. Many people made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the authorities should not be involved. But there was another group that supported our right to report our abuser to the police. We did so, and the man went to prison for a number of years.
The abuser in question – let’s call him Rabbi A – was no drunken reprobate. His violence towards me was clinical and systematic, carried out in response to minor infringements such as failing to keep my room tidy enough. He would keep a detailed tally of my “crimes”, and look for an opportunity when he had me alone. Then he would secrete me away behind some bushes, in an upstairs room at the synagogue, or behind the garden shed, and administer the beatings with a leather belt or a length of garden hose. This happened to me weekly, sometimes daily.
Actually, I count myself lucky. Compared to the abuse which many children suffer, my own was not that bad. Certainly it was eclipsed by the treatment my sister received. I did not ever see him sexually abusing her, but looking back I can recognise the signs.
Rabbi A was deeply manipulative, and managed to ensure that neither my sister nor myself told my mother what was happening. So it all first came out at school. I went to a Haredi school and the headmaster – another rabbi – had a special concern for me. Noticing that something wasn’t right, he called me into his office one day and asked me about things at home. Without thinking, I began to let the whole story come tumbling out.
He told my mother immediately. She came into school that same day, and we had a meeting in the headmaster’s office. He told me that he had spoken harshly to Rabbi A on the phone, and had given him one last chance. I can still remember his words: “If he does it again, I’ll throw the book at him.”
I suppose he should have informed the police immediately. But he didn’t yet know about the sexual abuse, and things are always much clearer with the benefit of hindsight. As soon as Rabbi A had me alone, he hit me across the face and told me never to tell on him again. I didn’t reply; but deep down I knew his time had come. The following day I told my headmaster what had happened. True to his word, that was the last time I saw Rabbi A.
I have since pieced together what happened next. My mother and headmaster called the police, and they marched in to the synagogue to arrest Rabbi A. In a darkly comic moment, they seized the wrong rabbi and dragged him out in the middle of prayers. But eventually they got their man. The case went to court 18 months later, and I was cross-examined by an aggressive QC for two days. I was 11 years old, and broke down only once.
This period of our lives was the most stressful our family had ever experienced. While the court case was going on, my mother was targeted by a group of ultra-orthodox hardliners who despised us for having talked to the police. Somehow, she protected my sister and I from it at the time, and told me the details only recently. It was a campaign of intimidation. Her car was vandalised. Rubbish, including soiled nappies, was pushed through our letterbox. She was spat at in the street, and cursed for generations. Many kosher shops refused her service. She received threatening letters; even our solicitor – a Haredi man – was sent a note saying that if he continued to represent us, his house would be burned down and his children killed.
And most humiliating of all, letters appeared under the windscreen wipers of all the cars in the synagogue car park, stating my mother was mad and we were under her influence. The same letters were sent to our teachers, and to my mother’s employer. Reading this, you are probably wondering why I criticise the Channel 4 programme. The reason is simple. The intimidation was carried out only by a hardcore element of the Haredi community. Many others stood up to them, including my headmaster and our solicitor, both high-ranking rabbis and ordinary people. These people gave us emotional, practical and even financial support, and refused to be intimidated.
A group of senior rabbis even held meetings with those who attacked us, and argued with them, citing Talmudic sources, to suggest that going to the police was the right thing to do. I will always be grateful to these people for their courage and compassion. It was wrong of Dispatches to ignore them, and irresponsible to allow the hardline sects to characterise the entire Haredi community.
The orthodox Jewish community is not a monolithic entity. There are countless sects and sub-sects, and each has a slightly different set of values. Nobody can know the numbers for certain. Perhaps there are more hardliners than moderates; personally, I suspect it is vice versa.
Either way, I can assure you from my own experience that a great many within the orthodox community are appalled by the notion of keeping abuse under wraps. These are good people, and I believe Dispatches should have given them a voice.
Joe Byrne is a pseudonym
"Haredi" - Ultra-Orthodox Jew - One who trembles before God!" A new and frightening expression that surfaced in the 1980s.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9872924/C4s-Jewish-abuse-documentary-didnt-tell-the-whole-story.html
Chief GadolJew - "No Child Rape In Our Tribe!"
by Avi ShtikDrek
Federal officials will hold a town hall meeting on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in North Dakota this month to discuss the reservation’s child sexual abuse problem, which last year led the federal government to take over the tribe’s social services program.
Residents have complained that the Bureau of Indian Affairs and federal prosecutors have done too little to stop child abuse, which officials acknowledge is commonplace on Spirit Lake and has reached epidemic levels, whistle-blowers say. North Dakota’s senators and a representative are expected to attend the meeting.
The federal government took over the tribe’s social services in October, and in one month federal officials said they had investigated more than 100 cases of reported child abuse. More recent figures are not available, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In May 2011, a 9-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother were killed on the reservation after being raped and sodomized.
In recent months, residents have protested outside tribal headquarters about the lack of prosecutions of those accused of child abuse, and what they say is a continuing failure to protect Spirit Lake’s children. The reservation’s registered child sex offender list includes the man who plays Santa Claus at tribal events, as well as a brother of Roger Yankton Sr., the tribal chairman.
Mark Little Junk, 34, the official hired by the tribe to oversee its social services, was arrested in December on several charges, including domestic violence, after he punched a woman in the face, the authorities said. He was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after throwing a child out of a bedroom where the assault was taking place, according to court documents.
The town hall meeting, announced by Senators John Hoeven, a Republican, and Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, and Representative Kevin Cramer, a Republican, will include an update from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on federal efforts, according to a news release. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.
“We have pressed them not only to use every legal and administrative measure in their jurisdiction to ensure the safety of children on the Spirit Lake Reservation, but also to be transparent and forthcoming with tribal members about what they’re doing,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs said that among the changes it has made since taking over tribal social services was imposing a rule that required all adults who live with foster children to have their fingerprints taken.
While fingerprinting in such circumstances is already mandated by federal law, it was not being done regularly at Spirit Lake, officials said. Reservation residents say they believe significant numbers of foster children on the reservation have been sexually abused.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/us/child-sex-abuse-at-spirit-lake-is-lawmakers-topic.html?_r=0
What Do You Call A Retired Pope? A Putz! And Is He Still Infallible? Never Was!
Although in the popular imagination, everything a pope says and writes is often perceived as infallible, in fact, papal pronouncements are only considered infallible when a pope speaks “ex cathedra,” in his capacity as leader of the universal church, on questions of faith and morals.
CLICK TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/world/europe/what-do-you-call-a-retired-pope-and-is-he-still-infallible.html?pagewanted=all
Federal officials will hold a town hall meeting on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in North Dakota this month to discuss the reservation’s child sexual abuse problem, which last year led the federal government to take over the tribe’s social services program.
Residents have complained that the Bureau of Indian Affairs and federal prosecutors have done too little to stop child abuse, which officials acknowledge is commonplace on Spirit Lake and has reached epidemic levels, whistle-blowers say. North Dakota’s senators and a representative are expected to attend the meeting.
The federal government took over the tribe’s social services in October, and in one month federal officials said they had investigated more than 100 cases of reported child abuse. More recent figures are not available, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In May 2011, a 9-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother were killed on the reservation after being raped and sodomized.
In recent months, residents have protested outside tribal headquarters about the lack of prosecutions of those accused of child abuse, and what they say is a continuing failure to protect Spirit Lake’s children. The reservation’s registered child sex offender list includes the man who plays Santa Claus at tribal events, as well as a brother of Roger Yankton Sr., the tribal chairman.
Mark Little Junk, 34, the official hired by the tribe to oversee its social services, was arrested in December on several charges, including domestic violence, after he punched a woman in the face, the authorities said. He was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after throwing a child out of a bedroom where the assault was taking place, according to court documents.
The town hall meeting, announced by Senators John Hoeven, a Republican, and Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, and Representative Kevin Cramer, a Republican, will include an update from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on federal efforts, according to a news release. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.
“We have pressed them not only to use every legal and administrative measure in their jurisdiction to ensure the safety of children on the Spirit Lake Reservation, but also to be transparent and forthcoming with tribal members about what they’re doing,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs said that among the changes it has made since taking over tribal social services was imposing a rule that required all adults who live with foster children to have their fingerprints taken.
While fingerprinting in such circumstances is already mandated by federal law, it was not being done regularly at Spirit Lake, officials said. Reservation residents say they believe significant numbers of foster children on the reservation have been sexually abused.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/us/child-sex-abuse-at-spirit-lake-is-lawmakers-topic.html?_r=0
What Do You Call A Retired Pope? A Putz! And Is He Still Infallible? Never Was!
Although in the popular imagination, everything a pope says and writes is often perceived as infallible, in fact, papal pronouncements are only considered infallible when a pope speaks “ex cathedra,” in his capacity as leader of the universal church, on questions of faith and morals.
CLICK TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/world/europe/what-do-you-call-a-retired-pope-and-is-he-still-infallible.html?pagewanted=all
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Never Seek A Rabbi's Advice On Child Sex-Abuse - Never!
Calgary Jews disavow sex offender, rabbi’s letter.
In the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked Calgary, leaders of the Canadian city’s Jewish community have moved quickly to distance themselves from a local rabbi’s expression of support for a convicted Jewish psychiatrist with a notorious past.
At issue is a letter from Rabbi Yisroel Miller, the leader of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel, an Orthodox synagogue, which was read aloud during the sentencing hearing for Dr. Aubrey Levin. Levin, who had occupied a prominent position in the University of Calgary‘s psychiatry department, was convicted Jan. 31 of sexually assaulting male patients who had been referred to him for assessment and treatment by the province of Alberta’s criminal justice system.
At the hearing, Levin’s attorney characterized the assaults as “minor” and read aloud a letter submitted by Miller, the psychiatrist’s rabbi at House of Jacob Mikveh Israel. Miller wrote that Levin’s “humble manner and complete lack of arrogance endeared him to everyone,” and pleaded for leniency.
“The bad does not erase all the good,” Miller argued. “I know all the goodness within him still remains. A prison term would be a death sentence for him.”
Justice Donna Shelley was unmoved, sentencing Levin to five years in prison for “horrible violations of the trust that these the patients put in you as their psychiatrist.”
‘Rabbi Miller expected his clergy letter . . . to be read privately by the judge, not read aloud in court’
“As a psychiatrist, you knew their vulnerabilities . . . They were entitled to feel safe and supported during their appointments with you. Instead, you exploited them in a predatory and repetitious manner.”
The offender’s wife, Erica Levin, was not in court. She was under house arrest, having been charged with attempted jury tampering.
Her husband was released on bail Wednesday, pending the outcome of an appeal.
Levin’s membership in Calgary’s approximately 7,500-person Jewish community was not publicly acknowledged until the rabbi’s letter was read, according to Bev Sheckter, executive director of Jewish Family Service Calgary.
“I would have been happy had no one ever known he was Jewish,” she told The Times of Israel.
Calgary’s Jewish community was further shaken by the revelation of Levin’s highly controversial past in his native South Africa, where he lived before immigrating to Canada in 1995.
In South Africa, Levin had served as the chief psychiatrist in the apartheid-era military, receiving the nickname “Dr. Shock” for his use of electroconvulsive aversion therapy to “cure” gay soldiers. The psychiatrist, now 74, also reportedly held conscientious objectors against their will at a military hospital and subjected them to powerful drug treatments.
“It was a total shock,” said Nelson Halpern, co-president of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel. “Levin arrived in Calgary and joined our shul. We welcomed him as a new member and as a professional with a lovely family. We had no reason to suspect anything like this about him.”
Levin had reportedly suppressed discussion of his past once he entered Canada, allegedly threatening lawsuits against news outlets that discovered his story.
His past also included accusations before South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission that Levin was guilty of “gross human rights abuses,” including the chemical castration of gay men.
‘I would have been happy had no one ever known he was Jewish’
Levin was a member of the first Jewish family to join the South African National Party, which implemented and enforced apartheid for nearly five decades. He had a history of anti-gay statements and actions.
Halpern, the co-president of Calgary’s Orthodox synagogue, is one of several prominent community members to issue public statements emphasizing that Miller’s letter speaks only for the rabbi, and not for the community as a whole.
“Rabbi Miller expected his clergy letter of support for the offender to be read privately by the judge, not read aloud in court,” Halpern explained to The Times of Israel. “He has every right to be supportive of and show compassion for his congregant. However, he should have chosen other words.”
Halpern and Adam Singer, the president of the Calgary Jewish Federation, wrote letters printed in the Calgary Sun and Calgary Herald, respectively. In Singer’s, published Feb. 5, he wrote, “Miller was not speaking on behalf of the Jewish community of Calgary. Calgary Jewish Federation, the representative body of Calgary’s Jewish community, condemns sexual abuse, domestic violence and violations of human dignity. The victims of such crimes deserve to see justice done, and those found guilty in a court of law must face the consequences of their actions.”
“Federation speaks for the community, not Rabbi Miller,” said Sheckter, whose agency runs a program dealing with domestic violence and sexual abuse in the community. “The community would not have been upset if the rabbi had limited his comments to the rabbi-congregant relationship. What has upset us is that it included reference to the community as a whole. None of us would support a sexual predator who has been found guilty by law.”
“At Jewish Family Service, we try to protect the vulnerable, so to have this said about our community is very disconcerting,” Sheckter said.
Levin’s wife was under house arrest, charged with attempted jury tampering.
Miller comes from a well-known and respected Boston rabbinic family and is the author of several books on Jewish thought. In Pittsburgh, he led the Modern Orthodox Congregation Poale Zedeck and held a number of leadership roles in the greater Jewish community, including as an officer of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Halpern said he was not sure whether Miller, who arrived at House of Jacob Mikveh Israel in July 2009, was aware of the local community’s heightened sensitivity around the issue of sexual abuse following a pedophilia case there in the 1990s, when a youth adviser and kashrut supervisor named David Webber served six years in prison for sexual assault and possession of child pornography.
Despite the community‘s negative reaction, Miller has not issued a statement since the controversy began. He didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Times of Israel.
Halpern said that the board of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel is enacting new policies to prevent a repeat of the controversy.
Sheckter has reached out to the rabbi, whom she called “a very knowledgeable man who has been open in the past to conversations with JFSC about family violence.”
“It’s really an educational piece. I don’t want to blame him,” she said. “Maybe he doesn’t understand the ramifications that sexual abuse can have on people. I want to work together so that his won’t happen again.”
“He is a powerful man. People listen to him,” Sheckter said of Miller. “If people feel a rabbi is not sensitive to these things, then victims will not come forward to ask him for help.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/calgary-jews-disavow-sex-offender-rabbis-letter/
In the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked Calgary, leaders of the Canadian city’s Jewish community have moved quickly to distance themselves from a local rabbi’s expression of support for a convicted Jewish psychiatrist with a notorious past.
At issue is a letter from Rabbi Yisroel Miller, the leader of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel, an Orthodox synagogue, which was read aloud during the sentencing hearing for Dr. Aubrey Levin. Levin, who had occupied a prominent position in the University of Calgary‘s psychiatry department, was convicted Jan. 31 of sexually assaulting male patients who had been referred to him for assessment and treatment by the province of Alberta’s criminal justice system.
At the hearing, Levin’s attorney characterized the assaults as “minor” and read aloud a letter submitted by Miller, the psychiatrist’s rabbi at House of Jacob Mikveh Israel. Miller wrote that Levin’s “humble manner and complete lack of arrogance endeared him to everyone,” and pleaded for leniency.
“The bad does not erase all the good,” Miller argued. “I know all the goodness within him still remains. A prison term would be a death sentence for him.”
Justice Donna Shelley was unmoved, sentencing Levin to five years in prison for “horrible violations of the trust that these the patients put in you as their psychiatrist.”
‘Rabbi Miller expected his clergy letter . . . to be read privately by the judge, not read aloud in court’
“As a psychiatrist, you knew their vulnerabilities . . . They were entitled to feel safe and supported during their appointments with you. Instead, you exploited them in a predatory and repetitious manner.”
The offender’s wife, Erica Levin, was not in court. She was under house arrest, having been charged with attempted jury tampering.
Her husband was released on bail Wednesday, pending the outcome of an appeal.
Levin’s membership in Calgary’s approximately 7,500-person Jewish community was not publicly acknowledged until the rabbi’s letter was read, according to Bev Sheckter, executive director of Jewish Family Service Calgary.
“I would have been happy had no one ever known he was Jewish,” she told The Times of Israel.
Calgary’s Jewish community was further shaken by the revelation of Levin’s highly controversial past in his native South Africa, where he lived before immigrating to Canada in 1995.
In South Africa, Levin had served as the chief psychiatrist in the apartheid-era military, receiving the nickname “Dr. Shock” for his use of electroconvulsive aversion therapy to “cure” gay soldiers. The psychiatrist, now 74, also reportedly held conscientious objectors against their will at a military hospital and subjected them to powerful drug treatments.
“It was a total shock,” said Nelson Halpern, co-president of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel. “Levin arrived in Calgary and joined our shul. We welcomed him as a new member and as a professional with a lovely family. We had no reason to suspect anything like this about him.”
Levin had reportedly suppressed discussion of his past once he entered Canada, allegedly threatening lawsuits against news outlets that discovered his story.
His past also included accusations before South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission that Levin was guilty of “gross human rights abuses,” including the chemical castration of gay men.
‘I would have been happy had no one ever known he was Jewish’
Levin was a member of the first Jewish family to join the South African National Party, which implemented and enforced apartheid for nearly five decades. He had a history of anti-gay statements and actions.
Halpern, the co-president of Calgary’s Orthodox synagogue, is one of several prominent community members to issue public statements emphasizing that Miller’s letter speaks only for the rabbi, and not for the community as a whole.
“Rabbi Miller expected his clergy letter of support for the offender to be read privately by the judge, not read aloud in court,” Halpern explained to The Times of Israel. “He has every right to be supportive of and show compassion for his congregant. However, he should have chosen other words.”
Halpern and Adam Singer, the president of the Calgary Jewish Federation, wrote letters printed in the Calgary Sun and Calgary Herald, respectively. In Singer’s, published Feb. 5, he wrote, “Miller was not speaking on behalf of the Jewish community of Calgary. Calgary Jewish Federation, the representative body of Calgary’s Jewish community, condemns sexual abuse, domestic violence and violations of human dignity. The victims of such crimes deserve to see justice done, and those found guilty in a court of law must face the consequences of their actions.”
“Federation speaks for the community, not Rabbi Miller,” said Sheckter, whose agency runs a program dealing with domestic violence and sexual abuse in the community. “The community would not have been upset if the rabbi had limited his comments to the rabbi-congregant relationship. What has upset us is that it included reference to the community as a whole. None of us would support a sexual predator who has been found guilty by law.”
“At Jewish Family Service, we try to protect the vulnerable, so to have this said about our community is very disconcerting,” Sheckter said.
Levin’s wife was under house arrest, charged with attempted jury tampering.
Miller comes from a well-known and respected Boston rabbinic family and is the author of several books on Jewish thought. In Pittsburgh, he led the Modern Orthodox Congregation Poale Zedeck and held a number of leadership roles in the greater Jewish community, including as an officer of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Halpern said he was not sure whether Miller, who arrived at House of Jacob Mikveh Israel in July 2009, was aware of the local community’s heightened sensitivity around the issue of sexual abuse following a pedophilia case there in the 1990s, when a youth adviser and kashrut supervisor named David Webber served six years in prison for sexual assault and possession of child pornography.
Despite the community‘s negative reaction, Miller has not issued a statement since the controversy began. He didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Times of Israel.
Halpern said that the board of House of Jacob Mikveh Israel is enacting new policies to prevent a repeat of the controversy.
Sheckter has reached out to the rabbi, whom she called “a very knowledgeable man who has been open in the past to conversations with JFSC about family violence.”
“It’s really an educational piece. I don’t want to blame him,” she said. “Maybe he doesn’t understand the ramifications that sexual abuse can have on people. I want to work together so that his won’t happen again.”
“He is a powerful man. People listen to him,” Sheckter said of Miller. “If people feel a rabbi is not sensitive to these things, then victims will not come forward to ask him for help.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/calgary-jews-disavow-sex-offender-rabbis-letter/
Friday, February 15, 2013
Child sex abuse cover-up alleged in Pope Benedict's resignation
If you suspected there was more to the story behind the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, there may be emerging evidence to support that suspicion.
The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) reported on Thursday that Pope Benedict became the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years in order to avoid criminal prosecution for concealing knowledge of “documented crimes of child torture, trafficking and genocide,” connected to the Roman Catholic Church.
The ITCCS report cites a letter from Rev. Kevin Annett to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, written a week before the pope officially resigned.
The letter states, in part:
“On behalf of our Tribunal and people of conscience everywhere, and of the millions of victims of church abuse, I am making an appeal to you regarding your upcoming meeting with Joseph Ratzinger, who will retire soon as Pope Benedict, the Pontiff of the Church of Rome.
Our understanding is that, in the wake of pressure to have him resign his office because of his proven complicity in concealing child trafficking in his church and other crimes against humanity, Joseph Ratzinger is seeking the assistance of the Italian government in securing protection and immunity from legal prosecution.”
According to the letter, Benedict’s resignation is said to be part of an arrangement with the Italian government to avoid the arrest of a sitting pope.
The Roman Catholic Church has a shadowy history of sexual abuse between members of the clergy and children. Church officials have not always been forthright in admitting to sex crimes within the church, but there is evidence to suggest that the problem is widespread and well known among high-ranking church members.
The Los Angeles Times reports, “Documents from the late 1980s show that Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and another archdiocese official discussed strategies to keep police from discovering that children were being sexually abused by priests.”
In 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched an investigation into child sexual abuse allegations involving Catholic clergy and children, in both public and private settings.
If Benedict is indeed resigning to avoid criminal prosecution for knowledge of sex abuse and other wrongdoing with children in the church, and he was part of a cover-up for the crimes, it would send shockwaves throughout the Christian world.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/14041403-child-sex-abuse-cover-up-alleged-in-pope-benedict-resignation
The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) reported on Thursday that Pope Benedict became the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years in order to avoid criminal prosecution for concealing knowledge of “documented crimes of child torture, trafficking and genocide,” connected to the Roman Catholic Church.
The ITCCS report cites a letter from Rev. Kevin Annett to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, written a week before the pope officially resigned.
The letter states, in part:
“On behalf of our Tribunal and people of conscience everywhere, and of the millions of victims of church abuse, I am making an appeal to you regarding your upcoming meeting with Joseph Ratzinger, who will retire soon as Pope Benedict, the Pontiff of the Church of Rome.
Our understanding is that, in the wake of pressure to have him resign his office because of his proven complicity in concealing child trafficking in his church and other crimes against humanity, Joseph Ratzinger is seeking the assistance of the Italian government in securing protection and immunity from legal prosecution.”
According to the letter, Benedict’s resignation is said to be part of an arrangement with the Italian government to avoid the arrest of a sitting pope.
The Roman Catholic Church has a shadowy history of sexual abuse between members of the clergy and children. Church officials have not always been forthright in admitting to sex crimes within the church, but there is evidence to suggest that the problem is widespread and well known among high-ranking church members.
The Los Angeles Times reports, “Documents from the late 1980s show that Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and another archdiocese official discussed strategies to keep police from discovering that children were being sexually abused by priests.”
In 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched an investigation into child sexual abuse allegations involving Catholic clergy and children, in both public and private settings.
If Benedict is indeed resigning to avoid criminal prosecution for knowledge of sex abuse and other wrongdoing with children in the church, and he was part of a cover-up for the crimes, it would send shockwaves throughout the Christian world.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/14041403-child-sex-abuse-cover-up-alleged-in-pope-benedict-resignation
Thursday, February 14, 2013
"You really need some enlightened leaders to say not only are we going to address the past, but also put in place comprehensive reforms so that this never happens again”
“We aren’t surprised when there are drunks at a bar,” she said. “Why are we surprised to find pedophiles near children?”
Reports of sexual abuse at prep schools reflect growing awareness
Last summer, a graduate of the Landmark School in Beverly demanded that the school investigate past abuse allegations, asking a counselor at the school “Do you want to be Paterno?”
In January, the Brooks School in North Andover disclosed that the former headmaster had an improper relationship with a student.
Two weeks ago, Deerfield Academy in Western Massachusetts announced that a former faculty member had admitted to sexual contact with a student in the 1980s and urged any other victims to come forward.
The series of startling revelations, which has embroiled the schools in controversy and put them under unfamiliar scrutiny, exposes the hidden neglect of past decades and the cost of placing reputation and prestige over the well-being of children, abuse specialists say.
But the recent reports also reflect a growing awareness of child sexual abuse, particularly in the aftermath of the high-profile scandal at Penn State University, and the fading stigma surrounding sexual crimes.
“More allegations are coming to light in every setting, and survivors are drawing inspiration and courage from them,” said Jetta Bernier, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children, a leading children’s advocacy group. “Society is beginning to understand these cases are happening with far-too-frequent regularity.”
Schools are also handling allegations with greater urgency and openness, say those who work with abuse victims. The Brooks School, for instance, disclosed the improper relationship in an e-mail to alumni and parents, describing former headmaster Lawrence Becker’s conduct as “objectionable, manipulative, and an abuse of his position.”
Brooks officials also acknowledged that the head of the board of trustees at the time, former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, did not involve authorities when the relationship came to light.
At Deerfield, the most recent case, the school disclosed the sexual contact on its website.
Both schools urged any abuse victims to contact them.
“We will make every effort to ensure the confidentiality of any information, and we are offering professional counseling if needed,” officials at Deerfield Academy wrote.
Brooks and Deerfield officials declined to comment for this report.
Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said detectives in his office would help any former Deerfield students wishing to report inappropriate contact.
That approach, while probably motivated by fears of legal liability and public criticism, has encouraged victims to break their silence, often after decades, specialists say. As more victims come forward, more are spurred to do the same.
“Many come to feel that they have a responsibility to speak out,” said Suzin Bartley, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund, a statewide group that works to prevent child abuse. “Because if you don’t speak out, this individual may very well continue to abuse other children.”
Many victims do not come to terms with their abuse until years later, Bartley said.
In addition to the high-profile allegations at three prep schools in Massachusetts, abuse claims have emerged at two well-known independent schools in New York. Last year, allegations came to light at Horace Mann School. In December, a venerable private school in Brooklyn, Poly Prep Country Day School, settled a lawsuit contending that the school had for years ignored reports of abuse at the hands of a winning football coach.
Bartley, whose organization has just released a new manual for required reporters of sex abuse in Massachusetts, said the succession of abuse reports at prep schools should not be surprising.
“We aren’t surprised when there are drunks at a bar,” she said. “Why are we surprised to find pedophiles near children?”
Bartley calls for training those who work with children to recognize signs of abuse and establishing strict codes of conduct that discourage adults from being alone with children.
“It’s about limiting their access, period,” she said.
Myra McGovern, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools, said that outrage over the Penn State child abuse scandal has raised awareness to an unprecedented degree. She believes that has led more victims to recall past abuse.
“Even a few years ago, it wouldn’t be discussed so openly,” McGovern said. “Whenever there are big stories of abuse allegations, it makes survivors think about their own history.”
Since Penn State, private schools have adopted a range of new training and policies aimed at preventing abuse, she said.
McGovern cited Brooks and Deerfield as examples of how schools have become more forthcoming, pointing out that both schools contacted alumni and conducted investigations after learning of the reports.
“It’s a very different time,” she said. “Schools are taking a much more proactive approach. That willingness to reach out is much more prevalent today.”
David Finkelhor, a leading specialist on child sexual abuse who directs the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said child sexual abuse cases have declined by more than 60 percent over the past two decades.
The decline reflects growing public awareness, more vigorous prosecution of offenders, and improved treatment of abuse victims, he said.
At the same time, past incidents at prep schools might be surfacing because of publicity around these types of cases, he said.
“Victims may feel like they are less likely to be attacked and doubted,” he said.
Bernier said that while schools that reach out to past victims deserve credit, few are doing all they can to prevent future abuse.
“You really need some enlightened leaders to say not only are we going to address the past, but also put in place comprehensive reforms so that this never happens again,” she said. “They are missing the opportunity.”
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/02/13/awareness-heightened-campuses-under-scrutiny-asmore-victims-report-sexual-abuse-prep-schools/XQwObMgCiwr5yJr5EaygOJ/story.html
Reports of sexual abuse at prep schools reflect growing awareness
Last summer, a graduate of the Landmark School in Beverly demanded that the school investigate past abuse allegations, asking a counselor at the school “Do you want to be Paterno?”
In January, the Brooks School in North Andover disclosed that the former headmaster had an improper relationship with a student.
Two weeks ago, Deerfield Academy in Western Massachusetts announced that a former faculty member had admitted to sexual contact with a student in the 1980s and urged any other victims to come forward.
The series of startling revelations, which has embroiled the schools in controversy and put them under unfamiliar scrutiny, exposes the hidden neglect of past decades and the cost of placing reputation and prestige over the well-being of children, abuse specialists say.
But the recent reports also reflect a growing awareness of child sexual abuse, particularly in the aftermath of the high-profile scandal at Penn State University, and the fading stigma surrounding sexual crimes.
“More allegations are coming to light in every setting, and survivors are drawing inspiration and courage from them,” said Jetta Bernier, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children, a leading children’s advocacy group. “Society is beginning to understand these cases are happening with far-too-frequent regularity.”
Schools are also handling allegations with greater urgency and openness, say those who work with abuse victims. The Brooks School, for instance, disclosed the improper relationship in an e-mail to alumni and parents, describing former headmaster Lawrence Becker’s conduct as “objectionable, manipulative, and an abuse of his position.”
Brooks officials also acknowledged that the head of the board of trustees at the time, former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, did not involve authorities when the relationship came to light.
At Deerfield, the most recent case, the school disclosed the sexual contact on its website.
Both schools urged any abuse victims to contact them.
“We will make every effort to ensure the confidentiality of any information, and we are offering professional counseling if needed,” officials at Deerfield Academy wrote.
Brooks and Deerfield officials declined to comment for this report.
Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said detectives in his office would help any former Deerfield students wishing to report inappropriate contact.
That approach, while probably motivated by fears of legal liability and public criticism, has encouraged victims to break their silence, often after decades, specialists say. As more victims come forward, more are spurred to do the same.
“Many come to feel that they have a responsibility to speak out,” said Suzin Bartley, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund, a statewide group that works to prevent child abuse. “Because if you don’t speak out, this individual may very well continue to abuse other children.”
Many victims do not come to terms with their abuse until years later, Bartley said.
In addition to the high-profile allegations at three prep schools in Massachusetts, abuse claims have emerged at two well-known independent schools in New York. Last year, allegations came to light at Horace Mann School. In December, a venerable private school in Brooklyn, Poly Prep Country Day School, settled a lawsuit contending that the school had for years ignored reports of abuse at the hands of a winning football coach.
Bartley, whose organization has just released a new manual for required reporters of sex abuse in Massachusetts, said the succession of abuse reports at prep schools should not be surprising.
“We aren’t surprised when there are drunks at a bar,” she said. “Why are we surprised to find pedophiles near children?”
Bartley calls for training those who work with children to recognize signs of abuse and establishing strict codes of conduct that discourage adults from being alone with children.
“It’s about limiting their access, period,” she said.
Myra McGovern, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools, said that outrage over the Penn State child abuse scandal has raised awareness to an unprecedented degree. She believes that has led more victims to recall past abuse.
“Even a few years ago, it wouldn’t be discussed so openly,” McGovern said. “Whenever there are big stories of abuse allegations, it makes survivors think about their own history.”
Since Penn State, private schools have adopted a range of new training and policies aimed at preventing abuse, she said.
McGovern cited Brooks and Deerfield as examples of how schools have become more forthcoming, pointing out that both schools contacted alumni and conducted investigations after learning of the reports.
“It’s a very different time,” she said. “Schools are taking a much more proactive approach. That willingness to reach out is much more prevalent today.”
David Finkelhor, a leading specialist on child sexual abuse who directs the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said child sexual abuse cases have declined by more than 60 percent over the past two decades.
The decline reflects growing public awareness, more vigorous prosecution of offenders, and improved treatment of abuse victims, he said.
At the same time, past incidents at prep schools might be surfacing because of publicity around these types of cases, he said.
“Victims may feel like they are less likely to be attacked and doubted,” he said.
Bernier said that while schools that reach out to past victims deserve credit, few are doing all they can to prevent future abuse.
“You really need some enlightened leaders to say not only are we going to address the past, but also put in place comprehensive reforms so that this never happens again,” she said. “They are missing the opportunity.”
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/02/13/awareness-heightened-campuses-under-scrutiny-asmore-victims-report-sexual-abuse-prep-schools/XQwObMgCiwr5yJr5EaygOJ/story.html
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Bill: A crime to not report child abuse - "This is to prevent people in supervisory roles to handle abuse claims privately rather than reporting to police"
Officials including athletic directors and school principals could face criminal penalties if they fail to report suspected child abuse.
That's the focus of a bill that will get a public hearing Wednesday afternoon before the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee.
State Rep. Gerald M. Fox III, co-chairman of the committee, said Tuesday that the bill is aimed at stopping the chain of administrative silence that led to the Penn State University sex scandal of 2011.
"This is to prevent people in supervisory roles to handle abuse claims privately rather than reporting to police," said Fox, D-Stamford, who introduced similar legislation last year. It's based on the sex-abuse case against Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was found guilty last June of 45 charges of sex abuse.
Currently an athletic director or person in similar supervisory role can be fined no more than $2,500 for failing to report the abuse of children 16 and under.
Under the proposed bill, such neglect could result in a Class A misdemeanor, with penalties of a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Fox said that the penalty could be negotiated and possibly toughened before it reaches full votes in the House and Senate. He's looking forward to testimony in the public hearing to discuss the issues.
He said the point of the legislation is, hypothetically, not to punish a young public school teacher who misses signs of abuse, but rather the administrators who might try to dismiss cases or cover up cases that should be investigated by law enforcement.
"This would target people trying to protect their organizations or themselves, rather than staff," Fox said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The bill would amend current law on so-called mandated reporters, who under state law are required to observe children for signs of either physical or sexual abuse and report it.
The state Department of Children and Families is expected to testify in favor of the bill in the hearing, which starts at 2:30 p.m. in the Legislative Office Building.
Michael P. Lawlor, a former lawmaker who is under secretary for criminal justice policy in the state Office of Policy and Management, said Tuesday that the list of mandated reporters has expanded over the years, from teachers, doctors, and clergy, to coaches and those in authority at youth-oriented activities.
"There are people in the course of their professions who come across information on children who are being abused either physically or sexually," Lawlor said.
"They have been trained and should be under the obligation," he said. "People who run powerful institutions have a conflict of interest sometimes even though they have clear evidence of children being abused. That has to be stopped."
kdixon@ctpost.com; 860-549-4670; twitter.com/KenDixonCT; facebook.com/kendixonct.hearst; blog.ctnews.com/dixon
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bill-A-crime-to-not-report-child-abuse-4272739.php#ixzz2KkrhPP6m
That's the focus of a bill that will get a public hearing Wednesday afternoon before the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee.
State Rep. Gerald M. Fox III, co-chairman of the committee, said Tuesday that the bill is aimed at stopping the chain of administrative silence that led to the Penn State University sex scandal of 2011.
"This is to prevent people in supervisory roles to handle abuse claims privately rather than reporting to police," said Fox, D-Stamford, who introduced similar legislation last year. It's based on the sex-abuse case against Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was found guilty last June of 45 charges of sex abuse.
Currently an athletic director or person in similar supervisory role can be fined no more than $2,500 for failing to report the abuse of children 16 and under.
Under the proposed bill, such neglect could result in a Class A misdemeanor, with penalties of a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Fox said that the penalty could be negotiated and possibly toughened before it reaches full votes in the House and Senate. He's looking forward to testimony in the public hearing to discuss the issues.
He said the point of the legislation is, hypothetically, not to punish a young public school teacher who misses signs of abuse, but rather the administrators who might try to dismiss cases or cover up cases that should be investigated by law enforcement.
"This would target people trying to protect their organizations or themselves, rather than staff," Fox said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The bill would amend current law on so-called mandated reporters, who under state law are required to observe children for signs of either physical or sexual abuse and report it.
The state Department of Children and Families is expected to testify in favor of the bill in the hearing, which starts at 2:30 p.m. in the Legislative Office Building.
Michael P. Lawlor, a former lawmaker who is under secretary for criminal justice policy in the state Office of Policy and Management, said Tuesday that the list of mandated reporters has expanded over the years, from teachers, doctors, and clergy, to coaches and those in authority at youth-oriented activities.
"There are people in the course of their professions who come across information on children who are being abused either physically or sexually," Lawlor said.
"They have been trained and should be under the obligation," he said. "People who run powerful institutions have a conflict of interest sometimes even though they have clear evidence of children being abused. That has to be stopped."
kdixon@ctpost.com; 860-549-4670; twitter.com/KenDixonCT; facebook.com/kendixonct.hearst; blog.ctnews.com/dixon
Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bill-A-crime-to-not-report-child-abuse-4272739.php#ixzz2KkrhPP6m
Monday, February 11, 2013
UK Jews React To Child Sex-Abuse Documentary!
Channel 4 documentary looking at how claims of child sexual abuse are dealt with in Britain's Orthodox Jewish community sparks off debate in kingdom
A documentary looking at how claims of child sexual abuse are dealt with in Britain's Orthodox Jewish community was recently featured on British television. It sparked off debate in the United Kingdom,but how has London and its Jewish community reacted to the documentary?
The documentary, "Britain's Hidden Child Abuse," featured on Channel 4 on January 30, secretly filmed Rabbi Ephraim Padwa, leader of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.
"It's an investigation of the way the haredi community deals with allegations of child sexual abuse," says executive producer Tony Stark.
"What we've found is instead of rabbis advising people who come to them if they feel they've been sexually abused, to go to the police, they've been trying to deal with the issue themselves. They've been discouraging people from going to the police, and in some cases even forbidding them."
However, the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations has refuted all claims that they refuse to take allegations of child abuse seriously, stating they have a duty and responsibility to protect children.
Rabbi Barry Marcus of the Central Synagogue of London spoke to JN1 about his reaction to the documentary.
"The guidelines are pretty clear now as to how we need to protect, especially children, and the more vulnerable in our community. There was an incident with a teacher within the United Synagogue some years ago, and I think that spurred the United Synagogue to be proactive, rather than reactive, which seems to be what's going on now within the haredi community. That doesn't make them any more guilty."
The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations has published the number of a telephone line to report instances of child abuse to Rabbis who have been specially trained.
Indeed the Union recognizes that there "are certain times when it is correct and necessary to call the social services and police."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4343454,00.html
Saint Hilarious - One More Lie Before He Dies!
Last Pope to Resign Did So in Midst of Vatican Leadership Crisis
READ: http://www.snapnetwork.org/pope_resigns_snap_responds
Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement on Monday that he was stepping down because he was too elderly and infirm for the job was the first papal resignation in 598 years. It put Benedict among the small handful, out of the 265 recognized popes in history, who have stepped down as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The circumstances behind the other departures generally had nothing to do with age or health, according to Vatican history experts and references.
The last pope to resign, Gregory XII, did so in 1415, 10 years into his tenure, in the midst of a leadership crisis in the church known as the Great Western Schism. Three rival popes had been selected by separate factions of the church, and a group of bishops called the Council of Constance were trying to heal the schism. In an interview with Vatican Radio, Donald S. Prudlo, a papal historian at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala., said that Gregory XII offered to resign so that the council could choose a new pope that all factions would recognize. It took two years after Gregory XII’s departure to elect his successor, Martin V.
Other popes known to have resigned:
Pope Celestine V: A recluse who only reluctantly accepted his election in 1294, Celestine V resigned and fled the Vatican after just three months to wander in the mountains. According to a history timeline on Christianity.com, the bishop who became his successor, Boniface VIII, was intent on ensuring that Celestine V did not become an example for future popes, and ordered Celestine V seized and imprisoned as he was about to sail to Greece. He died in custody in 1296 at the age of 81, and was declared a saint in 1313.
Benedict IX: One of the youngest popes, he was elected at the age of 23 in 1035, and became notorious for licentious behavior and for selling the papacy to his godfather, Gregory VI, and then twice reclaiming the position; he finally resigned for good in 1045, at the age of 33.
Gregory VI: Considered a man of great reputation, Gregory VI had thought Benedict IX unworthy of the papacy, and essentially bribed him to resign. He was recognized as pope in Benedict’s stead, but when Benedict’s attempt at marriage failed and he wanted to return to the papacy, a power struggle ensued. A council of bishops called upon Gregory VI to resign after less than two years in office because he had obtained the papacy through bribery.
By contrast, the resignation of Benedict XVI after an eight-year tenure will essentially be a retirement at the age of 85, after the pope showed increasingly public signs of fatigue in recent months. His last day as pope will be Feb. 28, coincidentally the feast day of a revered fifth-century pope, Saint Hilarius.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/last-pope-to-resign-did-so-in-midst-of-vatican-leadership-crisis.html?hp&_r=0
READ: http://www.snapnetwork.org/pope_resigns_snap_responds
Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement on Monday that he was stepping down because he was too elderly and infirm for the job was the first papal resignation in 598 years. It put Benedict among the small handful, out of the 265 recognized popes in history, who have stepped down as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The circumstances behind the other departures generally had nothing to do with age or health, according to Vatican history experts and references.
The last pope to resign, Gregory XII, did so in 1415, 10 years into his tenure, in the midst of a leadership crisis in the church known as the Great Western Schism. Three rival popes had been selected by separate factions of the church, and a group of bishops called the Council of Constance were trying to heal the schism. In an interview with Vatican Radio, Donald S. Prudlo, a papal historian at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala., said that Gregory XII offered to resign so that the council could choose a new pope that all factions would recognize. It took two years after Gregory XII’s departure to elect his successor, Martin V.
Other popes known to have resigned:
Pope Celestine V: A recluse who only reluctantly accepted his election in 1294, Celestine V resigned and fled the Vatican after just three months to wander in the mountains. According to a history timeline on Christianity.com, the bishop who became his successor, Boniface VIII, was intent on ensuring that Celestine V did not become an example for future popes, and ordered Celestine V seized and imprisoned as he was about to sail to Greece. He died in custody in 1296 at the age of 81, and was declared a saint in 1313.
Benedict IX: One of the youngest popes, he was elected at the age of 23 in 1035, and became notorious for licentious behavior and for selling the papacy to his godfather, Gregory VI, and then twice reclaiming the position; he finally resigned for good in 1045, at the age of 33.
Gregory VI: Considered a man of great reputation, Gregory VI had thought Benedict IX unworthy of the papacy, and essentially bribed him to resign. He was recognized as pope in Benedict’s stead, but when Benedict’s attempt at marriage failed and he wanted to return to the papacy, a power struggle ensued. A council of bishops called upon Gregory VI to resign after less than two years in office because he had obtained the papacy through bribery.
By contrast, the resignation of Benedict XVI after an eight-year tenure will essentially be a retirement at the age of 85, after the pope showed increasingly public signs of fatigue in recent months. His last day as pope will be Feb. 28, coincidentally the feast day of a revered fifth-century pope, Saint Hilarius.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/last-pope-to-resign-did-so-in-midst-of-vatican-leadership-crisis.html?hp&_r=0
Sunday, February 10, 2013
“Did someone touch you at day care?”
Testimony from children can make or break sexual abuse case
If David Glenn Smith, the Des Moines man accused of sexually abusing children at his wife’s in-home day care over the span of four years, is tried in court, the nature of the case will pose unusual challenges for prosecutors.
There is no physical evidence in the case, police say. Prosecutors are relying solely on the testimony of the alleged victims and witnesses, who are all younger than age 10.
As investigators experienced in a recent Polk County case that was retried after an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, putting a child on the witness stand has inherent risks.
In an interview, Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said he could speak only in general about child abuse cases, and not specifically about Smith’s case.
“They’re not the easiest cases in the world, but they’re ones that need to be brought,” he said.
Some child abuse cases are resolved before a trial, but if that doesn’t happen, the alleged victim usually must testify. Preparing children to recount the abuse they endured and to face their alleged abusers in court is especially difficult, Sarcone said.
“You wouldn’t believe the damage that is done to some of them, and it takes a long time to recover from those things,” he said.
In certain circumstances, when appearing in the courtroom would inhibit a child’s ability to testify, children are allowed to provide their testimony by video. Even then, some children clam up, Sarcone said.
He cited the 2009 trial of Matthew Elliott, who was accused of killing a 7-month-old girl in 2007 in the West Des Moines home where he was staying. Prosecutors called on the 7-year-old uncle of the victim to testify.
The boy had originally told investigators he saw Elliott carrying the baby’s lifeless body, but in his videotaped interview before the court he balked, saying he did not remember what he told police.
Elliott was convicted anyway, but the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 awarded him a new trial, out of concern that detectives’ testimony about what the 7-year-old originally reported amounted to hearsay without the boy’s testimony.
Elliott was convicted again and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
In the case against Smith, investigators interviewed more than 10 children who attended the day care. Some said they were touched by Smith. Others said they saw Smith touch other children.
According to Polk County court documents, Smith allegedly placed a 9-year-old girl on his lap, put his hands under her clothes and touched her inappropriately.
Smith is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a felony with a potential 25-year prison sentence.
While Smith allegedly touched several other children, prosecutors decided to file one charge based on the abuse allegation they felt made the strongest case, said Des Moines Police Detective Terry Mitchell.
Some of the children interviewed were as young as 4, and prosecutors felt the 9-year-old could most accurately recount the alleged abuse, he said.
Additional charges are possible, Mitchell said.
Cases often lack physical evidence
A lack of physical evidence is common in child abuse cases, said Dr. Ken McCann, a child abuse medical examiner at the Regional Child Protection Center at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.
The child protection center is a neutral agency that conducts interviews and medical exams of children involved in physical and sexual abuse cases. There are five such centers around the state.
McCann said he conducts about 1,000 medical exams on children each year. About 95 percent of those children show no physical signs of abuse.
That doesn’t mean there was no abuse. Much of the evidence can heal within a week or 10 days, and abuse frequently is reported much later, he said.
Additionally, many types of abuse — like what Smith is accused of — leave no physical evidence, McCann said.
Mitchell said he is confident in the case against Smith.
The children’s stories corroborate one another, and it’s clear that Smith had the opportunity to commit the abuse, the detective said.
Children who attended the day care at different periods and have never met reported similar types of abuse, which Mitchell said showed the multiple abuse allegations were not a result of children repeating what they heard from others at the day care.
Smith worked nights at the Polk County Juvenile Detention Center, where, county officials say, he had no direct contact with children.
Smith helped his wife, Lisa Rae Smith, run the day care in the afternoon. He watched the school-age children in one part of the two-story east-side home, while she watched the younger ones elsewhere.
There’s no evidence that Lisa Smith knew of the abuse. Some of the children told interviewers that Smith would stop the alleged abuse when he heard her coming, Mitchell said.
Interviewers must use careful tactics
Keith Rigg, a Des Moines defense attorney not associated with Smith’s case, said prosecutors face a risk with relying solely on the testimony of children.
There have been numerous notable cases in which investigators and parents have used leading questions to bring a child to believe he or she was abused by a teacher or baby sitter, when in fact they were not, he said.
“The main pitfall that you have — and historically where these cases have gone very, very wrong — is that you can feed information to a kid, and they will take that information as their own,” he said.
One infamous case started in California in 1983, when a McMartin Preschool teacher was accused of sexually abusing a 2-year-old boy.
Police notified parents, and in time children were urged in interviews to divulge secrets about their school. They responded with allegations of rape, being photographed, secret passageways under the school, satanic rituals and even the sacrifice of a human baby.
After six years of criminal trials, all charges were dropped.
Interview practices have evolved in the decades since.
Locally, most interviews of child abuse victims are conducted by the Regional Child Protection Center.
Interviewing a child abuse victim is a meticulous, research-based process, said Tammera Bibbins, a forensic interviewer at the clinic.
She starts by showing the child the camera in the room and flips on the lights behind a one-way mirror so the child can see where investigators will watch.
Then they talk for a while to make sure the child can tell a coherent story.
The interviewer never uses the suspect’s name before the child does, or asks leading questions such as, “Did someone touch you at day care?” Bibbins said.
She tells the child to be honest, and that it’s OK to say “I don’t know.” Children must not feel they have to say what the adult wants to hear, she said.
“In the real world, the adult is the one with all the answers,” she said. “Sometimes kids go along with what they think adults want to hear. We try to turn that around and make them the ones with all the answers.”
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130210/NEWS01/302100097/Testimony-from-children-can-make-or-break-sexual-abuse-case?News&nclick_check=1
If David Glenn Smith, the Des Moines man accused of sexually abusing children at his wife’s in-home day care over the span of four years, is tried in court, the nature of the case will pose unusual challenges for prosecutors.
There is no physical evidence in the case, police say. Prosecutors are relying solely on the testimony of the alleged victims and witnesses, who are all younger than age 10.
As investigators experienced in a recent Polk County case that was retried after an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, putting a child on the witness stand has inherent risks.
In an interview, Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said he could speak only in general about child abuse cases, and not specifically about Smith’s case.
“They’re not the easiest cases in the world, but they’re ones that need to be brought,” he said.
Some child abuse cases are resolved before a trial, but if that doesn’t happen, the alleged victim usually must testify. Preparing children to recount the abuse they endured and to face their alleged abusers in court is especially difficult, Sarcone said.
“You wouldn’t believe the damage that is done to some of them, and it takes a long time to recover from those things,” he said.
In certain circumstances, when appearing in the courtroom would inhibit a child’s ability to testify, children are allowed to provide their testimony by video. Even then, some children clam up, Sarcone said.
He cited the 2009 trial of Matthew Elliott, who was accused of killing a 7-month-old girl in 2007 in the West Des Moines home where he was staying. Prosecutors called on the 7-year-old uncle of the victim to testify.
The boy had originally told investigators he saw Elliott carrying the baby’s lifeless body, but in his videotaped interview before the court he balked, saying he did not remember what he told police.
Elliott was convicted anyway, but the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 awarded him a new trial, out of concern that detectives’ testimony about what the 7-year-old originally reported amounted to hearsay without the boy’s testimony.
Elliott was convicted again and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
In the case against Smith, investigators interviewed more than 10 children who attended the day care. Some said they were touched by Smith. Others said they saw Smith touch other children.
According to Polk County court documents, Smith allegedly placed a 9-year-old girl on his lap, put his hands under her clothes and touched her inappropriately.
Smith is charged with second-degree sexual abuse, a felony with a potential 25-year prison sentence.
While Smith allegedly touched several other children, prosecutors decided to file one charge based on the abuse allegation they felt made the strongest case, said Des Moines Police Detective Terry Mitchell.
Some of the children interviewed were as young as 4, and prosecutors felt the 9-year-old could most accurately recount the alleged abuse, he said.
Additional charges are possible, Mitchell said.
Cases often lack physical evidence
A lack of physical evidence is common in child abuse cases, said Dr. Ken McCann, a child abuse medical examiner at the Regional Child Protection Center at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.
The child protection center is a neutral agency that conducts interviews and medical exams of children involved in physical and sexual abuse cases. There are five such centers around the state.
McCann said he conducts about 1,000 medical exams on children each year. About 95 percent of those children show no physical signs of abuse.
That doesn’t mean there was no abuse. Much of the evidence can heal within a week or 10 days, and abuse frequently is reported much later, he said.
Additionally, many types of abuse — like what Smith is accused of — leave no physical evidence, McCann said.
Mitchell said he is confident in the case against Smith.
The children’s stories corroborate one another, and it’s clear that Smith had the opportunity to commit the abuse, the detective said.
Children who attended the day care at different periods and have never met reported similar types of abuse, which Mitchell said showed the multiple abuse allegations were not a result of children repeating what they heard from others at the day care.
Smith worked nights at the Polk County Juvenile Detention Center, where, county officials say, he had no direct contact with children.
Smith helped his wife, Lisa Rae Smith, run the day care in the afternoon. He watched the school-age children in one part of the two-story east-side home, while she watched the younger ones elsewhere.
There’s no evidence that Lisa Smith knew of the abuse. Some of the children told interviewers that Smith would stop the alleged abuse when he heard her coming, Mitchell said.
Interviewers must use careful tactics
Keith Rigg, a Des Moines defense attorney not associated with Smith’s case, said prosecutors face a risk with relying solely on the testimony of children.
There have been numerous notable cases in which investigators and parents have used leading questions to bring a child to believe he or she was abused by a teacher or baby sitter, when in fact they were not, he said.
“The main pitfall that you have — and historically where these cases have gone very, very wrong — is that you can feed information to a kid, and they will take that information as their own,” he said.
One infamous case started in California in 1983, when a McMartin Preschool teacher was accused of sexually abusing a 2-year-old boy.
Police notified parents, and in time children were urged in interviews to divulge secrets about their school. They responded with allegations of rape, being photographed, secret passageways under the school, satanic rituals and even the sacrifice of a human baby.
After six years of criminal trials, all charges were dropped.
Interview practices have evolved in the decades since.
Locally, most interviews of child abuse victims are conducted by the Regional Child Protection Center.
Interviewing a child abuse victim is a meticulous, research-based process, said Tammera Bibbins, a forensic interviewer at the clinic.
She starts by showing the child the camera in the room and flips on the lights behind a one-way mirror so the child can see where investigators will watch.
Then they talk for a while to make sure the child can tell a coherent story.
The interviewer never uses the suspect’s name before the child does, or asks leading questions such as, “Did someone touch you at day care?” Bibbins said.
She tells the child to be honest, and that it’s OK to say “I don’t know.” Children must not feel they have to say what the adult wants to hear, she said.
“In the real world, the adult is the one with all the answers,” she said. “Sometimes kids go along with what they think adults want to hear. We try to turn that around and make them the ones with all the answers.”
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130210/NEWS01/302100097/Testimony-from-children-can-make-or-break-sexual-abuse-case?News&nclick_check=1
I Knew It - The Jews Own India!
India faulted for failing to curb child sex abuse
NEW DELHI—India's government has failed to curb rampant sexual abuse of children, especially in schools and state-run child care facilities, a rights group said Thursday.
The report from Human Rights Watch comes in the wake of the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December, an attack that shook the conscience of the nation and forced people to recognize the problem of sexual violence.
The report said child sexual abuse is disturbingly common and government responses fall short in protecting children and treating victims. It also said the inspections of state-run child facilities were inadequate, with many not even registered with the government as required by the law.
"Shockingly, the very institutions that should protect vulnerable children can place them at risk of horrific child sexual abuse," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
The group called for strict implementation of laws on sexual violence and better monitoring of child-care facilities. It also demanded more sensitive treatment by police, including an end to internal medical exams that it says are traumatic and pointless.
There are no clear statistics on the number of child abuse cases in India, primarily because of the low reporting of such crimes. As a result, Human Rights Watch based its reports on hundreds of detailed case studies with victims and their relatives, child protection officials, independent experts, police, doctors and social workers.
India's 430 million children form a third of its 1.2 billion people and around one-fifth of the global child population.
Things are particularly bad in state-run or state-funded child care homes, activists said.
"The vulnerability of children to sexual abuse is very high, and it becomes worse because there is nobody monitoring these children's homes," said Anuja Gupta of the Recovering and Healing from Incest Foundation in New Delhi.
Abuse often is committed by the caregivers, she said.
"When the caretaker himself is the abuser, the situation is especially traumatic because then the child has nowhere to go," Gupta said.
Simply reporting sexual violence is a challenge, rights activists said!!! (Sounds like Mesira - Sanjay Kaminetzky)
In many cases, police or court officials refuse to accept that rape or incest has taken place, said Shantha Sinha, the head of India's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
"People have to be made aware of their rights, the procedures to be followed in registering a case in a police station, and insist that they get justice," Sinha said Thursday at a press briefing.
In India, child abuse is often aggravated by poorly trained police officers who refuse to register complaints or who encourage victims to seek settlements with their attackers. Convictions are rare and cases can languish in the country's sluggish court system for years, if not decades. Police officials insist their forces are getting more training to deal with sexual violence.
The outcry over the Delhi bus rape forced the government to rush through new laws to protect women. A government panel appointed after the attack to examine the country's treatment of women also shone a light on the high incidence of child sexual abuse and the failure of the government to ensure the implementation of child protection laws.
While the government passed a comprehensive law to protect children from sexual offenses in 2012, efforts to implement it were poor or nonexistent, activists say.
Government officials admit that a major handicap in putting the law into practice was the lack of resources to fund monitoring.
"Some states have lagged in providing the required infrastructure to ensure implementation of the law," said Vivek Joshi, a top official in India's ministry of women and child development.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22538826/india-faulted-failing-curb-child-sex-abuse
NEW DELHI—India's government has failed to curb rampant sexual abuse of children, especially in schools and state-run child care facilities, a rights group said Thursday.
The report from Human Rights Watch comes in the wake of the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in December, an attack that shook the conscience of the nation and forced people to recognize the problem of sexual violence.
The report said child sexual abuse is disturbingly common and government responses fall short in protecting children and treating victims. It also said the inspections of state-run child facilities were inadequate, with many not even registered with the government as required by the law.
"Shockingly, the very institutions that should protect vulnerable children can place them at risk of horrific child sexual abuse," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
The group called for strict implementation of laws on sexual violence and better monitoring of child-care facilities. It also demanded more sensitive treatment by police, including an end to internal medical exams that it says are traumatic and pointless.
There are no clear statistics on the number of child abuse cases in India, primarily because of the low reporting of such crimes. As a result, Human Rights Watch based its reports on hundreds of detailed case studies with victims and their relatives, child protection officials, independent experts, police, doctors and social workers.
India's 430 million children form a third of its 1.2 billion people and around one-fifth of the global child population.
Things are particularly bad in state-run or state-funded child care homes, activists said.
"The vulnerability of children to sexual abuse is very high, and it becomes worse because there is nobody monitoring these children's homes," said Anuja Gupta of the Recovering and Healing from Incest Foundation in New Delhi.
Abuse often is committed by the caregivers, she said.
"When the caretaker himself is the abuser, the situation is especially traumatic because then the child has nowhere to go," Gupta said.
Simply reporting sexual violence is a challenge, rights activists said!!! (Sounds like Mesira - Sanjay Kaminetzky)
In many cases, police or court officials refuse to accept that rape or incest has taken place, said Shantha Sinha, the head of India's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
"People have to be made aware of their rights, the procedures to be followed in registering a case in a police station, and insist that they get justice," Sinha said Thursday at a press briefing.
In India, child abuse is often aggravated by poorly trained police officers who refuse to register complaints or who encourage victims to seek settlements with their attackers. Convictions are rare and cases can languish in the country's sluggish court system for years, if not decades. Police officials insist their forces are getting more training to deal with sexual violence.
The outcry over the Delhi bus rape forced the government to rush through new laws to protect women. A government panel appointed after the attack to examine the country's treatment of women also shone a light on the high incidence of child sexual abuse and the failure of the government to ensure the implementation of child protection laws.
While the government passed a comprehensive law to protect children from sexual offenses in 2012, efforts to implement it were poor or nonexistent, activists say.
Government officials admit that a major handicap in putting the law into practice was the lack of resources to fund monitoring.
"Some states have lagged in providing the required infrastructure to ensure implementation of the law," said Vivek Joshi, a top official in India's ministry of women and child development.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22538826/india-faulted-failing-curb-child-sex-abuse
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Coming To The Comedy Club At 42 Broadway - " The Red & Black Yarmulke Files"
L.A. POLICE TO REVIEW NEW CLERGY ABUSE FILES
Detectives will review recently released clergy abuse files from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see if there’s evidence of criminal activity by church authorities, including failure to report child abuse to law enforcement, police officials said Tuesday.
Investigators will focus on the cases of about a dozen previously investigated priests and are auditing those past probes to make sure nothing was missed, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith. The department will also look at the files for all 122 priests that were made public Thursday by court order after the archdiocese fought for five years to keep them sealed, he said.
Thousands of pages of secret confidential files kept by the archdiocese on priests accused of molesting children show recently retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top archdiocese officials shielded priests to protect the church, thwarted police investigations and repeatedly did not report child sex abuse to the authorities.
The files of another 14 priests were published by the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press last month and revealed a similar cover-up.
“Now what’s being alleged is a failure to report, those kinds of things, so there’s a new emphasis — it’s not just the person that’s accused of the behavior, but if it’s also if it was not properly reported,” said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, who heads the detective bureau.
“We’re taking a fresh look on cases we’ve already handled to make sure we don’t have reporting issues that got past,” he said.
Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney, declined to comment Tuesday.
Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the nation’s largest diocese, was publicly rebuked Friday by his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez.
The same day, Bishop Thomas Curry, a top Mahony aide who made critical decisions on abusive priests, requested to resign from his post as an auxiliary bishop in charge of the archdiocese’s Santa Barbara region. Curry was vicar for clergy in the mid-1980s, a position created to handle priestly discipline and other personnel issues.
Both Mahony and Curry have publicly apologized for their handling of pedophile priests.
The archdiocese is considering launching a $200 million fundraising campaign in the midst of the fallout from the clergy files, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. A recent financial report indicates the archdiocese has a deficit of nearly $80 million.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/06/tp-la-police-to-review-new-clergy-abuse-files/
Detectives will review recently released clergy abuse files from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see if there’s evidence of criminal activity by church authorities, including failure to report child abuse to law enforcement, police officials said Tuesday.
Investigators will focus on the cases of about a dozen previously investigated priests and are auditing those past probes to make sure nothing was missed, said Cmdr. Andrew Smith. The department will also look at the files for all 122 priests that were made public Thursday by court order after the archdiocese fought for five years to keep them sealed, he said.
Thousands of pages of secret confidential files kept by the archdiocese on priests accused of molesting children show recently retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top archdiocese officials shielded priests to protect the church, thwarted police investigations and repeatedly did not report child sex abuse to the authorities.
The files of another 14 priests were published by the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press last month and revealed a similar cover-up.
“Now what’s being alleged is a failure to report, those kinds of things, so there’s a new emphasis — it’s not just the person that’s accused of the behavior, but if it’s also if it was not properly reported,” said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, who heads the detective bureau.
“We’re taking a fresh look on cases we’ve already handled to make sure we don’t have reporting issues that got past,” he said.
Michael Hennigan, an archdiocese attorney, declined to comment Tuesday.
Mahony, who retired in 2011 as head of the nation’s largest diocese, was publicly rebuked Friday by his successor, Archbishop Jose Gomez.
The same day, Bishop Thomas Curry, a top Mahony aide who made critical decisions on abusive priests, requested to resign from his post as an auxiliary bishop in charge of the archdiocese’s Santa Barbara region. Curry was vicar for clergy in the mid-1980s, a position created to handle priestly discipline and other personnel issues.
Both Mahony and Curry have publicly apologized for their handling of pedophile priests.
The archdiocese is considering launching a $200 million fundraising campaign in the midst of the fallout from the clergy files, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. A recent financial report indicates the archdiocese has a deficit of nearly $80 million.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/06/tp-la-police-to-review-new-clergy-abuse-files/
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
What's The Difference Between This Muslim And Many Ultra-Orthodox Jews? - NOT MUCH!
* Muslim abuser who 'didn't know' that sex with a girl of 13 was illegal is spared jail..
* Adil Rashid admitted travelling to Nottingham and having sex with the girl
* He met the 13-year-old on Facebook and they communicated by texts and phone for two months before they met
* He was educated in a madrassa and 'had little experience of women'
* Said he had been taught 'women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground'
* Added he was reluctant to have sex but that he was 'tempted by [the girl]'
* A muslim who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless.
* Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.
* Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ‘Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters.’
Earlier Nottingham Crown Court heard that such crimes usually result in a four to seven-year prison sentence.
But the judge said that because Rashid was ‘passive’ and ‘lacking assertiveness’, sending him to jail might cause him ‘more damage than good’.
Rashid, from Birmingham, admitted he had sex with the girl, saying he had been ‘tempted by her’ after they met online.
They initially exchanged messages on Facebook before sending texts and chatting on the phone over a two-month period.
They then met up in Nottingham, where Rashid had booked a room at a Premier Inn.
The girl told police they stayed at the hotel for two hours and had sex after Rashid went to the bathroom and emerged wearing a condom.
More...Mother of dying 15-month-old girl carried into hospital by 'sadistic' paedophile who had fatally abused her sees him jailed for 25 years
Paedophile, 25, had sex with girl, 12, as he hid in her bedroom for TWO DAYS while her unknowing parents sat downstairs
Rashid then returned home and went straight to a mosque to pray.
He was arrested the following week after the girl confessed what had happened to a school friend, who informed one of her teachers.
He told police he knew the girl was 13 but said he was initially reluctant to have sex before relenting after being seduced.
Encounter: Rashid and the girl had met randomly on Facebook and had also communicated by phone and text messages for two months before they met
Earlier the court heard how Rashid had ‘little experience of women’ due to his education at an Islamic school in the UK, which cannot be named for legal reasons.
After his arrest, he told a psychologist that he did not know having sex with a 13-year-old was against the law. The court heard he found it was illegal only when he was informed by a family member.
In other interviews with psychologists, Rashid claimed he had been taught in his school that ‘women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground’.
When Judge Stokes said Rashid ‘must have known it was illegal, unless he was going round with his eyes shut’, defence lawyer Laban Leake said reports suggested Rashid had a ‘degree of sexual naivety’.
‘The school he attended, it is not going too far to say, can be described as a closed community and on this occasion this was perpetuated by his home life.
Rashid had pre-booked a family room at the Premier Hotel in Goldsmith Street, Nottingham where he took his victim
Sentenced: Rashid admitted at Nottingham Crown Court (pictured) that he had sex with a 13-year-old after she 'tempted' him
‘It is not too far to say that he may not have known that having sex with a 13-year-old girl was illegal.’ Judge Stokes sentenced Rashid to nine months youth custody, suspended for two years, along with a two-year probation supervision order.
Describing Rashid, the judge said: ‘He’s had an unusual education, certainly in terms of the sexual education provided. Comparing women to lollipops is a very curious way of teaching young men about sex.’
But he said that Rashid knew what he was doing was wrong.
‘It was made clear to you at the school you attended that having sexual relations with a woman before marriage was contrary to the precepts of Islam,’ he said.
Addressing Rashid, the judge said: ‘I accept this was a case where the girl was quite willing to have sexual activity with you. But the law is there to protect young girls, even though they are perfectly happy to engage in sexual activity.’
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268395/Adil-Rashid-Paedophile-claimed-Muslim-upbringing-meant-didnt-know-illegal-sex-girl-13.html#axzz2K9fAsqiS
* Adil Rashid admitted travelling to Nottingham and having sex with the girl
* He met the 13-year-old on Facebook and they communicated by texts and phone for two months before they met
* He was educated in a madrassa and 'had little experience of women'
* Said he had been taught 'women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground'
* Added he was reluctant to have sex but that he was 'tempted by [the girl]'
* A muslim who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless.
* Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.
* Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ‘Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters.’
Earlier Nottingham Crown Court heard that such crimes usually result in a four to seven-year prison sentence.
But the judge said that because Rashid was ‘passive’ and ‘lacking assertiveness’, sending him to jail might cause him ‘more damage than good’.
Rashid, from Birmingham, admitted he had sex with the girl, saying he had been ‘tempted by her’ after they met online.
They initially exchanged messages on Facebook before sending texts and chatting on the phone over a two-month period.
They then met up in Nottingham, where Rashid had booked a room at a Premier Inn.
The girl told police they stayed at the hotel for two hours and had sex after Rashid went to the bathroom and emerged wearing a condom.
More...Mother of dying 15-month-old girl carried into hospital by 'sadistic' paedophile who had fatally abused her sees him jailed for 25 years
Paedophile, 25, had sex with girl, 12, as he hid in her bedroom for TWO DAYS while her unknowing parents sat downstairs
Rashid then returned home and went straight to a mosque to pray.
He was arrested the following week after the girl confessed what had happened to a school friend, who informed one of her teachers.
He told police he knew the girl was 13 but said he was initially reluctant to have sex before relenting after being seduced.
Encounter: Rashid and the girl had met randomly on Facebook and had also communicated by phone and text messages for two months before they met
Earlier the court heard how Rashid had ‘little experience of women’ due to his education at an Islamic school in the UK, which cannot be named for legal reasons.
After his arrest, he told a psychologist that he did not know having sex with a 13-year-old was against the law. The court heard he found it was illegal only when he was informed by a family member.
In other interviews with psychologists, Rashid claimed he had been taught in his school that ‘women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground’.
When Judge Stokes said Rashid ‘must have known it was illegal, unless he was going round with his eyes shut’, defence lawyer Laban Leake said reports suggested Rashid had a ‘degree of sexual naivety’.
‘The school he attended, it is not going too far to say, can be described as a closed community and on this occasion this was perpetuated by his home life.
Rashid had pre-booked a family room at the Premier Hotel in Goldsmith Street, Nottingham where he took his victim
Sentenced: Rashid admitted at Nottingham Crown Court (pictured) that he had sex with a 13-year-old after she 'tempted' him
‘It is not too far to say that he may not have known that having sex with a 13-year-old girl was illegal.’ Judge Stokes sentenced Rashid to nine months youth custody, suspended for two years, along with a two-year probation supervision order.
Describing Rashid, the judge said: ‘He’s had an unusual education, certainly in terms of the sexual education provided. Comparing women to lollipops is a very curious way of teaching young men about sex.’
But he said that Rashid knew what he was doing was wrong.
‘It was made clear to you at the school you attended that having sexual relations with a woman before marriage was contrary to the precepts of Islam,’ he said.
Addressing Rashid, the judge said: ‘I accept this was a case where the girl was quite willing to have sexual activity with you. But the law is there to protect young girls, even though they are perfectly happy to engage in sexual activity.’
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268395/Adil-Rashid-Paedophile-claimed-Muslim-upbringing-meant-didnt-know-illegal-sex-girl-13.html#axzz2K9fAsqiS
"We the parents demand that our children be protected from lewd acts"
Outraged parents staged a protest Monday at the southern California elementary school where one teacher allegedly fondled second-graders and another allegedly spoon-fed students his semen.
It doesn't appear the two teachers conspired together, authorities said, but both were arrested last week on suspicion of sex abuse — sending shock waves through the community of Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles.
The protesting parents carried a large banner that read "We the parents demand that our children be protected from lewd acts," KNBC reported.
"I want the principal out here to give us an explanation, an answer," one parent told the news station. "I think they should shut down the school to start with. Shut it down, temporarily, until they find a way to let us know that our children are protected."
District officials said the school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as investigators continue to probe what staffers might have known about the two teachers: Mark Berndt and Martin Singer.
Berndt, 61, allegedly bound and blindfolded dozens of students and subjected them to lewd acts for his sexual kicks between 2005 and 2010, authorities claim.
He photographed them with a giant live cockroach crawling on their faces and a blue plastic spoon allegedly filled with his semen up to their mouths, authorities said.
Berndt allegedly told the kids they were playing a "tasting game," a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department source told the Daily News.
Springer, 49, was arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls inside his classroom sometime in the last three years.
District officials originally said they were not aware of any complaints against the teachers, but prior accusations have since surfaced.
On Saturday, authorities revealed that a female student may have been the victim of both teachers.
The girl and her parents complained to school officials in 2008 when she was a student in Berndt's second-grade class and brought home strange pictures, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Officials dismissed the complaints, and the girl was transferred to Springer's class, where he allegedly touched her on the leg and thigh during the school day, sources told The Times.
Last Thursday, authorities acknowledged that 18 years ago, a 10-year-old girl claimed Berndt tried to fondle her. The case was investigated by the Sheriff's Department, but the District Attorney declined to prosecute saying the 1993 case lacked sufficient evidence, officials said.
Superintendent John Deasy has said he is "sickened and appalled" by the allegations.
District officials plan to meet with parents at a local high school Monday night.
Berndt was removed from his classroom last year after a pharmacy photo technician printed the disturbing images and alerted local police.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/parents-protest-california-school-teacher-child-molestation-horror-article-1.1017982#ixzz2K5BGnXr7
It doesn't appear the two teachers conspired together, authorities said, but both were arrested last week on suspicion of sex abuse — sending shock waves through the community of Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles.
The protesting parents carried a large banner that read "We the parents demand that our children be protected from lewd acts," KNBC reported.
"I want the principal out here to give us an explanation, an answer," one parent told the news station. "I think they should shut down the school to start with. Shut it down, temporarily, until they find a way to let us know that our children are protected."
District officials said the school will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday as investigators continue to probe what staffers might have known about the two teachers: Mark Berndt and Martin Singer.
Berndt, 61, allegedly bound and blindfolded dozens of students and subjected them to lewd acts for his sexual kicks between 2005 and 2010, authorities claim.
He photographed them with a giant live cockroach crawling on their faces and a blue plastic spoon allegedly filled with his semen up to their mouths, authorities said.
Berndt allegedly told the kids they were playing a "tasting game," a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department source told the Daily News.
Springer, 49, was arrested Friday on suspicion of fondling two girls inside his classroom sometime in the last three years.
District officials originally said they were not aware of any complaints against the teachers, but prior accusations have since surfaced.
On Saturday, authorities revealed that a female student may have been the victim of both teachers.
The girl and her parents complained to school officials in 2008 when she was a student in Berndt's second-grade class and brought home strange pictures, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Officials dismissed the complaints, and the girl was transferred to Springer's class, where he allegedly touched her on the leg and thigh during the school day, sources told The Times.
Last Thursday, authorities acknowledged that 18 years ago, a 10-year-old girl claimed Berndt tried to fondle her. The case was investigated by the Sheriff's Department, but the District Attorney declined to prosecute saying the 1993 case lacked sufficient evidence, officials said.
Superintendent John Deasy has said he is "sickened and appalled" by the allegations.
District officials plan to meet with parents at a local high school Monday night.
Berndt was removed from his classroom last year after a pharmacy photo technician printed the disturbing images and alerted local police.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/parents-protest-california-school-teacher-child-molestation-horror-article-1.1017982#ixzz2K5BGnXr7
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
The Facade Of Holiness
...“Nothing in my own background or education equipped me to deal with this grave problem,” Mahony wrote. In studying for his master’s degree in social work, he said, no lecture or textbook ever referred to the sexual abuse of children.
There is, of course, some truth to the “we didn’t know” defense. Few knew, years ago, the seriousness of the disease borne by those who molest children. Much of it remains a mystery today.
But the “we didn’t know” defense quickly wears thin against the details contained in the 12,000 pages of documents recently released by the court in Los Angeles . . .The documents put the lie to the “we didn’t know” defense.
. . .They knew enough to understand they had to hide the crimes and the behavior if they didn’t want to besmirch the good name of the clergy culture. Consideration of what was happening to the abused children and their families was incidental, at best.
What Mahony and others. . . really didn’t understand was the degree to which their moral compasses had been distorted by the strong magnetic pull of the clergy culture. In their fierce allegiance to that exclusive club at all costs, in their willingness to preserve the façade of holiness and the faithful’s high notion of ordination, they lost sight of simple human decency and the most fundamental demands of the Gospel.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2013/02/04/abuse-cover-ups-about-more-than-a-clergy-culture/
There is, of course, some truth to the “we didn’t know” defense. Few knew, years ago, the seriousness of the disease borne by those who molest children. Much of it remains a mystery today.
But the “we didn’t know” defense quickly wears thin against the details contained in the 12,000 pages of documents recently released by the court in Los Angeles . . .The documents put the lie to the “we didn’t know” defense.
. . .They knew enough to understand they had to hide the crimes and the behavior if they didn’t want to besmirch the good name of the clergy culture. Consideration of what was happening to the abused children and their families was incidental, at best.
What Mahony and others. . . really didn’t understand was the degree to which their moral compasses had been distorted by the strong magnetic pull of the clergy culture. In their fierce allegiance to that exclusive club at all costs, in their willingness to preserve the façade of holiness and the faithful’s high notion of ordination, they lost sight of simple human decency and the most fundamental demands of the Gospel.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2013/02/04/abuse-cover-ups-about-more-than-a-clergy-culture/
Monday, February 04, 2013
Why Disclose? "Naming of the monster can only take place in an environment where they feel comfortable talking about what happened to them... "
Rosenblum's Hard Right 180!
Monday, January 28, 2013 The sentencing of a Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York resident to over 100 years in prison last week has once again brought the issue of child abuse in our communities to the fore. Many of us do not want to believe that child abuse in any form is found in the Torah community. Or we imagine that if it does exist, it is confined to obviously deranged and marginal individuals. At the very least, we wish that somehow matters could be worked out in private, in a way not pointing a bright searchlight on our community and forcing us to confront difficult realities.
Alas, there is no possibility of quiet resolution — at least not if we want to protect our children’s bodies and souls. A community that attempts to deal with abuse issues quietly, in ways that protect our peace of mind, is a community that emboldens predators into thinking that they can get away with it — that sympathy for their families, or the instinctive recoil from admitting that such things can happen in our world, too, or communal shame at being exposed before the secular world, will serve to protect them.
Every predator will take steps to ensure that his victims remain silent. He will warn them of dire consequences if they tell, or try to convince them that no one will believe them if they report what has happened to them. If children’s complaints are routinely suppressed or discounted, the perpetrator’s warning, “No one will believe you,” gains credence and make it less likely that the victims will report. Experts in the field estimate that only one out of ten victims reports what happened to him or her to an adult in a position to help them.
The feeling that they will not be caught emboldens predators. And by the same token, the assurance that they will be caught and prosecuted is the most effective way to stop abuse.
To understand why reporting to authorities when there is solid cause for suspicion of abuse is so crucial, we must first understand the impact of abuse on the victims and how crucial validation of their suffering is to the healing process. (I’m drawing primarily on a chapter by Dr. David Pelcowitz, “Treatment of Victims of Childhood Abuse,” in a volume entitled Breaking the Silence.)
Victims of abuse understandably suffer a loss of trust and security. When the perpetrator is someone to whom they look for security or someone representing authority within their community, that loss of trust is greatly magnified. How can they place their trust in a community that has failed so dramatically to protect them? Mrs. Debbie Fox, who established an abuse prevention program in Los Angeles Torah schools that is now being widely emulated nationwide under her direction, writes in Breaking the Silence that victims often express greater anger towards those who failed to protect them than with the perpetrator himself.
A community that cannot provide security and betrays the natural trust of our young and helpless will not command their allegiance. When family members do not believe the victims or are unwilling or unable to take steps to protect them, writes Dr. Pelcowitz, “a generalized lack of trust in friends, family, and community develops.”
Victims may experience not only rage against the community, or the “system,” in general, but also against Hashem for not running His world with justice. That is one reason victimhood correlates so highly with being “at-risk.”
Victims frequently experience general feelings of worthlessness and blame themselves for what happened to them. It is crucial that when they report being victimized that they hear a clear and unambiguous message that they have been wronged and are not to blame for what happened to them. According to Dr. Pelcowitz, however, it is relatively common for parents or others who receive indications of abuse to downplay the significance of that abuse. And when the response of the community does not actively and unambiguously support the child by validating their feelings [of being horribly wronged] and ensuring that they feel safe, feelings of guilt and worthlessness can be significantly exacerbated, concludes Dr. Pelcowitz.
Many victims of abuse adopt a pattern of hopeless passivity. When adults act upon their complaints and take them seriously, they counteract those feelings of helplessness and passivity. Other victims engage in dissociation — i.e., enter a state of dreamlike numbness to avoid the pain inflicted upon them. Before they can heal, they need to be able “to name the monster.” But that naming of the monster can only take place in an environment where they feel comfortable talking about what happened to them and they are taken seriously.
So important is validation as a first step in healing that one social worker with whom I spoke actually took a young victim to file a police complaint against a perpetrator who had died in the interim. Dr. Pelcowitz concludes that “one of the best predictors of recovery is the level of support offered once the abuse is disclosed.”
And conversely, even adults who were victimized as children experience a reopening of their childhood traumas when they see new victims denied communal support and protection. That is something that those who ask, “Why can’t they just get on with their lives and leave the past behind?” can’t understand. The past is often still with them, especially if they did not receive the support they needed.
http://www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/2903/Why-Disclose
Monday, January 28, 2013 The sentencing of a Williamsburg - Brooklyn, New York resident to over 100 years in prison last week has once again brought the issue of child abuse in our communities to the fore. Many of us do not want to believe that child abuse in any form is found in the Torah community. Or we imagine that if it does exist, it is confined to obviously deranged and marginal individuals. At the very least, we wish that somehow matters could be worked out in private, in a way not pointing a bright searchlight on our community and forcing us to confront difficult realities.
Alas, there is no possibility of quiet resolution — at least not if we want to protect our children’s bodies and souls. A community that attempts to deal with abuse issues quietly, in ways that protect our peace of mind, is a community that emboldens predators into thinking that they can get away with it — that sympathy for their families, or the instinctive recoil from admitting that such things can happen in our world, too, or communal shame at being exposed before the secular world, will serve to protect them.
Every predator will take steps to ensure that his victims remain silent. He will warn them of dire consequences if they tell, or try to convince them that no one will believe them if they report what has happened to them. If children’s complaints are routinely suppressed or discounted, the perpetrator’s warning, “No one will believe you,” gains credence and make it less likely that the victims will report. Experts in the field estimate that only one out of ten victims reports what happened to him or her to an adult in a position to help them.
The feeling that they will not be caught emboldens predators. And by the same token, the assurance that they will be caught and prosecuted is the most effective way to stop abuse.
To understand why reporting to authorities when there is solid cause for suspicion of abuse is so crucial, we must first understand the impact of abuse on the victims and how crucial validation of their suffering is to the healing process. (I’m drawing primarily on a chapter by Dr. David Pelcowitz, “Treatment of Victims of Childhood Abuse,” in a volume entitled Breaking the Silence.)
Victims of abuse understandably suffer a loss of trust and security. When the perpetrator is someone to whom they look for security or someone representing authority within their community, that loss of trust is greatly magnified. How can they place their trust in a community that has failed so dramatically to protect them? Mrs. Debbie Fox, who established an abuse prevention program in Los Angeles Torah schools that is now being widely emulated nationwide under her direction, writes in Breaking the Silence that victims often express greater anger towards those who failed to protect them than with the perpetrator himself.
A community that cannot provide security and betrays the natural trust of our young and helpless will not command their allegiance. When family members do not believe the victims or are unwilling or unable to take steps to protect them, writes Dr. Pelcowitz, “a generalized lack of trust in friends, family, and community develops.”
Victims may experience not only rage against the community, or the “system,” in general, but also against Hashem for not running His world with justice. That is one reason victimhood correlates so highly with being “at-risk.”
Victims frequently experience general feelings of worthlessness and blame themselves for what happened to them. It is crucial that when they report being victimized that they hear a clear and unambiguous message that they have been wronged and are not to blame for what happened to them. According to Dr. Pelcowitz, however, it is relatively common for parents or others who receive indications of abuse to downplay the significance of that abuse. And when the response of the community does not actively and unambiguously support the child by validating their feelings [of being horribly wronged] and ensuring that they feel safe, feelings of guilt and worthlessness can be significantly exacerbated, concludes Dr. Pelcowitz.
Many victims of abuse adopt a pattern of hopeless passivity. When adults act upon their complaints and take them seriously, they counteract those feelings of helplessness and passivity. Other victims engage in dissociation — i.e., enter a state of dreamlike numbness to avoid the pain inflicted upon them. Before they can heal, they need to be able “to name the monster.” But that naming of the monster can only take place in an environment where they feel comfortable talking about what happened to them and they are taken seriously.
So important is validation as a first step in healing that one social worker with whom I spoke actually took a young victim to file a police complaint against a perpetrator who had died in the interim. Dr. Pelcowitz concludes that “one of the best predictors of recovery is the level of support offered once the abuse is disclosed.”
And conversely, even adults who were victimized as children experience a reopening of their childhood traumas when they see new victims denied communal support and protection. That is something that those who ask, “Why can’t they just get on with their lives and leave the past behind?” can’t understand. The past is often still with them, especially if they did not receive the support they needed.
http://www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/2903/Why-Disclose
Friday, February 01, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Not Even Discussed In Private Rooms: Childhood Sexual Abuse and Abuse Survivors
There is a health crisis in this country (as well as worldwide) that adversely affects one-fifth of the US population. Consequences of this crisis manifest in a wide variety of serious disease conditions. Physically it can exhibit as cancer and/or as any number of equally severe mental illnesses. Socially the disease is, in a word, criminality. Costs are estimated at over $100 billion per year, or similar to the annual expense of the war in Afghanistan. Investment in its prevention is estimated at a nickel on every $100 in research, compared to $2 for cancer. (See Note 1)
Despite considerable attention drawn to this issue this past year — the Surgeon General termed it an “epidemic” well over a decade ago — the crisis was not discussed during the presidential campaign. It remains largely ignored by the Congress (though just prior to adjourning sine die an innocuous bill to evaluate child welfare systems was passed), was unaddressed by the Affordable Care Act, and has been ignored as well to date by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. “The leading journal of health policy thought and research,” Health Affairs, has never published on the topic.
The health crisis is child sexual abuse, which adversely affects the health status of 50 million survivors.
Beyond the Catholic Church’s continuing inability to address, or indifference to, abuse by thousands of priests over the past fifty years, this year we learned about the cover-up at Penn State. Added to the reality of Jerry Sandusky’s conviction on 45 counts of abuse between 1994 and 2009 is the worry that he may have been abusing boys since the 1970s. We learned of the multi-decade cover-up of abuse at the New York City’s private Horace Mann School. We also learned the Boy Scouts of America secretly held “perversion files” for nearly a century that record sexual abuse accusations against thousands of scout leaders. In October it was revealed a long-time BBC program host, Jerry Savile (now deceased), had engaged in widespread pedophilia involving an estimated 500 children over six decades including children in 14 hospitals and a children’s hospice.
What Can Be Done?
Improving reporting and data collection. Despite all this and more, the issue is not discussed in Washington. Unlike Australia’s recent decision to create a royal commission to examine childhood sexual abuse, there is no national dialogue in the United States. One way to start a dialogue would be to realize there is no accurate reporting and data collection concerning child abuse. Child Protective Services investigate a substantial number of maltreated children, but far from all, because of interagency disputes over definitions and jurisdiction. Reporting responsibility, and to whom, is also confused if and when professionals in community institutions — for example day care centers and schools — are involved.
Added to this are inadequacies in data collection. The Uniform Crime Reports does not provide sufficient details beyond arrests; the National Crime Victimization Survey does not measure crime against children younger than age 12. As for the National Incident Based Reporting System, not all law enforcement agencies and/or states participate.
Beyond all this, keep in mind an estimated 90 percent of sexual abuses are never reported.
Strengthening research. Equally underwhelming is research to treat adult survivors of childhood abuse. Anyone familiar with the 1990s ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study is well aware of the long-term health impact of trauma over a person’s lifespan. Because of the prevalence of abuse, there have been calls over the years for the creation of a dedicated NIH Institute named, for example, the Institute of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence. Notwithstanding, there is little systematic research in the dissociative disorders. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (DDNOS) are some of the most severe mental disorders survivors suffer. These diagnoses are associated with high levels of impairment, high rates of treatment utilization and costs, and can affect as many as 20 percent of psychiatric hospital patients. (See Note 2) That these patients are understudied is explained in part by exclusion criteria used in PTSD treatment studies.
Studies are also lacking or undermined because the diagnosis and treatment of DID have been under attack over the past twenty years by the highly controversial False Memory Syndrome Foundation. FMSF has been successful despite the fact there is no peer-reviewed clinical literature concerning “false memory syndrome” and that the “syndrome” is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in the DSM-IV. Multiple Personality Disorder was recognized in the DMS-III in 1980 and renamed DID in the 1994 DMS-IV.
Bolstering legal protections for survivors. Thirdly, due in part to the fact psychiatric disability is the most stigmatizing of all disabilities (one poll by the National Organization on Disability showed only 19 percent of Americans are comfortable with people with mental illness), many adult survivors find it difficult if not possible to secure health benefits if and when their mental health disorder becomes known to their employer. Studies show workers with mental health conditions are half as likely to receive accommodations as those with other disabilities, even though accommodations for psychiatric disorders cost very little or nothing in contrast to technological or architectural changes required for other disabilities.
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act required employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees. Subsequent to the law’s passage, the intent of the legislation became narrowed or undermined through several court decisions. The Congress in 2008 again stepped in and enacted the ADA Amendments Act that reinstated or reaffirmed the broad scope of disability protections available under the ADA. Even with the renewed mandate, employees with a mental health diagnosis have a very difficult time being afforded reasonable accommodation, or worse, as numerous EEOC case filings show, lose their job (and of course their health benefits) when their diagnosis becomes known to their employer.
Where there is a dialogue or an effort to address the crisis is in the realm of window laws for survivors. In most states, abuse victims have a limited period of time, a statute of limitations, to file a civil claim against their predator. For example, in New York a victim would have five years after turning 18 to file for a first degree offense. Other states have recently liberalized these civil laws. For example, in Pennsylvania the age limit for filing child sex abuse cases is 30 for civil cases. Other states, California then Delaware and recently Hawaii, have also created windows of time for victims who had timed out from filing civil claims.
Some states like New Jersey are considering completely eliminating the time period. In New York, despite a fairly well-publicized effort to extend the statute of limitations, the proposal failed this past year. New York’s failure and the failures in other states have been due largely to efforts by the Catholic Church, as well as ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders. Though the church did support extending the statute to age 28 in New York, bishops claimed generally the legislation “targeted” the church and would undermine its ability to provide social services. Window legislation has also been proposed but defeated in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington, DC. (See Note 3)
Child abuse and its effects on survivors remains our largest public health crisis.
Some say it may be the country’s last great civil rights issue. The ACE study mentioned above (and still ongoing) found survivors of childhood abuse suffer a long list of illnesses and disabilities. They include excessive rates of alcoholism, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and other psychiatric disorders, heart and liver disease, illicit drug use, obesity, poor school/work performance, poverty, risky sex and suicide. However, possibly worst of all is the inter-generational transmission of childhood abuse. That there is no national dialogue about any of this is unconscionable. We ignore the crisis at our collective peril.
NOTES
Note 1. Regarding the prevalence of sexual abuse see the CDC page. For costs see, for example, the work done by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. See “Mental Health, A Report of the Surgeon General.” (1999) For investment in research see for example F. W. Putnam, in The Cost of Child Maltreatment: Who Pays? K. Franey, et al., eds. (Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute, San Diego) pgs. 185-198.
Note 2. B. L. Brand, et al. “A Naturalistic Study of Dissociative Identity Disorder and Dissociative Disorder Not Specified Patients Treated by Community Clinicians,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice,” (2012): 153-171.
Note 3. “The Children Deserve Justice“, editorial, The New York Times, June 16, 2012 and Laurie Goodstein and Erik Eckholm, “Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits,” The New York Times, June 14, 2012.
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2013/01/30/not-even-discussed-in-private-rooms-childhood-sexual-abuse-and-abuse-survivors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=not-even-discussed-in-private-rooms-childhood-sexual-abuse-and-abuse-survivors
Despite considerable attention drawn to this issue this past year — the Surgeon General termed it an “epidemic” well over a decade ago — the crisis was not discussed during the presidential campaign. It remains largely ignored by the Congress (though just prior to adjourning sine die an innocuous bill to evaluate child welfare systems was passed), was unaddressed by the Affordable Care Act, and has been ignored as well to date by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. “The leading journal of health policy thought and research,” Health Affairs, has never published on the topic.
The health crisis is child sexual abuse, which adversely affects the health status of 50 million survivors.
Beyond the Catholic Church’s continuing inability to address, or indifference to, abuse by thousands of priests over the past fifty years, this year we learned about the cover-up at Penn State. Added to the reality of Jerry Sandusky’s conviction on 45 counts of abuse between 1994 and 2009 is the worry that he may have been abusing boys since the 1970s. We learned of the multi-decade cover-up of abuse at the New York City’s private Horace Mann School. We also learned the Boy Scouts of America secretly held “perversion files” for nearly a century that record sexual abuse accusations against thousands of scout leaders. In October it was revealed a long-time BBC program host, Jerry Savile (now deceased), had engaged in widespread pedophilia involving an estimated 500 children over six decades including children in 14 hospitals and a children’s hospice.
What Can Be Done?
Improving reporting and data collection. Despite all this and more, the issue is not discussed in Washington. Unlike Australia’s recent decision to create a royal commission to examine childhood sexual abuse, there is no national dialogue in the United States. One way to start a dialogue would be to realize there is no accurate reporting and data collection concerning child abuse. Child Protective Services investigate a substantial number of maltreated children, but far from all, because of interagency disputes over definitions and jurisdiction. Reporting responsibility, and to whom, is also confused if and when professionals in community institutions — for example day care centers and schools — are involved.
Added to this are inadequacies in data collection. The Uniform Crime Reports does not provide sufficient details beyond arrests; the National Crime Victimization Survey does not measure crime against children younger than age 12. As for the National Incident Based Reporting System, not all law enforcement agencies and/or states participate.
Beyond all this, keep in mind an estimated 90 percent of sexual abuses are never reported.
Strengthening research. Equally underwhelming is research to treat adult survivors of childhood abuse. Anyone familiar with the 1990s ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study is well aware of the long-term health impact of trauma over a person’s lifespan. Because of the prevalence of abuse, there have been calls over the years for the creation of a dedicated NIH Institute named, for example, the Institute of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence. Notwithstanding, there is little systematic research in the dissociative disorders. Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (DDNOS) are some of the most severe mental disorders survivors suffer. These diagnoses are associated with high levels of impairment, high rates of treatment utilization and costs, and can affect as many as 20 percent of psychiatric hospital patients. (See Note 2) That these patients are understudied is explained in part by exclusion criteria used in PTSD treatment studies.
Studies are also lacking or undermined because the diagnosis and treatment of DID have been under attack over the past twenty years by the highly controversial False Memory Syndrome Foundation. FMSF has been successful despite the fact there is no peer-reviewed clinical literature concerning “false memory syndrome” and that the “syndrome” is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in the DSM-IV. Multiple Personality Disorder was recognized in the DMS-III in 1980 and renamed DID in the 1994 DMS-IV.
Bolstering legal protections for survivors. Thirdly, due in part to the fact psychiatric disability is the most stigmatizing of all disabilities (one poll by the National Organization on Disability showed only 19 percent of Americans are comfortable with people with mental illness), many adult survivors find it difficult if not possible to secure health benefits if and when their mental health disorder becomes known to their employer. Studies show workers with mental health conditions are half as likely to receive accommodations as those with other disabilities, even though accommodations for psychiatric disorders cost very little or nothing in contrast to technological or architectural changes required for other disabilities.
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act required employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled employees. Subsequent to the law’s passage, the intent of the legislation became narrowed or undermined through several court decisions. The Congress in 2008 again stepped in and enacted the ADA Amendments Act that reinstated or reaffirmed the broad scope of disability protections available under the ADA. Even with the renewed mandate, employees with a mental health diagnosis have a very difficult time being afforded reasonable accommodation, or worse, as numerous EEOC case filings show, lose their job (and of course their health benefits) when their diagnosis becomes known to their employer.
Where there is a dialogue or an effort to address the crisis is in the realm of window laws for survivors. In most states, abuse victims have a limited period of time, a statute of limitations, to file a civil claim against their predator. For example, in New York a victim would have five years after turning 18 to file for a first degree offense. Other states have recently liberalized these civil laws. For example, in Pennsylvania the age limit for filing child sex abuse cases is 30 for civil cases. Other states, California then Delaware and recently Hawaii, have also created windows of time for victims who had timed out from filing civil claims.
Some states like New Jersey are considering completely eliminating the time period. In New York, despite a fairly well-publicized effort to extend the statute of limitations, the proposal failed this past year. New York’s failure and the failures in other states have been due largely to efforts by the Catholic Church, as well as ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders. Though the church did support extending the statute to age 28 in New York, bishops claimed generally the legislation “targeted” the church and would undermine its ability to provide social services. Window legislation has also been proposed but defeated in Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington, DC. (See Note 3)
Child abuse and its effects on survivors remains our largest public health crisis.
Some say it may be the country’s last great civil rights issue. The ACE study mentioned above (and still ongoing) found survivors of childhood abuse suffer a long list of illnesses and disabilities. They include excessive rates of alcoholism, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and other psychiatric disorders, heart and liver disease, illicit drug use, obesity, poor school/work performance, poverty, risky sex and suicide. However, possibly worst of all is the inter-generational transmission of childhood abuse. That there is no national dialogue about any of this is unconscionable. We ignore the crisis at our collective peril.
NOTES
Note 1. Regarding the prevalence of sexual abuse see the CDC page. For costs see, for example, the work done by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. See “Mental Health, A Report of the Surgeon General.” (1999) For investment in research see for example F. W. Putnam, in The Cost of Child Maltreatment: Who Pays? K. Franey, et al., eds. (Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute, San Diego) pgs. 185-198.
Note 2. B. L. Brand, et al. “A Naturalistic Study of Dissociative Identity Disorder and Dissociative Disorder Not Specified Patients Treated by Community Clinicians,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Policy and Practice,” (2012): 153-171.
Note 3. “The Children Deserve Justice“, editorial, The New York Times, June 16, 2012 and Laurie Goodstein and Erik Eckholm, “Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits,” The New York Times, June 14, 2012.
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2013/01/30/not-even-discussed-in-private-rooms-childhood-sexual-abuse-and-abuse-survivors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=not-even-discussed-in-private-rooms-childhood-sexual-abuse-and-abuse-survivors
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