Iceberg, Goldberg - What's the difference?
More McCort students may come forward, advocate says
JOHNSTOWN — As many as 15 former Bishop McCort students are alleging they were sexually abused more than a decade ago by a former instructor and sports trainer – and it may only be “the tip of the iceberg,” a victims’ advocate says.
Robert M. Hoatson, co-founder and president of a nonprofit charity that has been advocating for the alleged sexual abuse victims of Brother Stephen P. Baker in Ohio and Johnstown, held a press conference Saturday across from Bishop McCort Catholic High School on Osborne Street in the city’s 8th Ward.
“I think there are probably around 15 (victims) at Bishop McCort, and there could be as many as a dozen more who have not come forward,” Hoatson said. “We suspect it’s the tip of the iceberg. The attorneys are getting calls from the west, south and middle part of the country.”
Hoatson said victims from Bishop McCort became known after they called the two attorneys involved with the case, Michael Parrish in Johnstown and Mitchell Garabedian in Boston.
Parrish said he has spoken to men who claim they were victimized by Baker at McCort as recently as 2002. The former students say Baker abused them when he was supposed to be treating them for sports-related injuries.
Baker was employed at Bishop McCort from 1992 into the early 2000s.
Hoatson said he doesn’t see sexual abuse cases until the victims are in their 30s or 40s because they can’t come forward due to the shame and embarrassment.
“Catholics are taught deference to clergy,” Hoatson said. “Abuse is something that is lifelong. The abuser creates a tragedy as soon as it happens. The whole family is abused. When the victim’s children reach the same age they were when they were abused, they’re hyper-vigilant.”
Hoatson, who heads Road to Recovery Inc. based in Livingston, N.J., said he suffered similar sexual abuse when he was a teen. He founded the organization as therapy for himself.
“My therapist told me the best thing I could do is help other sexual abuse victims,” Hoatson said. “My salvation has been getting involved. I get so excited and energized because it takes amazing courage for them to talk about it in front of thousands through the media.”
Michael Munno of Lorain, Ohio, accompanied Hoatson on his trip to Johnstown.
For Munno, the trip is therapeutic. He is one of the 11 men from the Diocese of Youngstown who came forward to report alleged sexual abuse by Baker. The accused friar now resides at the Motherhouse of St. Bernardine Monastery of the Franciscan Friars Third Order Regular outside Hollidaysburg.
Munno, now 40, attended John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, from 1986 to 1990, when Baker was an athletic trainer, coach and teacher there.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this without a support group,” Munno said.
Road to Recovery Inc. counsels sexual abuse victims and helps them through media sessions and press conferences.
“The attorneys do the legal stuff, but there’s so much more to recovery,” Hoatson said. “We help them pay for therapy, medications, food and shelter. The mantra I hear from sexual abuse victims is ‘I thought I was the only one.’”
Hoatson held another conference near JFK High School on Wednesday with two of the original 11 victims present.
At the conference, the settlement between the Diocese of Youngstown, the Franciscan Friars and JFK High School was revealed for the first time.
“It was made in October 2012,” Hoatson said. “There was no release of the amount the victims got, but it was in the high five figures.”
Hoatson said one of the Ohio victims is contemplating filing criminal charges because he was younger than the other victims at the time.
Road to Recovery requests that all alleged sexual abuse victims of Baker come forward confidentially to begin healing and receive support.
The organization will call on the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown to reveal what it knows and when it knew about Baker and accusations of sexual abuse against him from students and alumni of Bishop McCort.
Information: 862-268-2800.
Ruth Rice
rrice@tribdem.com - The Tribune-Democrat
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
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
The priest who abused her told me that I was now ‘closer to God’
German Precision & Planning!
German Priests Carried Out Sexual Abuse for Years
BERLIN — A report about child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, based on victim accounts and released by the church this week, showed that priests carefully planned their assaults and frequently abused the same children repeatedly for years.
The report, compiled from information collected from victims and other witnesses who called a hot line run by the church from 2010 until the end of last year, includes the ages of the victims, the locations of the assaults and the repercussions they have suffered since. The accounts were provided in 8,500 calls to the hot line; they are not representative of abuse cases over all and cannot be individually verified. The church said the report contained information from 1,824 people, of whom 1,165 described themselves as victims.
Germany’s bishops have vowed a thorough and impartial investigation into the abuse. Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, who is looking into abuse cases for the German Bishops’ Conference, told reporters after the report was released on Thursday that it served as an example of that intention.
“I found particularly devastating the perpetrators’ lies to their under-aged victims that their actions were an expression of a loving bond with God,” he said Thursday. Claudia Adams, who said she was assaulted as a child in a preschool run by the church in a village near Trier, works through her trauma by blogging about the abuse scandal. The priest who abused her “told me that I was now ‘closer to God,’ ” she said in a telephone interview on Friday from her home near Trier.
The church’s credibility regarding its commitment to an impartial investigation suffered a fresh blow last week when the bishops canceled an independent study into the abuse scandal amid allegations by the independent investigator, Christian Pfeiffer, that the church was censoring information.
The church insists that it remains committed to carrying out the independent study once a new investigator can be found. Even if the church should produce a report, observers note that it will be a challenge to undo the damage caused by Mr. Pfeiffer’s allegations. “It’s not even about the damage to their image so much as it is to their trustworthiness,” said Andreas Holzem, a professor of church history at Tübingen University.
Many of the victims said their call to the hot line was the first time they had told anyone about assaults that took place decades ago, most between 1950 and 1980, the report said. Many callers broke down in the middle of their stories and, overcome by emotion, simply hung up the phone, it said.
Those who told their stories painted a picture of priests who preyed on emotionally vulnerable children, building up their trust and then assaulting them, repeatedly, over a period of several years.
The reported assaults were clustered largely in the country’s heavily Roman Catholic regions along the Rhine River to the west and throughout the south, including Pope Benedict XVI’s home state, Bavaria.
Germans were further outraged by reports this week that two Roman Catholic hospitals in Cologne had refused to carry out a gynecological examination on a 25-year-old suspected rape victim. An emergency doctor who had helped the woman told the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that the hospitals cited ethical objections to advise women on unwanted pregnancies and on steps that can be taken to prevent them, like the morning-after pill. The Archdiocese of Cologne denied that the church refuses to treat rape victims. The hospitals blamed a “misunderstanding” and said the matter was under investigation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/world/europe/report-details-sexual-abuse-of-children-by-german-priests.html?hp
German Priests Carried Out Sexual Abuse for Years
BERLIN — A report about child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, based on victim accounts and released by the church this week, showed that priests carefully planned their assaults and frequently abused the same children repeatedly for years.
The report, compiled from information collected from victims and other witnesses who called a hot line run by the church from 2010 until the end of last year, includes the ages of the victims, the locations of the assaults and the repercussions they have suffered since. The accounts were provided in 8,500 calls to the hot line; they are not representative of abuse cases over all and cannot be individually verified. The church said the report contained information from 1,824 people, of whom 1,165 described themselves as victims.
Germany’s bishops have vowed a thorough and impartial investigation into the abuse. Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, who is looking into abuse cases for the German Bishops’ Conference, told reporters after the report was released on Thursday that it served as an example of that intention.
“I found particularly devastating the perpetrators’ lies to their under-aged victims that their actions were an expression of a loving bond with God,” he said Thursday. Claudia Adams, who said she was assaulted as a child in a preschool run by the church in a village near Trier, works through her trauma by blogging about the abuse scandal. The priest who abused her “told me that I was now ‘closer to God,’ ” she said in a telephone interview on Friday from her home near Trier.
The church’s credibility regarding its commitment to an impartial investigation suffered a fresh blow last week when the bishops canceled an independent study into the abuse scandal amid allegations by the independent investigator, Christian Pfeiffer, that the church was censoring information.
The church insists that it remains committed to carrying out the independent study once a new investigator can be found. Even if the church should produce a report, observers note that it will be a challenge to undo the damage caused by Mr. Pfeiffer’s allegations. “It’s not even about the damage to their image so much as it is to their trustworthiness,” said Andreas Holzem, a professor of church history at Tübingen University.
Many of the victims said their call to the hot line was the first time they had told anyone about assaults that took place decades ago, most between 1950 and 1980, the report said. Many callers broke down in the middle of their stories and, overcome by emotion, simply hung up the phone, it said.
Those who told their stories painted a picture of priests who preyed on emotionally vulnerable children, building up their trust and then assaulting them, repeatedly, over a period of several years.
The reported assaults were clustered largely in the country’s heavily Roman Catholic regions along the Rhine River to the west and throughout the south, including Pope Benedict XVI’s home state, Bavaria.
Germans were further outraged by reports this week that two Roman Catholic hospitals in Cologne had refused to carry out a gynecological examination on a 25-year-old suspected rape victim. An emergency doctor who had helped the woman told the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that the hospitals cited ethical objections to advise women on unwanted pregnancies and on steps that can be taken to prevent them, like the morning-after pill. The Archdiocese of Cologne denied that the church refuses to treat rape victims. The hospitals blamed a “misunderstanding” and said the matter was under investigation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/world/europe/report-details-sexual-abuse-of-children-by-german-priests.html?hp
Friday, January 18, 2013
....So Help Him God
Pennsylvania: Ex-Priest Recants Guilt in Abuse Case
An imprisoned former priest at the center of a landmark abuse case testified Thursday that he had pleaded guilty to a sexual assault he did not commit. The former priest, Edward Avery, 70, admitted to an earlier abuse complaint, but said he had never had any contact with the accuser in a continuing criminal trial and had taken a plea deal because he had not wanted to risk a longer sentence if convicted.
Asked if he raped the accuser, now 24, Mr. Avery said: “I did not. So help me God.” The same man claims he was raped by Mr. Avery, the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and a former teacher, Bernard Shero, starting when he was a 10-year-old altar boy in 1999. Father Engelhardt and Mr. Shero are fighting the charges. Mr. Avery’s testimony could bolster their defense if jurors believe him over the accuser, a longtime heroin addict who testified Wednesday.
But in questioning by prosecutors, Mr. Avery conceded that an admission of guilt would hurt him in the accuser’s civil lawsuit. A jury last year convicted Msgr. William Lynn, 62, of child endangerment for placing Mr. Avery in a parish despite the sexual abuse complaint. Mr. Avery pleaded guilty on the eve of Monsignor Lynn’s trial and accepted a 2 1/2-to-5-year sentence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/us/pennsylvania-ex-priest-recants-guilt-in-abuse-case.html
An imprisoned former priest at the center of a landmark abuse case testified Thursday that he had pleaded guilty to a sexual assault he did not commit. The former priest, Edward Avery, 70, admitted to an earlier abuse complaint, but said he had never had any contact with the accuser in a continuing criminal trial and had taken a plea deal because he had not wanted to risk a longer sentence if convicted.
Asked if he raped the accuser, now 24, Mr. Avery said: “I did not. So help me God.” The same man claims he was raped by Mr. Avery, the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and a former teacher, Bernard Shero, starting when he was a 10-year-old altar boy in 1999. Father Engelhardt and Mr. Shero are fighting the charges. Mr. Avery’s testimony could bolster their defense if jurors believe him over the accuser, a longtime heroin addict who testified Wednesday.
But in questioning by prosecutors, Mr. Avery conceded that an admission of guilt would hurt him in the accuser’s civil lawsuit. A jury last year convicted Msgr. William Lynn, 62, of child endangerment for placing Mr. Avery in a parish despite the sexual abuse complaint. Mr. Avery pleaded guilty on the eve of Monsignor Lynn’s trial and accepted a 2 1/2-to-5-year sentence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/us/pennsylvania-ex-priest-recants-guilt-in-abuse-case.html
Thursday, January 17, 2013
"I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.”
Yeah Lance, I don't, I can spot a lying fraud years before others can!
What to Ask After Years of Denials
Standing atop the podium at the 2005 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong addressed the crowd after he won a record seventh Tour, looking into the sea of cycling fans gathered along the Champs-Élysées in Paris and publicly challenging those who had suspected he had doped to win.
“I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I’m sorry for you,” he said. “I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey set to be broadcast on her network, OWN, on Thursday and Friday night, Armstrong will finally reveal that those skeptics were right: he did use performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions to win. And he used those drugs and methods repeatedly.
Winfrey interviewed him on Monday at a hotel in Austin, Tex., and Armstrong “teared up and cried” during the inquiry, a person with direct knowledge of it said Wednesday. The person, who called the stories Armstrong told Winfrey “a classic Shakespearean tale,” insisted on anonymity because that person is not authorized to discuss the contents of the interview.
It is unclear what made Armstrong lose his composure when he spoke with Winfrey, who is known for her teary-eyed guests, because her network has not released any excerpts from Armstrong’s comments.
Here are the questions Winfrey needed to ask if she wanted to “go deep” with her inquiry, as Armstrong suggested she should.
‘ARMY OF ENABLERS’ The United States Anti-Doping Agency said you had “an army of enablers” helping you dope. Who were the accomplices who were essential in your getting away with it?
When you briefly retired from cycling after winning the 2005 Tour, you said you did so to spend time with your children and be a better father. Do your five children, ages 2 to 13, know about your doping past? If so, when and how did you tell them?
As a teenager, you began training with the then United States national team coach Chris Carmichael, the man you said became your longtime personal coach. (The infamous Italian doctor Michele Ferrari, who is serving a lifetime ban from Olympic sports for doping athletes, is thought to be the real brains behind your success.)
Carmichael, who founded a successful training business on the fact that he was your coach, was accused of doping national team riders in the 1990s at the same time he began working with you. (Carmichael eventually settled the case out of court.)
Did Carmichael have anything to do with your doping, or have any knowledge of your doping? If not, when did you first begin using performance-enhancing drugs and who provided those drugs to you?
DISPUTED ADMISSION Frankie Andreu, one of your former teammates and closest friends, said he and his wife, Betsy, heard a doping confession from you in October 1996 when visiting you in a hospital while you fought cancer. They said they were in the room with several of your friends when they overheard two doctors ask if you had ever used performance-enhancing drugs. They said you had answered yes: EPO, testosterone, human growth hormone and cortisone.
Stephanie McIlvain, your personal representative at Oakley who is married to a man high up in that company, told the three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond in a 2004 phone call that she heard that doping admission. “I’m not going to lie,” she said in the conversation that LeMond secretly recorded. “You know, I was in that room. I heard it.”
When you denied, again and again, that the admission never occurred, were you lying? If so, how did you keep most of the people in the hospital room that day quiet about your doping? Did former sponsors, like Nike and Oakley, know about your doping? Did they ever ask you about any of the doping allegations? If not, why do you think they never asked when the evidence against you was mounting?
READ MORE:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/sports/cycling/hard-questions-for-lance-armstrong.html?hpw&_r=0
What to Ask After Years of Denials
Standing atop the podium at the 2005 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong addressed the crowd after he won a record seventh Tour, looking into the sea of cycling fans gathered along the Champs-Élysées in Paris and publicly challenging those who had suspected he had doped to win.
“I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I’m sorry for you,” he said. “I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey set to be broadcast on her network, OWN, on Thursday and Friday night, Armstrong will finally reveal that those skeptics were right: he did use performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions to win. And he used those drugs and methods repeatedly.
Winfrey interviewed him on Monday at a hotel in Austin, Tex., and Armstrong “teared up and cried” during the inquiry, a person with direct knowledge of it said Wednesday. The person, who called the stories Armstrong told Winfrey “a classic Shakespearean tale,” insisted on anonymity because that person is not authorized to discuss the contents of the interview.
It is unclear what made Armstrong lose his composure when he spoke with Winfrey, who is known for her teary-eyed guests, because her network has not released any excerpts from Armstrong’s comments.
Here are the questions Winfrey needed to ask if she wanted to “go deep” with her inquiry, as Armstrong suggested she should.
‘ARMY OF ENABLERS’ The United States Anti-Doping Agency said you had “an army of enablers” helping you dope. Who were the accomplices who were essential in your getting away with it?
When you briefly retired from cycling after winning the 2005 Tour, you said you did so to spend time with your children and be a better father. Do your five children, ages 2 to 13, know about your doping past? If so, when and how did you tell them?
As a teenager, you began training with the then United States national team coach Chris Carmichael, the man you said became your longtime personal coach. (The infamous Italian doctor Michele Ferrari, who is serving a lifetime ban from Olympic sports for doping athletes, is thought to be the real brains behind your success.)
Carmichael, who founded a successful training business on the fact that he was your coach, was accused of doping national team riders in the 1990s at the same time he began working with you. (Carmichael eventually settled the case out of court.)
Did Carmichael have anything to do with your doping, or have any knowledge of your doping? If not, when did you first begin using performance-enhancing drugs and who provided those drugs to you?
DISPUTED ADMISSION Frankie Andreu, one of your former teammates and closest friends, said he and his wife, Betsy, heard a doping confession from you in October 1996 when visiting you in a hospital while you fought cancer. They said they were in the room with several of your friends when they overheard two doctors ask if you had ever used performance-enhancing drugs. They said you had answered yes: EPO, testosterone, human growth hormone and cortisone.
Stephanie McIlvain, your personal representative at Oakley who is married to a man high up in that company, told the three-time Tour winner Greg LeMond in a 2004 phone call that she heard that doping admission. “I’m not going to lie,” she said in the conversation that LeMond secretly recorded. “You know, I was in that room. I heard it.”
When you denied, again and again, that the admission never occurred, were you lying? If so, how did you keep most of the people in the hospital room that day quiet about your doping? Did former sponsors, like Nike and Oakley, know about your doping? Did they ever ask you about any of the doping allegations? If not, why do you think they never asked when the evidence against you was mounting?
READ MORE:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/sports/cycling/hard-questions-for-lance-armstrong.html?hpw&_r=0
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
For more than 30 years, Van Handel had been the monster who haunted his dreams
All the Monsters Must Lose Their Power! --- UOJ
*
"There is something about me that is happier when accompanied by a small boy.... Perhaps besides the sexual element, the child in me wants a playmate".
— Father Robert Van Handel
Damian Eckert turned on the computer in his in-laws' home office, a tiny, dim, book-strewn space. He left the door open so he could hear his 5-year-old daughter playing in the next room.
He pulled up a website and scanned it for Father Robert Van Handel, the priest who led the community boys choir he and his younger brother sang in when they were growing up in Santa Barbara. There he was — receding hairline, bulbous nose, gap-toothed smile.
Eckert opened a document: 27 pages that Van Handel wrote for a therapist years ago, his so-called sexual autobiography. It made Eckert's palms sweat and his back knot.
His in-laws poked their heads into the room: Are you OK? Yes, he reassured them.
He continued to read.
For years, Eckert had been part of an effort to pry confidential files from clergy members at the now-closed St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara who'd been accused of molesting children. The battle over releasing thousands of once-secret pages went all the way to the California Supreme Court.
The day the files were made public last May, Eckert, 44, left the news conference and went to his in-laws' house. It was the nearest place to read the words of the priest he says abused him.
I asked my best friend once if he saw anything "special" in pictures of [naked] children. He said, 'No, not at all.' I began to realize that I was different.
The product of an alcoholic, volatile father who served in the military and a scared mother, Van Handel was the third of five children, Eckert read. The priest went to high school in the 1960s at St. Anthony's, a campus of sandstone facades and grand towers near Old Mission Santa Barbara run by the Franciscan religious order.
Years later, while attending graduate school in Berkeley, he started a boys choir at a local parish, despite his self-professed lack of musical skills. There, Van Handel wrote, he met one of his first victims.
He was 7 or 8. Light hair. Blue eyes. His parents were divorcing and grateful for the priest's interest in their son.
Always this was done under the cover of some "legitimate" touching. [The boy] never seemed to mind, and I wasn't about to stop on my own.
Around this time, Van Handel wrote, he implied to a Franciscan counselor that he was sexually attracted to boys. The counselor quickly changed the subject.
In 1975, at age 28, Van Handel returned to St. Anthony's as a teacher and founded the Santa Barbara Boys Choir.
The Eckert boys joined when Damian was about 10 and his brother, Bob, about 8. Choir members, dressed in the blazer-and-shorts style of English schoolboys, mainly sang Catholic hymns. Damian was a soprano, Bob an alto.
They felt at ease around Van Handel, a soft-spoken friar who eschewed his brown robe for striped shirts. He tsk-tsked boys who flubbed notes, but he also allowed them to play the seminary organ and swim at the school pool.
When Damian was about 11, he recalled, his parents told him they were splitting up. The next day at choir practice, he tried to sing. Instead, tears. He ran into the hallway. Van Handel followed. Everything will be OK, the priest promised.
As the weeks went by, he chatted with the boy in his office, strolled with him around the mission. Eventually, Damian said, Van Handel persuaded him to try on "special shorts" — extra-large, the priest wrote, so he could see up them. Other boys had worn them too.
[One boy] said he did not want to. I insisted. He started to cry and that snapped something in my head. For the first time I was seeing signs that he really did not like this.
Ashamed and confused, Damian told no one. But the priest unsettled Damian's father, Tom. One day, Van Handel tried to persuade Tom and the boys' mother to send Damian and Bob on a choir trip to England. Only years later could Tom put into words the way Van Handel eyed his sons: "like a man looking at a woman he wanted to have sex with."
Their mother signed off on the trip. After all, she reasoned, was there a more trustworthy chaperon than a priest?
By the time Damian was in his early 20s, he'd stopped praying daily and was prone to binge drinking and flashes of rage. One day, in response to some rumors, his father took him aside and asked if Van Handel had molested him.
No, Damian said.
You're lying, Tom thought. But he didn't press the issue. Bob denied being sexually abused, as well.
At a loss for what to do, Tom marched over to the seminary, he recalled in a deposition. He confronted Van Handel on the steps outside.
"I want to kill you," Tom said. "How could you wear the cloth and molest my boys?"
The priest didn't flinch. "You need to get divine intervention," he said. Then he walked away....
A MUST READ IN ITS ENTIRETY:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priest-abuse-20130116,0,7819446.story
*
"There is something about me that is happier when accompanied by a small boy.... Perhaps besides the sexual element, the child in me wants a playmate".
— Father Robert Van Handel
Damian Eckert turned on the computer in his in-laws' home office, a tiny, dim, book-strewn space. He left the door open so he could hear his 5-year-old daughter playing in the next room.
He pulled up a website and scanned it for Father Robert Van Handel, the priest who led the community boys choir he and his younger brother sang in when they were growing up in Santa Barbara. There he was — receding hairline, bulbous nose, gap-toothed smile.
Eckert opened a document: 27 pages that Van Handel wrote for a therapist years ago, his so-called sexual autobiography. It made Eckert's palms sweat and his back knot.
His in-laws poked their heads into the room: Are you OK? Yes, he reassured them.
He continued to read.
For years, Eckert had been part of an effort to pry confidential files from clergy members at the now-closed St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara who'd been accused of molesting children. The battle over releasing thousands of once-secret pages went all the way to the California Supreme Court.
The day the files were made public last May, Eckert, 44, left the news conference and went to his in-laws' house. It was the nearest place to read the words of the priest he says abused him.
I asked my best friend once if he saw anything "special" in pictures of [naked] children. He said, 'No, not at all.' I began to realize that I was different.
The product of an alcoholic, volatile father who served in the military and a scared mother, Van Handel was the third of five children, Eckert read. The priest went to high school in the 1960s at St. Anthony's, a campus of sandstone facades and grand towers near Old Mission Santa Barbara run by the Franciscan religious order.
Years later, while attending graduate school in Berkeley, he started a boys choir at a local parish, despite his self-professed lack of musical skills. There, Van Handel wrote, he met one of his first victims.
He was 7 or 8. Light hair. Blue eyes. His parents were divorcing and grateful for the priest's interest in their son.
Always this was done under the cover of some "legitimate" touching. [The boy] never seemed to mind, and I wasn't about to stop on my own.
Around this time, Van Handel wrote, he implied to a Franciscan counselor that he was sexually attracted to boys. The counselor quickly changed the subject.
In 1975, at age 28, Van Handel returned to St. Anthony's as a teacher and founded the Santa Barbara Boys Choir.
The Eckert boys joined when Damian was about 10 and his brother, Bob, about 8. Choir members, dressed in the blazer-and-shorts style of English schoolboys, mainly sang Catholic hymns. Damian was a soprano, Bob an alto.
They felt at ease around Van Handel, a soft-spoken friar who eschewed his brown robe for striped shirts. He tsk-tsked boys who flubbed notes, but he also allowed them to play the seminary organ and swim at the school pool.
When Damian was about 11, he recalled, his parents told him they were splitting up. The next day at choir practice, he tried to sing. Instead, tears. He ran into the hallway. Van Handel followed. Everything will be OK, the priest promised.
As the weeks went by, he chatted with the boy in his office, strolled with him around the mission. Eventually, Damian said, Van Handel persuaded him to try on "special shorts" — extra-large, the priest wrote, so he could see up them. Other boys had worn them too.
[One boy] said he did not want to. I insisted. He started to cry and that snapped something in my head. For the first time I was seeing signs that he really did not like this.
Ashamed and confused, Damian told no one. But the priest unsettled Damian's father, Tom. One day, Van Handel tried to persuade Tom and the boys' mother to send Damian and Bob on a choir trip to England. Only years later could Tom put into words the way Van Handel eyed his sons: "like a man looking at a woman he wanted to have sex with."
Their mother signed off on the trip. After all, she reasoned, was there a more trustworthy chaperon than a priest?
By the time Damian was in his early 20s, he'd stopped praying daily and was prone to binge drinking and flashes of rage. One day, in response to some rumors, his father took him aside and asked if Van Handel had molested him.
No, Damian said.
You're lying, Tom thought. But he didn't press the issue. Bob denied being sexually abused, as well.
At a loss for what to do, Tom marched over to the seminary, he recalled in a deposition. He confronted Van Handel on the steps outside.
"I want to kill you," Tom said. "How could you wear the cloth and molest my boys?"
The priest didn't flinch. "You need to get divine intervention," he said. Then he walked away....
A MUST READ IN ITS ENTIRETY:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-priest-abuse-20130116,0,7819446.story
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
A physical education teacher at the Day School at Baltimore Hebrew has been suspended following charges of child abuse
Foye C. Minton, 33, has been charged with child abuse following an investigation by the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes against Children Unit, according to Elise Armacost, director of media and communications for the Baltimore County Public Safety unit. The female victim, now an adult, contacted police in the fall of 2012. She told investigators that the alleged abuse started when she was a minor at the Shoshana S. Cardin School and Minton was its dean of students and director of athletics. He worked at the Boys’ Latin School of Maryland.
David Prashker, current head of the Cardin School, told the JT that he was informed of the charges at the end of last week and that the criminal process is moving forward.
“There is a police investigation, and we will cooperate fully,” he said. “This needs to go through the courts and the police and allow the justice system to do what it is in place to do. … I don’t want to make any other comments in the interim.”
Baltimore Hebrew sent a letter to parents last week informing them of the situation and that the school is “not aware of any incidents or complaints in connection to this teacher while teaching at the Day School.”
The letter, signed by Head of School Gerri Chizeck and President Dr. Louis Shpritz, said the school is committed to “ensuring the safety and integrity of our community.”
In a phone interview, Chizeck told the JT that the school is cooperating with the investigation and that Baltimore Hebrew is “naturally not making statements at this time. … We have little information; we are not privy to that.”
In the letter, Chizeck and Shpritz requested all parents’ conversations about the matter be kept to a minimum and also asked that parents refer any and all inquiries to Chizeck.
The abuse continued for about four years. The victim told police that Minton repeatedly attempted to contact her after she ended the relationship.
On Minton’s Twitter account, there are many sexual references, including one written as recently as Jan. 4, 2013 at midnight: “I love to text girls at 11:12 to make their wish come true!!.” On Dec. 31 at 2:22 p.m. he tweeted, “Motto for 2013: ‘I’ve got passion in my pants and I ain’t afraid to show it.’”
Minton is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $250,000 bond. Police believe there may be other victims. Anyone with additional information should call police at 410-307-2020 to contact a detective. The Shofar Coalition, an agency in the Jewish community, is familiar with this case and has resources for victims, survivors and their friends and family members. Anyone concerned about this case or other sexual abuse situations can call 410-843-7564 or 410-843-7582
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/local_news/baltimore_hebrew_teacher_charged_with_child_abuse/34084
David Prashker, current head of the Cardin School, told the JT that he was informed of the charges at the end of last week and that the criminal process is moving forward.
“There is a police investigation, and we will cooperate fully,” he said. “This needs to go through the courts and the police and allow the justice system to do what it is in place to do. … I don’t want to make any other comments in the interim.”
Baltimore Hebrew sent a letter to parents last week informing them of the situation and that the school is “not aware of any incidents or complaints in connection to this teacher while teaching at the Day School.”
The letter, signed by Head of School Gerri Chizeck and President Dr. Louis Shpritz, said the school is committed to “ensuring the safety and integrity of our community.”
In a phone interview, Chizeck told the JT that the school is cooperating with the investigation and that Baltimore Hebrew is “naturally not making statements at this time. … We have little information; we are not privy to that.”
In the letter, Chizeck and Shpritz requested all parents’ conversations about the matter be kept to a minimum and also asked that parents refer any and all inquiries to Chizeck.
The abuse continued for about four years. The victim told police that Minton repeatedly attempted to contact her after she ended the relationship.
On Minton’s Twitter account, there are many sexual references, including one written as recently as Jan. 4, 2013 at midnight: “I love to text girls at 11:12 to make their wish come true!!.” On Dec. 31 at 2:22 p.m. he tweeted, “Motto for 2013: ‘I’ve got passion in my pants and I ain’t afraid to show it.’”
Minton is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $250,000 bond. Police believe there may be other victims. Anyone with additional information should call police at 410-307-2020 to contact a detective. The Shofar Coalition, an agency in the Jewish community, is familiar with this case and has resources for victims, survivors and their friends and family members. Anyone concerned about this case or other sexual abuse situations can call 410-843-7564 or 410-843-7582
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/local_news/baltimore_hebrew_teacher_charged_with_child_abuse/34084
Monday, January 14, 2013
Miss America will tackle child sex abuse issue - She Has More Brains & Compassion Than The Entire Agudath Israel!
LAS VEGAS -- A woman who grew up in Alabama and moved to New York City is the new Miss America, winning the title after tap dancing to a James Brown tune, deftly dealing with a question about guns, and raising the issue of child sexual abuse in her contestant platform.
In addition to dancing to "Get Up Off of That Thing," 23-year-old Mallory Hagan strutted down the runway during the Las Vegas pageant Saturday night in an asymmetrical white gown and donned a revealing black string bikini.
She won a $50,000 college scholarship and a year as an instant celebrity and role model to many girls as she defeated Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who took second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third.
She told The Associated Press in an interview after her win that it was her mother who encouraged her to tackle the issue of child sex abuse in her platform - the issue she will promote during her reign.
She said that sexual abuse had "rippled through" her family, touching her mother, aunt, grandmother and cousins. Her mother had trouble at first convincing others of the trauma she had faced.
"That kind of sent her into a whirlwind of anxiety and depression. So as a teen I lost my mom kind of for a couple years," she said. "She was dealing with her own issues, and that's something that now as an adult I understand, but then I certainly did not."
During an interview backstage, Hagan's mother Mandy Moore wiped tears away as she spoke.
"It's very overwhelming," she said. "It's all hitting me so fast."
Hagan said she will work to make child abuse education mandatory in all 50 states.
"It's something I can hopefully change for the next generation," she said.
The pageant, which started as little more than an Atlantic City bathing suit revue, broke viewership records in its heyday and bills itself as one of the world's largest scholarships programs for women.
But like other pageants, the show has struggled to stay relevant as national attitudes regarding women's rights have changed.
Hagan's boyfriend Charmel Maynard said he thinks that pageants are dismissed by some, but he hopes Hagan's willingness to take on the sexual abuse issue will lend legitimacy to her new role.
"I don't think it's taken seriously, but I think she's going to be a great ambassador and it could change," he said..
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8952254
In addition to dancing to "Get Up Off of That Thing," 23-year-old Mallory Hagan strutted down the runway during the Las Vegas pageant Saturday night in an asymmetrical white gown and donned a revealing black string bikini.
She won a $50,000 college scholarship and a year as an instant celebrity and role model to many girls as she defeated Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who took second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third.
She told The Associated Press in an interview after her win that it was her mother who encouraged her to tackle the issue of child sex abuse in her platform - the issue she will promote during her reign.
She said that sexual abuse had "rippled through" her family, touching her mother, aunt, grandmother and cousins. Her mother had trouble at first convincing others of the trauma she had faced.
"That kind of sent her into a whirlwind of anxiety and depression. So as a teen I lost my mom kind of for a couple years," she said. "She was dealing with her own issues, and that's something that now as an adult I understand, but then I certainly did not."
During an interview backstage, Hagan's mother Mandy Moore wiped tears away as she spoke.
"It's very overwhelming," she said. "It's all hitting me so fast."
Hagan said she will work to make child abuse education mandatory in all 50 states.
"It's something I can hopefully change for the next generation," she said.
The pageant, which started as little more than an Atlantic City bathing suit revue, broke viewership records in its heyday and bills itself as one of the world's largest scholarships programs for women.
But like other pageants, the show has struggled to stay relevant as national attitudes regarding women's rights have changed.
Hagan's boyfriend Charmel Maynard said he thinks that pageants are dismissed by some, but he hopes Hagan's willingness to take on the sexual abuse issue will lend legitimacy to her new role.
"I don't think it's taken seriously, but I think she's going to be a great ambassador and it could change," he said..
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8952254
"The legacy of cancer followed the industry as it spread to America. What was obvious was that these synthetic hydrocarbons were leaving a trail of tumors wherever they were manufactured"
A Cancer Cycle, From Here to China
MORE than one million people in the Chinese city of Handan awoke last week to the alarming news that an essential source of their drinking water, the Zhouzhang River, had been dangerously contaminated by a 39-ton chemical spill in the nearby city of Changzhi. What made the news even more shocking was that the leak, from a factory pipe, had started at least five days earlier but had been kept secret by government officials, who allowed millions of their neighbors to keep drinking.
The people of Handan reacted to these disclosures the same way almost anyone else would. First, they panicked, mobbing stores for bottled water. Then, they were furious, demanding to know why no one had told them they were drinking water laced with a probable carcinogen. If history is any guide, they will never get a satisfactory answer.
For me, reading about Handan prompted a sick feeling of déjà vu. For the last five years I have been writing a history of the chemical industry’s egregious 60-year involvement in the New Jersey shore town of Toms River, (yes, like it or not, New Jersey is part of the U.S.A) which gained unwanted notoriety in the late 1990s thanks to a remarkably well-documented cluster of childhood cancer cases and a long history of often hidden industrial pollution.
When news of the cancer cluster leaked in 1996, there was the predictable townwide panic, including a run on bottled water supplies. After a wrenching five-year investigation, state and federal health officials concluded that the sick children were more likely to have lived in parts of town where exposure to industrial chemicals — via drinking water and polluted air — were highest.
It was, by definition, an association, not a causal relationship, and it was statistically significant only for girls with leukemia. But in the murky world of neighborhood cancer cluster studies, that’s as close to a definitive finding as you’re ever likely to see. That same year, 2001, the families of 69 children with cancer won a multimillion-dollar legal settlement against two chemical companies and the water utility.
As in Toms River, so many things about last week’s debacle in Handan were infuriating, starting with the chemical involved: aniline. That was the compound that launched the synthetic chemical industry in 1856, when a precocious 18-year-old named William Henry Perkin, experimenting in his parents’ London attic, inadvertently discovered that aniline, dissolved in sulfuric acid and mixed with potassium dichromate, made a superb purple dye.
Soon London, Basel, Switzerland, and the Ruhr Valley in Germany were littered with aniline factories, many of which would morph into familiar corporate giants like CIBA, Geigy, Agfa and the German behemoth BASF, the industry leader. In Basel and London, it was said, you could tell which dyes were being made by the color of the nearby canals and rivers, where the factories dumped their waste. Factory bosses would send workers on clandestine midnight runs to the Middle Bridge in Basel to dump barrels of waste into the fast-moving Rhine.
Basel is a border city and the Rhine flows north, so the waste was Germany’s problem — just as last week’s spill was Handan’s problem, not Changzhi’s.
In 1895, a Frankfurt surgeon named Ludwig Wilhelm Carl Rehn began noticing unusual numbers of bladder cancers — he called them “aniline tumors” — among workers in dye plants. Whether aniline was the specific cause was hard to determine, since by then, chemical manufacturers had expanded well beyond aniline and were using dozens of compounds derived from coal and oil to make dyes and many other products. What was obvious was that these synthetic hydrocarbons were leaving a trail of tumors wherever they were manufactured.
The legacy of cancer followed the industry as it spread to America. In the 1950s, at Cincinnati Chemical Works, almost half of the long-term workers who handled a dye compound called benzidine got bladder cancer. Soon after, the Cincinnati factories closed and their Swiss owners transferred manufacturing to a huge new facility in a small town where there would be less scrutiny: Toms River.
Today, there is little left of the vast complex the Swiss operated in Toms River for more than 40 years. Manufacturing ended there in 1996, just as the cluster controversy was heating up. Now, after so many years of painful publicity about cancer and pollution, many residents of Toms River are happy to have moved on, and who can blame them. They are much more likely to be worried about the damage Hurricane Sandy recently inflicted on hundreds of local homes than about any lingering effects from decades-old water and air pollution.
The reality of 21st-century globalism, however, is that none of us can pretend that by pushing the chemical industry out of our communities we have stopped enabling its dangerous practices. The industry jobs that started in Basel, and then migrated to Cincinnati and Toms River, are now in Shanxi Province and other coal-rich areas of China. BASF alone now owns or invests in 45 Chinese ventures. Meanwhile, hundreds of smaller companies like the Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group, whose Changzhi factory was the source of last week’s leak, are busy turning coal into aniline and a host of other chemical products.
Business is booming. If you don’t believe me, head over to the Ocean County Mall in Toms River, where you can get a pair of jeans dyed just the right shade of faded blue, thanks to aniline-based indigo dye. They’re made in China, and they’re cheap — if you don’t count the long-term cost.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/opinion/a-cycle-of-contamination-and-cancer-that-wont-end.html?hpw&_r=0
MORE than one million people in the Chinese city of Handan awoke last week to the alarming news that an essential source of their drinking water, the Zhouzhang River, had been dangerously contaminated by a 39-ton chemical spill in the nearby city of Changzhi. What made the news even more shocking was that the leak, from a factory pipe, had started at least five days earlier but had been kept secret by government officials, who allowed millions of their neighbors to keep drinking.
The people of Handan reacted to these disclosures the same way almost anyone else would. First, they panicked, mobbing stores for bottled water. Then, they were furious, demanding to know why no one had told them they were drinking water laced with a probable carcinogen. If history is any guide, they will never get a satisfactory answer.
For me, reading about Handan prompted a sick feeling of déjà vu. For the last five years I have been writing a history of the chemical industry’s egregious 60-year involvement in the New Jersey shore town of Toms River, (yes, like it or not, New Jersey is part of the U.S.A) which gained unwanted notoriety in the late 1990s thanks to a remarkably well-documented cluster of childhood cancer cases and a long history of often hidden industrial pollution.
When news of the cancer cluster leaked in 1996, there was the predictable townwide panic, including a run on bottled water supplies. After a wrenching five-year investigation, state and federal health officials concluded that the sick children were more likely to have lived in parts of town where exposure to industrial chemicals — via drinking water and polluted air — were highest.
It was, by definition, an association, not a causal relationship, and it was statistically significant only for girls with leukemia. But in the murky world of neighborhood cancer cluster studies, that’s as close to a definitive finding as you’re ever likely to see. That same year, 2001, the families of 69 children with cancer won a multimillion-dollar legal settlement against two chemical companies and the water utility.
As in Toms River, so many things about last week’s debacle in Handan were infuriating, starting with the chemical involved: aniline. That was the compound that launched the synthetic chemical industry in 1856, when a precocious 18-year-old named William Henry Perkin, experimenting in his parents’ London attic, inadvertently discovered that aniline, dissolved in sulfuric acid and mixed with potassium dichromate, made a superb purple dye.
Soon London, Basel, Switzerland, and the Ruhr Valley in Germany were littered with aniline factories, many of which would morph into familiar corporate giants like CIBA, Geigy, Agfa and the German behemoth BASF, the industry leader. In Basel and London, it was said, you could tell which dyes were being made by the color of the nearby canals and rivers, where the factories dumped their waste. Factory bosses would send workers on clandestine midnight runs to the Middle Bridge in Basel to dump barrels of waste into the fast-moving Rhine.
Basel is a border city and the Rhine flows north, so the waste was Germany’s problem — just as last week’s spill was Handan’s problem, not Changzhi’s.
In 1895, a Frankfurt surgeon named Ludwig Wilhelm Carl Rehn began noticing unusual numbers of bladder cancers — he called them “aniline tumors” — among workers in dye plants. Whether aniline was the specific cause was hard to determine, since by then, chemical manufacturers had expanded well beyond aniline and were using dozens of compounds derived from coal and oil to make dyes and many other products. What was obvious was that these synthetic hydrocarbons were leaving a trail of tumors wherever they were manufactured.
The legacy of cancer followed the industry as it spread to America. In the 1950s, at Cincinnati Chemical Works, almost half of the long-term workers who handled a dye compound called benzidine got bladder cancer. Soon after, the Cincinnati factories closed and their Swiss owners transferred manufacturing to a huge new facility in a small town where there would be less scrutiny: Toms River.
Today, there is little left of the vast complex the Swiss operated in Toms River for more than 40 years. Manufacturing ended there in 1996, just as the cluster controversy was heating up. Now, after so many years of painful publicity about cancer and pollution, many residents of Toms River are happy to have moved on, and who can blame them. They are much more likely to be worried about the damage Hurricane Sandy recently inflicted on hundreds of local homes than about any lingering effects from decades-old water and air pollution.
The reality of 21st-century globalism, however, is that none of us can pretend that by pushing the chemical industry out of our communities we have stopped enabling its dangerous practices. The industry jobs that started in Basel, and then migrated to Cincinnati and Toms River, are now in Shanxi Province and other coal-rich areas of China. BASF alone now owns or invests in 45 Chinese ventures. Meanwhile, hundreds of smaller companies like the Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group, whose Changzhi factory was the source of last week’s leak, are busy turning coal into aniline and a host of other chemical products.
Business is booming. If you don’t believe me, head over to the Ocean County Mall in Toms River, where you can get a pair of jeans dyed just the right shade of faded blue, thanks to aniline-based indigo dye. They’re made in China, and they’re cheap — if you don’t count the long-term cost.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/opinion/a-cycle-of-contamination-and-cancer-that-wont-end.html?hpw&_r=0
Sunday, January 13, 2013
"Going Quietly" Is Never An Option! Leaders Must Understand What Evil Humans Are Capable Of!
....If they don't, they don't belong in leadership positions!
Police: TV host Jimmy Savile exploited fame to abuse children on vast scale
* Savile used his celebrity to "hide in plain sight" and targeted the vulnerable, police say
* He is accused of offenses across 40 years while working as a BBC presenter
* Police say 73% of his victims were children; 214 crimes are recorded, including rapes
Prosecutors say police could have done more to investigate Savile in his lifetime
London (CNN) -- Britain's late TV presenter and radio host Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of people and carried out more than 30 rapes, police said Friday, as they unveiled a report exposing "vast, predatory and opportunistic" abuses across six decades.
Nearly three-quarters of his victims were children, the report said, with the youngest only 8 years old. Most but not all were female.
Since the inquiry was launched three months ago, about 600 people have come forward to provide information, 450 relating to Savile, London's Metropolitan Police said.
From this, 214 crimes have been recorded, including 34 of rape or penetration, across the country.
Savile used his celebrity to "hide in plain sight" as he opportunistically preyed on the children and young people with whom he came into contact as he presented BBC children's show "Jim'll Fix It" and music show "Top of the Pops," the report said.
Dozens of offenses on BBC premises have been reported across a 40-year span between 1965 and 2006 -- the last at the final recording of "Top of the Pops."
Who was Jimmy Savile?
Fifty allegations against Savile relate to hospital premises, including hospices, the report said. Another 14 relate to schools, including a reform school he visited regularly between 1970 and 1978.
The scale of his abuse is believed to be unprecedented in the UK, it said.
The report by London's Metropolitan Police and a child protection charity, the NSPCC, titled "Giving Victims a Voice," brings to a close a sordid chapter.
Police set up Operation Yewtree to investigate sexual abuse claims after a documentary by broadcaster ITV in October unleashed a flood of allegations against the star, who before that was seen as an eccentric but charismatic man who raised millions of pounds for charity.
The investigation had three strands: one involving complaints against Savile alone, another termed "Savile and others" and a third involving only others. The publication of the report ends the first strand of the inquiry.
However, investigations continue into allegations made against the other suspects, some linked to Savile and others not. A number of arrests have been made.
"It paints a stark picture emphasizing the tragic consequences of when vulnerability and power collide," Commander Peter Spindler, of the Metropolitan Police, said of the report.
"Savile's offending footprint was vast, predatory and opportunistic. He cannot face justice today but we hope this report gives some comfort to his hundreds of victims, they have been listened to and taken seriously. We must use the learning from these shocking events to prevent other children and vulnerable adults being abused in the future. They will get a voice."
"The police report into Jimmy Savile contains shocking revelations," a statement said. "As we have made clear, the BBC is appalled that some of the offences were committed on its premises. We would like to restate our sincere apology to the victims of these crimes."
The BBC set up three inquiries of its own amid questions about how Savile's abuses went undetected for so long. One is looking at the culture and practices within the BBC and another at its handling of past sexual harassment claims.
The third, which reported on the broadcaster's decision to drop a program investigating allegations Savile in late 2011, slammed senior management as "completely incapable" of dealing with the crisis that erupted.
The BBC's botched handling of the affair forced the director general, George Entwistle, to resign.
The UK Department of Health, which is conducting its own investigation into the access Savile had to hospitals and other institutions, said the police report "highlights the shocking scale of offending by Jimmy Savile over five decades and shows the need to learn lessons from his crimes."
With the police review concluded, civil claims are likely to be brought as some victims seek compensation for the abuse they suffered at Savile's hands. About 73% of them were younger than 18 when they were targeted.
Four-fifths of the victims were girls and women, the report said. The majority of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of the abuse, and the oldest was 47.
Of the 34 reported offenses of rape or penetration, 26 victims were female and eight were male, police said.
"There is no clear evidence of Savile operating within a paedophile ring although whether he was part of an informal network is part of the continuing investigation," the report added.
Most of the alleged offenses were committed around the city of Leeds, where Savile lived, and in London, where he worked.
The peak of offending reported to police was between 1966 and 1976, when Savile was between 40 and 50 years old.
Separately, a review by the Crown Prosecution Service was critical of the decision by two police forces not to file charges against Savile after investigating four separate allegations of sexual abuse.
In 2007 and 2008 Surrey Police investigated three complaints that he had engaged in sexual behavior with young girls. During the same period, Sussex Police investigated a complaint by a young woman.
Alison Levitt, chief legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions, said police were too cautious in their approach and should have asked more questions to push inquiries forward.
The alleged victims and their accounts were treated "with a degree of caution which was neither justified nor required," she said.
"Having spoken to the victims I have been driven to conclude that had the police and prosecutors taken a different approach a prosecution might have been possible."
Peter Watt, director of child protection advice for the NSPCC, said the scale of Savile's abuse "simply beggared belief."
But, he added, one positive is that nearly 800 additional children have been protected from abuse because the publicity around the Savile case has encouraged people to call the charity's helpline.
For many, it's the first time they've spoken out about abuse, he said.
"We are optimistic that this signals a watershed moment for child protection in this country. We must seize the opportunity if we are to make a lasting change," he said.
The report's authors acknowledge that it is too late to act on the claims against Savile, but they say the investigation met "the need for hundreds of victims to have official recognition of the serious crimes they have suffered and to know they have been taken seriously."
Millions of Britons who grew up watching Savile on TV's "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It" were shocked by the fall from grace of an entertainer who'd been awarded knighthoods by Queen Elizabeth II and the late Pope John Paul II for his charitable work.
Savile died in October 2011 at age 84, soon after being treated in a hospital for pneumonia. His death was followed by a series of glowing tributes, including BBC specials.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/world/europe/uk-savile-sex-abuse/index.html
Police: TV host Jimmy Savile exploited fame to abuse children on vast scale
* Savile used his celebrity to "hide in plain sight" and targeted the vulnerable, police say
* He is accused of offenses across 40 years while working as a BBC presenter
* Police say 73% of his victims were children; 214 crimes are recorded, including rapes
Prosecutors say police could have done more to investigate Savile in his lifetime
London (CNN) -- Britain's late TV presenter and radio host Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of people and carried out more than 30 rapes, police said Friday, as they unveiled a report exposing "vast, predatory and opportunistic" abuses across six decades.
Nearly three-quarters of his victims were children, the report said, with the youngest only 8 years old. Most but not all were female.
Since the inquiry was launched three months ago, about 600 people have come forward to provide information, 450 relating to Savile, London's Metropolitan Police said.
From this, 214 crimes have been recorded, including 34 of rape or penetration, across the country.
Savile used his celebrity to "hide in plain sight" as he opportunistically preyed on the children and young people with whom he came into contact as he presented BBC children's show "Jim'll Fix It" and music show "Top of the Pops," the report said.
Dozens of offenses on BBC premises have been reported across a 40-year span between 1965 and 2006 -- the last at the final recording of "Top of the Pops."
Who was Jimmy Savile?
Fifty allegations against Savile relate to hospital premises, including hospices, the report said. Another 14 relate to schools, including a reform school he visited regularly between 1970 and 1978.
The scale of his abuse is believed to be unprecedented in the UK, it said.
The report by London's Metropolitan Police and a child protection charity, the NSPCC, titled "Giving Victims a Voice," brings to a close a sordid chapter.
Police set up Operation Yewtree to investigate sexual abuse claims after a documentary by broadcaster ITV in October unleashed a flood of allegations against the star, who before that was seen as an eccentric but charismatic man who raised millions of pounds for charity.
The investigation had three strands: one involving complaints against Savile alone, another termed "Savile and others" and a third involving only others. The publication of the report ends the first strand of the inquiry.
However, investigations continue into allegations made against the other suspects, some linked to Savile and others not. A number of arrests have been made.
"It paints a stark picture emphasizing the tragic consequences of when vulnerability and power collide," Commander Peter Spindler, of the Metropolitan Police, said of the report.
"Savile's offending footprint was vast, predatory and opportunistic. He cannot face justice today but we hope this report gives some comfort to his hundreds of victims, they have been listened to and taken seriously. We must use the learning from these shocking events to prevent other children and vulnerable adults being abused in the future. They will get a voice."
"The police report into Jimmy Savile contains shocking revelations," a statement said. "As we have made clear, the BBC is appalled that some of the offences were committed on its premises. We would like to restate our sincere apology to the victims of these crimes."
The BBC set up three inquiries of its own amid questions about how Savile's abuses went undetected for so long. One is looking at the culture and practices within the BBC and another at its handling of past sexual harassment claims.
The third, which reported on the broadcaster's decision to drop a program investigating allegations Savile in late 2011, slammed senior management as "completely incapable" of dealing with the crisis that erupted.
The BBC's botched handling of the affair forced the director general, George Entwistle, to resign.
The UK Department of Health, which is conducting its own investigation into the access Savile had to hospitals and other institutions, said the police report "highlights the shocking scale of offending by Jimmy Savile over five decades and shows the need to learn lessons from his crimes."
With the police review concluded, civil claims are likely to be brought as some victims seek compensation for the abuse they suffered at Savile's hands. About 73% of them were younger than 18 when they were targeted.
Four-fifths of the victims were girls and women, the report said. The majority of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of the abuse, and the oldest was 47.
Of the 34 reported offenses of rape or penetration, 26 victims were female and eight were male, police said.
"There is no clear evidence of Savile operating within a paedophile ring although whether he was part of an informal network is part of the continuing investigation," the report added.
Most of the alleged offenses were committed around the city of Leeds, where Savile lived, and in London, where he worked.
The peak of offending reported to police was between 1966 and 1976, when Savile was between 40 and 50 years old.
Separately, a review by the Crown Prosecution Service was critical of the decision by two police forces not to file charges against Savile after investigating four separate allegations of sexual abuse.
In 2007 and 2008 Surrey Police investigated three complaints that he had engaged in sexual behavior with young girls. During the same period, Sussex Police investigated a complaint by a young woman.
Alison Levitt, chief legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions, said police were too cautious in their approach and should have asked more questions to push inquiries forward.
The alleged victims and their accounts were treated "with a degree of caution which was neither justified nor required," she said.
"Having spoken to the victims I have been driven to conclude that had the police and prosecutors taken a different approach a prosecution might have been possible."
Peter Watt, director of child protection advice for the NSPCC, said the scale of Savile's abuse "simply beggared belief."
But, he added, one positive is that nearly 800 additional children have been protected from abuse because the publicity around the Savile case has encouraged people to call the charity's helpline.
For many, it's the first time they've spoken out about abuse, he said.
"We are optimistic that this signals a watershed moment for child protection in this country. We must seize the opportunity if we are to make a lasting change," he said.
The report's authors acknowledge that it is too late to act on the claims against Savile, but they say the investigation met "the need for hundreds of victims to have official recognition of the serious crimes they have suffered and to know they have been taken seriously."
Millions of Britons who grew up watching Savile on TV's "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It" were shocked by the fall from grace of an entertainer who'd been awarded knighthoods by Queen Elizabeth II and the late Pope John Paul II for his charitable work.
Savile died in October 2011 at age 84, soon after being treated in a hospital for pneumonia. His death was followed by a series of glowing tributes, including BBC specials.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/world/europe/uk-savile-sex-abuse/index.html
Thursday, January 10, 2013
"Informing parents about the grave risks associated with this procedure is critical to safeguarding infants' health"
Judge won't block New York City circumcision law
* Preliminary injunction request denied
* Rule angered some people in Orthodox Jewish community
* "Direct oral suction" linked to herpes risk (Adds paragraphs 3-14, case citation, byline)
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge refused to block a New York City regulation requiring people who perform circumcisions and use their mouths to draw away blood from the wound on a baby's penis to first obtain written consent from the parents.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald on Thursday refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the change to the city's health code, which some members of the city's Orthodox Jewish communities called an unwarranted government intrusion on religious freedom.
In September, the New York City Board of Health voted to require mohels, who perform circumcisions, to obtain advance consent that tells parents about the risk of a potentially fatal herpes infection linked to the ritual of metzitzah b'peh, or MBP, involving direct oral suction of the penis.
Enforcement of the regulation was put on hold until Buchwald could rule on the request by the Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada, the International Bris Association and some rabbis for a preliminary injunction.
In court papers filed in October, they said the regulation improperly singled out an exclusively religious ritual, and violated the free speech and free exercise protections within the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
But in a 93-page decision, Buchwald refused to halt enforcement of the regulation, and said the plaintiffs' claims were likely to be found without merit.
"There is ample medical evidence that direct oral suction places infants at a serious risk of herpes infection, as well as evidence that parents are sometimes unaware in advance of a circumcision that MBP will occur, and the regulation plainly addresses these legitimate societal concerns," Buchwald wrote.
"As enacted, the regulation does no more than ensure that parents can make an informed decision" whether to consent, she added.
Shay Dvoretzky, a partner at Jones Day representing the plaintiffs, was not immediately available for comment.
The city welcomed the decision. "Informing parents about the grave risks associated with this procedure is critical to safeguarding infants' health," Michelle Goldberg-Cahn, a senior lawyer for the city, said in a statement.
New York City said it plans to begin enforcing the consent requirement even if litigation continues.
City health officials on Thursday said at least 11 infant boys have in the last several years contracted a potentially fatal form of herpes following circumcision with direct oral suction, and that two of the boys died.
Opponents of the regulation have said the health department had not proven a higher incidence of neonatal herpes among boys who had received direct oral suction.
The case is Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada et al v. New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-07590. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/judge-wont-block-new-york-city-circumcision-law/
* Preliminary injunction request denied
* Rule angered some people in Orthodox Jewish community
* "Direct oral suction" linked to herpes risk (Adds paragraphs 3-14, case citation, byline)
NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge refused to block a New York City regulation requiring people who perform circumcisions and use their mouths to draw away blood from the wound on a baby's penis to first obtain written consent from the parents.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald on Thursday refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the change to the city's health code, which some members of the city's Orthodox Jewish communities called an unwarranted government intrusion on religious freedom.
In September, the New York City Board of Health voted to require mohels, who perform circumcisions, to obtain advance consent that tells parents about the risk of a potentially fatal herpes infection linked to the ritual of metzitzah b'peh, or MBP, involving direct oral suction of the penis.
Enforcement of the regulation was put on hold until Buchwald could rule on the request by the Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada, the International Bris Association and some rabbis for a preliminary injunction.
In court papers filed in October, they said the regulation improperly singled out an exclusively religious ritual, and violated the free speech and free exercise protections within the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
But in a 93-page decision, Buchwald refused to halt enforcement of the regulation, and said the plaintiffs' claims were likely to be found without merit.
"There is ample medical evidence that direct oral suction places infants at a serious risk of herpes infection, as well as evidence that parents are sometimes unaware in advance of a circumcision that MBP will occur, and the regulation plainly addresses these legitimate societal concerns," Buchwald wrote.
"As enacted, the regulation does no more than ensure that parents can make an informed decision" whether to consent, she added.
Shay Dvoretzky, a partner at Jones Day representing the plaintiffs, was not immediately available for comment.
The city welcomed the decision. "Informing parents about the grave risks associated with this procedure is critical to safeguarding infants' health," Michelle Goldberg-Cahn, a senior lawyer for the city, said in a statement.
New York City said it plans to begin enforcing the consent requirement even if litigation continues.
City health officials on Thursday said at least 11 infant boys have in the last several years contracted a potentially fatal form of herpes following circumcision with direct oral suction, and that two of the boys died.
Opponents of the regulation have said the health department had not proven a higher incidence of neonatal herpes among boys who had received direct oral suction.
The case is Central Rabbinical Congress of the USA and Canada et al v. New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-07590. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/judge-wont-block-new-york-city-circumcision-law/
I Call On Rabbi Lamm To Open Up The Report To The Public!
The public does not have the stomach for what may even appear as a coverup! Let the chips fall where they may -- All of us will be better off! I am seriously puzzled why this investigation is not being done by a totally independent investigative body.
Rabbi Lamm - YOU MUST GET THIS RIGHT!
P.M.
Will Yeshiva University Make Abuse Report Public?
Alleged Victims Worry About Probe's Scope and Transparency
Yeshiva University has declined to say if it will make public the results of an investigation into sexual abuse allegations at its Manhattan high school despite former students’ fears about the scope, openness and motivation behind the probe.
In a statement to the Forward, released January 8, a Y.U. representative promised “a full and completely independent investigation,” but declined to say what will happen to the work now being conducted by an international law firm hired by the university. In a follow-up statement issued the next morning, the representative said that after the investigation was complete, the board expected that it “will be in further communication with the public.” He declined to explain what that means.
Y.U. launched its investigation after the Forward published allegations by three former students that they had been abused by Rabbi George Finkelstein, who served at Y.U.’s High School for Boys from 1968 to 1995, where he rose to become principal. Another student said that he had been abused by a Talmud teacher, Rabbi Macy Gordon, who taught at the school from 1956 to 1984.
Immediately following the story, Finkelstein resigned from his executive position at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, and Gordon was placed on indefinite leave from his teaching position in Jerusalem.
In the weeks that followed, more than a dozen former students contacted the Forward to say that they had been sexually, emotionally or physically abused by Gordon or Finkelstein. Y.U.’s board of trustees hired a top international law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, to investigate the allegations, and within days investigators began calling former students to invite them in for an interview.
But former students and legal experts who are experienced in abuse cases have raised concerns about Y.U.’s refusal to tell victims whether the report will ever be publicly released. Some fear it is a public relations ploy or intended to guard against potential lawsuits rather than to investigate how Y.U. staff members may have physically, emotionally and sexually abused boys over almost three decades, despite complaints from students and their families.
READ ENTIRE ESSAY:
http://forward.com/articles/169040/will-yeshiva-make-abuse-report-public/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The%20Forward%20Today%20%28Monday-Friday%29&utm_campaign=Daily_Newsletter_Mon_Thurs%202013-01-10
Rabbi Lamm - YOU MUST GET THIS RIGHT!
P.M.
Will Yeshiva University Make Abuse Report Public?
Alleged Victims Worry About Probe's Scope and Transparency
Yeshiva University has declined to say if it will make public the results of an investigation into sexual abuse allegations at its Manhattan high school despite former students’ fears about the scope, openness and motivation behind the probe.
In a statement to the Forward, released January 8, a Y.U. representative promised “a full and completely independent investigation,” but declined to say what will happen to the work now being conducted by an international law firm hired by the university. In a follow-up statement issued the next morning, the representative said that after the investigation was complete, the board expected that it “will be in further communication with the public.” He declined to explain what that means.
Y.U. launched its investigation after the Forward published allegations by three former students that they had been abused by Rabbi George Finkelstein, who served at Y.U.’s High School for Boys from 1968 to 1995, where he rose to become principal. Another student said that he had been abused by a Talmud teacher, Rabbi Macy Gordon, who taught at the school from 1956 to 1984.
Immediately following the story, Finkelstein resigned from his executive position at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, and Gordon was placed on indefinite leave from his teaching position in Jerusalem.
In the weeks that followed, more than a dozen former students contacted the Forward to say that they had been sexually, emotionally or physically abused by Gordon or Finkelstein. Y.U.’s board of trustees hired a top international law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, to investigate the allegations, and within days investigators began calling former students to invite them in for an interview.
But former students and legal experts who are experienced in abuse cases have raised concerns about Y.U.’s refusal to tell victims whether the report will ever be publicly released. Some fear it is a public relations ploy or intended to guard against potential lawsuits rather than to investigate how Y.U. staff members may have physically, emotionally and sexually abused boys over almost three decades, despite complaints from students and their families.
READ ENTIRE ESSAY:
http://forward.com/articles/169040/will-yeshiva-make-abuse-report-public/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The%20Forward%20Today%20%28Monday-Friday%29&utm_campaign=Daily_Newsletter_Mon_Thurs%202013-01-10
In Sects, Children Have Few, If Any, Rights
We all need other people.
Belonging to a group is a great way for us to connect with others. Psychology researchers have found that religious groups can be very positive for people’s health. However, not all religious groups are good for peoples' well-being and some can be downright harmful to some of their members, especially children.
Some groups may offer a mixture of both positive and harmful elements. Groups can change, with a minority of them turning into what are commonly known as sects or high-demand groups, characterized, amongst other things, by control. That said, any group can become oppressive and controlling and any belief system can be taken and used as a tool to control others. For example, therapy and political groups can become sect-like in such a way that they begin to resemble religious sects.
The practices and structure of some sects mean that children are growing up in an environment where they may be at risk of medical, physical, emotional or educational neglect, psychological maltreatment, and sometimes abuse in every sense of that word, even death. However, every sect is different and the experiences of children in sects differ.
All children, by reason of their physical size and developmental maturity, are vulnerable. The checks and balances that protect children and which we might expect to be present in most groups are usually absent from sects, as is compassion in general.
Children who leave sects are moving into a culture that they are usually completely unprepared for, from education to socialization.
Many, if not most children raised in sects eventually leave, either with their parents, on their own or they may be kicked out. Understandably, young people exiting sects may feel overwhelmed. They are moving into a culture that they are usually completely unprepared for. They may have educational gaps, or lack socialization experiences and support. They have often just experienced the loss of all they have known.
Extended family can be pivotal in providing support to those raised in these groups, although this is often lacking, particularly if extended family still belong to the sect. A safe place to stay, a little financial assistance, or a listening accepting ear can make a great deal of difference in the life of a young person exiting a sect. For a child in a sect, even just knowing that he has relatives outside of his group who are willing to provide assistance can act as a psychological life-line. As Truman Oler, who grew up in Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints group, which he left at age 19, stated:
“One of the biggest factors in my leaving was my Grandma Lorna," who had left the group years earlier. "Grandma Lorna told me no matter what I did I was always going to have a place to come back to. That meant so much to me because I just didn't know where I'd go if I left.”
But many young people aren't so lucky.
Perhaps the following words, written by a former sect member some years ago, might provide some inspiration: “Sometimes an ordinary life is an extraordinary achievement."
Lois Kendall lives in England. She was raised in a sect that she left when she was 17. She is now writing a book, based on her Ph.D., which seeks to help others who grew up in sects know that they are not alone. She runs special events for the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA).
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/08/with-children-when-does-religion-go-too-far/in-sects-children-have-few-if-any-rights
Belonging to a group is a great way for us to connect with others. Psychology researchers have found that religious groups can be very positive for people’s health. However, not all religious groups are good for peoples' well-being and some can be downright harmful to some of their members, especially children.
Some groups may offer a mixture of both positive and harmful elements. Groups can change, with a minority of them turning into what are commonly known as sects or high-demand groups, characterized, amongst other things, by control. That said, any group can become oppressive and controlling and any belief system can be taken and used as a tool to control others. For example, therapy and political groups can become sect-like in such a way that they begin to resemble religious sects.
The practices and structure of some sects mean that children are growing up in an environment where they may be at risk of medical, physical, emotional or educational neglect, psychological maltreatment, and sometimes abuse in every sense of that word, even death. However, every sect is different and the experiences of children in sects differ.
All children, by reason of their physical size and developmental maturity, are vulnerable. The checks and balances that protect children and which we might expect to be present in most groups are usually absent from sects, as is compassion in general.
Children who leave sects are moving into a culture that they are usually completely unprepared for, from education to socialization.
Many, if not most children raised in sects eventually leave, either with their parents, on their own or they may be kicked out. Understandably, young people exiting sects may feel overwhelmed. They are moving into a culture that they are usually completely unprepared for. They may have educational gaps, or lack socialization experiences and support. They have often just experienced the loss of all they have known.
Extended family can be pivotal in providing support to those raised in these groups, although this is often lacking, particularly if extended family still belong to the sect. A safe place to stay, a little financial assistance, or a listening accepting ear can make a great deal of difference in the life of a young person exiting a sect. For a child in a sect, even just knowing that he has relatives outside of his group who are willing to provide assistance can act as a psychological life-line. As Truman Oler, who grew up in Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints group, which he left at age 19, stated:
“One of the biggest factors in my leaving was my Grandma Lorna," who had left the group years earlier. "Grandma Lorna told me no matter what I did I was always going to have a place to come back to. That meant so much to me because I just didn't know where I'd go if I left.”
But many young people aren't so lucky.
Perhaps the following words, written by a former sect member some years ago, might provide some inspiration: “Sometimes an ordinary life is an extraordinary achievement."
Lois Kendall lives in England. She was raised in a sect that she left when she was 17. She is now writing a book, based on her Ph.D., which seeks to help others who grew up in sects know that they are not alone. She runs special events for the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA).
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/08/with-children-when-does-religion-go-too-far/in-sects-children-have-few-if-any-rights
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Abuse, lies, threats and a cover up exposed
I call it my story, but it is not really my story to tell. But it has become a part of me, it is part of my life; in fact it is taking over my life.
My husband was raped.
I can say it over and over again. Yet each time it almost doesn’t even sink in.
Thirteen years ago, when my husband was 14 years old, he was raped. He was a young Chassidish boy, who came from a family that never quite fit in however hard they tried. His parents divorced when he was 2, and he suffered for years as a result of that. At the age of 9, a judge made him decide. Mommy or daddy? Yes I repeat, mommy or daddy, “who do you want to live with?” the judge sweetly asked him.
My husband chose daddy, because mommy was no longer frum, stable, nor lived in the community, and daddy said he could still see mommy and he would let her come and visit. Mommy promised she would. But she never did.
After those events, it is safe to say that my husband was emotionally scarred for life. His behaviour or lack of, and education suffered tremendously. His lack of cooperation and willingness to be a part of his new family, with daddy, Ima and his half brothers and sisters tore the family apart. And at the grand age of 12 years old, it was decided that my husband would leave school and officially, he would be home-schooled, but primarily he would get a job to keep busy.
A young and innocent Chasidish boy, with his bekesher and long payos, and who davened in the local Chasidish shtieble each week, was about to embark on a journey that would not let him return.
I recently watched his Bar Mitzvah video and I had to hold back the tears. He gave a beautiful Dvar Torah and thanked all those that needed the relevant Hakoras Hatov. Only watching it in hindsight, it was just so apparent to see the innocence that was about to be ripped away from him in the coming years.
And so it came to be.
He was 14, he had a job in a local shop and got rather close with the owner. Until one day he got a little too friendly and raped him.
I would say I have spared you the details, but in all honesty, I have been spared the details so I am unable to relay them to you. I am not sure whether I am lucky, or whether that means I will never truly understand what my husband went through.
My husband knew something was wrong. Something bad had happened. Being the technological savvy teenager he was, he managed to actually obtain the cd of the CCTV camera that had recorded them.
He decided he would go to speak to their Rabbi about what had happened. Surely his saintly chassidish Rabbi, who everyone in the community flocked to for advice, would be able to help him.
And so there he found himself, seated in his Rabbi’s house, telling him his story. From beginning to end.
Once he had said his piece, he looked up at his Rabbi, with his tear stained face and asked him “what shall I do? What shall you do?” and brace yourself for this response:
“You won’t do anything, you must not tell anyone about this or about this conversation, don’t tell your father, don’t tell your friends, or everyone will know what a bad person and boy you are, you will be shamed, you will be nothing. Now go and never speak of this again to anyone.”
And so he went.
Years past. And there were lots of changes.
Yiddishkeit, Torah, Mitzvos, they soon became memories of the past. And his father, well he surely must have been evil, if he knew about such things happening to boys and then not being allowed to speak about it.
After the numerous meetings daddy had with the Rabbi, surely the Rabbi must have told him why he suspected that daddy’s son had tried to commit suicide a few times, and why he did not want to be Frum anymore.
Relationships broke apart, a father and son, Hashem and his child.
Being involved in the youth program for the ‘off the derech’ teens is where things all started to change. They did not force Frumkeit, they just helped to educate and facilitate. It was there that new strong bonds were created, and my husband got to learn about evil things that people normally get sent to jail for. He spoke about what happened, got therapy, and was offered someone to accompany him in all his meetings with police and lawyers. But for my husband, it was not something that he wanted to do.
He did not blame the man that raped him. He blamed the Rabbi for covering it up.
When I met my husband at some point in our relationship prior to marriage, I was told about all of this. He confided in me, and I promised to keep his secret and support him no matter what.
The glass was smashed, Siman Tov uMazel Tov was sung, and Sheva Brochos were over.
Now it was time for real life to begin.
We found our happy medium in Judaism. We kept some Chasidish traditions, but on the outside, we look like your standard Orthodox Jews.
As every young couple starts their new marriage, one of the most exciting aspects is the physical side, the intimacy. In our relationship, we had it before we were married, although we had firmly kept to our self-made rule of anything but sex before marriage.
I first realised something was wrong when I would cry myself to sleep at night, feeling so rejected when my husband once again told me “I’m not in the mood tonight, I just want to cuddle.”
We had sex, but it was not as often as I would have liked or wanted. But after countless arguments, we just came to the conclusion that we were different from each other and we had different sex drives. And the good outweighed the bad, so we tried not to make it a big deal out of it.
After all who wouldn’t want a husband that loved to cuddle? To him, sex did not equal love.
We had our first child almost two years after marriage. We were so happy.
But that was when the flashbacks started for my husband. Every time he looked at our daughter, all he could feel was fear, and images of what had happened played in his mind over and over again. All he saw were images of himself being raped. He feared for our daughter’s safety, and he fell into a deep depression.
I begged him to go to therapy. “Please go”, I would say over and over again. But it was and still is too painful and it had never helped him in the past.
He did not want to talk. He wanted to forget.
Up until six months ago, we were at breaking point. We spoke to our Rav, who really helped and guided us, and I got myself into therapy, which taught me how to understand the abuse my husband had endured and how to be there for him and cope with the repercussions it had had on him.
And then it happened.
Our community exploded.
Headlines read as follows: “Hariedi Rabbi Exposed in Rape Sex Scandal”, “Prominent Marriage Counsellor Inappropriate with Married Women.” The list can go on and on. And then the big one: “Rabbi Resigns from All Positions”
During the course of these past few months, we have watched the biggest cover-up in our community unfurl. Finally, this Rabbi is being exposed for the heinous crimes he has committed. Not only did he cover up for rapists and pedophiles, but he was a molester himself.
But as always, there will always be the poor misguided souls that will follow their leader to whichever depths of the lowest places they will go. There were those that fought back, and the fights are still taking place. It is far from over.
But finally, my husband is beginning to heal.
Justice has started to take place.
More victims are speaking out.
More abusers are being named and shamed.
The only hard part to deal with is the somewhat like ‘Stockholm syndrome’ that my husband continues to suffer from. For those that are not familiar with the term, it is when a bond is made between captor and captive, or in this case, abuser and victim.
I would not say my husband empathises with or understands the man that raped him. But to this day, he is not willing to press charges against him or speak to the police. Therefore, there is a pedophile roaming the streets of our community and has gotten away scot free.
And that is the hardest part for me. I need this man to be punished. I feel like he has ruined my husband’s life and my own.
I do not think that my husband realises what our sex life could be like if he had not been raped, or maybe he does realize but he does not want to dwell on it, because the harsh reality is that the lack of sex, has led to the lack of a pregnancy. We have been desperate for a second child for over a year; but until now, we have not been able to make that happen because of the lack of intercourse.
I stand by my husband and I am patient for him because I love him. I love him unconditionally, partly because I know he is my soul mate and partly, I make the extra effort because I know he has no one else in the world that can love him unconditionally.
He will never be able to forgive his father for exposing him to the Rabbi that covered this up. And he will never forgive him for not realising that there was something severely wrong with his son all these years.
I urge all victims of abuse to speak out.
This story started thirteen years ago, and the end has only just begun for us now.
I have given you a glimpse into my world, the world of a wife of a victim of abuse.
I have learnt not to cry myself to sleep at night because my husband does not desire me; but instead, I hold him tight and I keep him close and try to protect him from the world that has caused him so much pain.
All I can do is try to understand and encourage people to speak out. Staying silent is easy, but bottling it up is the hardest thing to do. Whatever a victim does will be painful, and we need to show them support no matter what.
I wish I could end my story with a happy ending, but unfortunately I cannot. Right now, there is no happy ending. My happy ending will be when we live in a community where we do not allow any Rabbis to cover up crimes of abuse of any kind, and when all victims of abuse feel safe enough to speak up.
http://www.jewishcommunitywatch.org/our-story-sexual-abuse/
Brooklyn, New York - Pakistan -- Who Ever Said Pakistan Was A Third World Country?
Child sexual abuse: Breaking the silence
Child abuse is a forbidden talk in almost 90% of the families in Pakistan, even in the educated class. We have to spread it.
Find out what you and your children need to know to stay safe in a dangerous world.
Child sexual abuse may be more rampant than you think. The only way to safeguard children is awareness - both for the children and the parents. Find out what you and your children need to know to stay safe in a dangerous world.
Sifting through the glossy flash cards that have drawings of two children in their underclothes, one can easily conjure an image of a classroom: children listen to their teacher intently as she holds up the cards and speaks to them as if this is a storytelling session. But this is not some fairytale being related; it is an important lesson in life.
The teacher points out on the flash card, “These are our private parts. We keep them covered at all times.”
She moves on: a caretaker is bathing the child. And in the next: a doctor is doing a physical examination with his shirt pulled up. All good touches, she tells them.
But then, in the following flashcard, a man in a classroom appears to slide his hands into a boy’s shirt. And in another one, a mustached man in a shalwar kameez — the archetypical ‘uncle’ — places his hand on a visibly uncomfortable girl’s knee. “If anyone touches you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, sad or hurt, that is a bad touch. You should immediately tell a grown-up. Even if they tell you to keep it a secret,” are the teacher’s instructions.
The flashcards are part of a toolkit handed out to schoolteachers by Aahung, an NGO working to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights in Pakistan. “Adults can link certain behaviour with sex, but children cannot,” explains Sheena Hadi, director of Aahung. “Even if a child is running around naked in the house, it has no sexual connotations for them at all. For an adult, they see nudity and they associate that with a number of things in their adult mind,” she says.
Children of ages between seven and 11 are considered most susceptible to sexual abuse — they are at the most vulnerable stage of their lives for molesters to make advances because they seem to have come out of the ‘baby’ phase and are maturing. If older than that, there are chances they can fight back or speak out, endangering the attacker. Adolescents are also physically bigger and hence harder to control.
Hadi says that the perception that girls are more prone to abuse is one of the biggest myths. And so is the idea that children from higher income backgrounds are less susceptible since they do not venture out of their homes by themselves.
In reality, boys can be accessible in madrassas or schools, and children from affluent backgrounds have much bigger houses where abuse can go on undetected.
For a parent, this is a frightening prospect. Perhaps this is the reason why they like to brush it under the carpet. “Parents dread such a conversation with their children. ‘What if we scare the child?’ is what they feel,” says Hadi.
Hence, it is imperative that you prepare your child, so that he or she is empowered enough to escape or preempt a possible situation. The Express Tribune Magazine sat down with the Aahung team and discussed how to protect a child from sexual abuse and what to do in case the unthinkable happens.
How to protect your child from sexual abuse?
This is one of those situations where a little parental paranoia can be a good thing. Here are a few things all parents need to know:
As a rule of thumb, be vigilant and don’t leave the child unsupervised for a long period of time with an adult, be it the tutor, the maulvi sahib teaching the Quran, a trusted domestic servant or even an aunt or uncle. Child sexual abuse is known to be carried out not just by strangers, but also by close family members and acquaintances that enjoy the trust of parents and have easy access to the child.
Pay attention to your child’s mood changes. Aggression or depression, eating or sleeping disorders, loss of interest in daily affairs or academics, fear of or aversion towards certain persons or places may be telltale signs.
Develop a close and friendly relationship with your child that gives him/her the confidence to talk to you even about intimidating things.
If children do not like how they are handled by a relative or refuse to be kissed or hugged by them, don’t be angry. They may lose the ability to refuse a molester too.
Some age-specific measures you can take to avert child sexual abuse:
Ages 3-5: identifying private body parts and giving ownership
At the age of three you may feel a child is too young to understand these things, or you may feel it’s too early to expose a young soul to the perversion of the world just yet. But Hadi rightly says that your child “has a very deep intuition about what is right and wrong”. This is why the earlier you start making your child more aware, the better. The key element of course is “how”.
You may have taught the child about the “eyes” and “nose” but don’t shy away from identifying and naming their private parts too, even if you give them your own names. They should know that private parts can only be touched by trusted adults while changing or giving a bath, or perhaps a doctor.
“Don’t use words of shame to describe their body,” adds Aisha Ijaz. “Don’t spank their hand if they touch their bodies because children internalise these feelings and are too embarrassed to report incidents of abuse involving these parts.”
4 Onwards: developing decision-making skills
You want the child to be able to say “no” if inappropriate advances are made. Give him the confidence to make decisions and take action by himself, starting from everyday matters. For this your parenting ‘command and control’ will sometimes have to take a backseat. Don’t simply instruct them or make choices for them all the time; explain how they may get hurt if they are going to do something potentially harmful: “If you don’t wear something you might get cold” or “you can cut yourself if you handle the knife,” rather than forbidding them from it. A naïve, pushover kid will be more susceptible to instructions of the abuser.
Age 5-9: differentiating the good from the bad touch
Once a child knows how to differentiate between public and private body parts, he or she can graduate to learning how a bad touch can be told apart from a good one. No demonstrations needed; mention stuff to them casually and privately while they play, bathe, or do their usual stuff, so that they don’t get overwhelmed. Tell them that good touches are those which make you feel happy, loved, or comforted, such as a parent’s hug or a teacher’s pat on the back. Bad touches are those that evoke feelings of fear, discomfort and pain. Or even any touch that is new or unusual.
You can even use stories to illustrate good and bad touches that you can refer to later: “Remember what happened in the story about..?” Role plays depicting a possible situation of abuse prepare the child for an eventuality too: Ask them questions like: “If a person tells you not to tell anyone what they are doing, what should you do?”
What to do if your child becomes a victim?
Ask the child to explain in his own words what happened, but don’t push him into giving details if he does not want to. They may want to talk at a different time. In fact, they may reveal details in stages. They could begin relating a story and then say they forgot the details. Then they might start the story again some other time, but say it happened to someone else or change the details.
Remain calm and do not overreact because the child may become scared.
Do not outrightly question or doubt the child’s story by saying “Are you sure that is what happened?” or “are you really telling me the truth?” Trust your child’s instinct.
Hug him or her and give him the confidence that it’s not his fault. And reassure the child that he did the right thing by telling you.
Show your child to a medical practitioner if there are signs of injury, and a psychologist if the child has trouble relating the incident. Therapy is carried out through art and play.
Refrain from saying negative things about the abuser. Often it is someone the child is close to and the child may feel terrible about implicating the molestor. In fact many molesters are very loving and playful with their victims.
Try to remove the child from the situation....
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/487937/child-sexual-abuse-breaking-the-silence/
Monday, January 07, 2013
Task force makes 22 recommendations to governor, legislature, to curb child sex abuse
Missouri’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children has made 22 recommendations to the Governor and legislature.
The Task Force was created by lawmakers in 2011, and brought together advocates, legislators, educators and professionals to better protect children in Missouri from sex abuse. Joy Oesterly with Missouri Kids First says shortly after the task force was created, the sex abuse scandal at Penn State broke, bringing national attention to the problem.
Oesterly says the recommendations focus on community-based support, mental health services, changes in statute and preventative education. She also stresses the importance of mental health services — both for child victims as well as youth who exhibit inappropriate or illegal sexual behavior. She says hope and recovery is possible for the future of both of them.
Here’s a list of the recommendations:
1: Community-based child abuse prevention education needs to be expanded and be comprehensive in nature.
2: All schools and youth-serving organizations should have specific child sexual abuse prevention policies.
3: Existing state child abuse prevention programs should include programing targeted at preventing child sexual abuse.
4: Expand home-visiting programs and specifically include child sexual abuse prevention in these programs.
5: Create and implement standardized training for all mandated reporters.
6: Fund the creation and implementation of standardized, discipline-specific training for members of the multi- disciplinary team (MDT) and judges.
7: Identify and fund discipline-specific expert technical assistance for MDT members.
8: Establish discipline-specific best practices or standards for multi-disciplinary teams, law enforcement, prosecutors and medical providers.
9: Establish mechanisms for addressing the secondary trauma experienced by individuals who work to address and prevent child sexual abuse.
10: Assess for and address domestic violence when investigating child sexual abuse and providing services to victims and caregivers.
11: Identify and fund evidence-based early intervention and treatment for youth with illegal/inappropriate sexual behaviors.
12: Identify and fund the expansion of mental health services to children who have been sexually abused.
13: Create and fund a child sexual abuse public awareness campaign.
14: The General Assembly should consider increased investment in preventing child sexual abuse in order to reduce the substantial financial, health and social costs associated with childhood trauma.
15: Private foundations in Missouri should increase funding to prevent and address childhood trauma.
16: Submit to Missouri voters a proposed constitutional amendment allowing evidence of signature crimes, commonly referred to as propensity evidence, to be used in child sexual abuse cases.
17: Modify 210.115 RSMo. to require mandatory reporters to directly report suspected child abuse and neglect to Children’s Division.
18: Clarify the term “immediately” in the mandatory reporting statute, 210.115 RSMo., and school reporting statute, 167.117 RSMo.
19: Clarify 544.250 RSMo. and 544.280 RSMo. to allow for hearsay evidence at preliminary hearings.
20: Amend 491.075.1 RSMo. to clarify that the statute allows for the use of child witness statements relative to prosecutions under Section 575.270.
21: Modify the definition of deviate sexual intercourse in 566.010 RSMo. to include genital to genital contact.
22: Modify 556.037 RSMo. to eliminate the statute of limitations for the prosecutions of first-degree statutory rape and first-degree statutory sodomy.
THIS REPORT SHOULD BE USED AS A MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTATION WORLD-OVER!
LAWMAKERS/PARENTS/EDUCATORS/ATTORNEYS/CLERGY --- WORLDWIDE --- DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT:
The Task Force was created by lawmakers in 2011, and brought together advocates, legislators, educators and professionals to better protect children in Missouri from sex abuse. Joy Oesterly with Missouri Kids First says shortly after the task force was created, the sex abuse scandal at Penn State broke, bringing national attention to the problem.
Oesterly says the recommendations focus on community-based support, mental health services, changes in statute and preventative education. She also stresses the importance of mental health services — both for child victims as well as youth who exhibit inappropriate or illegal sexual behavior. She says hope and recovery is possible for the future of both of them.
Here’s a list of the recommendations:
1: Community-based child abuse prevention education needs to be expanded and be comprehensive in nature.
2: All schools and youth-serving organizations should have specific child sexual abuse prevention policies.
3: Existing state child abuse prevention programs should include programing targeted at preventing child sexual abuse.
4: Expand home-visiting programs and specifically include child sexual abuse prevention in these programs.
5: Create and implement standardized training for all mandated reporters.
6: Fund the creation and implementation of standardized, discipline-specific training for members of the multi- disciplinary team (MDT) and judges.
7: Identify and fund discipline-specific expert technical assistance for MDT members.
8: Establish discipline-specific best practices or standards for multi-disciplinary teams, law enforcement, prosecutors and medical providers.
9: Establish mechanisms for addressing the secondary trauma experienced by individuals who work to address and prevent child sexual abuse.
10: Assess for and address domestic violence when investigating child sexual abuse and providing services to victims and caregivers.
11: Identify and fund evidence-based early intervention and treatment for youth with illegal/inappropriate sexual behaviors.
12: Identify and fund the expansion of mental health services to children who have been sexually abused.
13: Create and fund a child sexual abuse public awareness campaign.
14: The General Assembly should consider increased investment in preventing child sexual abuse in order to reduce the substantial financial, health and social costs associated with childhood trauma.
15: Private foundations in Missouri should increase funding to prevent and address childhood trauma.
16: Submit to Missouri voters a proposed constitutional amendment allowing evidence of signature crimes, commonly referred to as propensity evidence, to be used in child sexual abuse cases.
17: Modify 210.115 RSMo. to require mandatory reporters to directly report suspected child abuse and neglect to Children’s Division.
18: Clarify the term “immediately” in the mandatory reporting statute, 210.115 RSMo., and school reporting statute, 167.117 RSMo.
19: Clarify 544.250 RSMo. and 544.280 RSMo. to allow for hearsay evidence at preliminary hearings.
20: Amend 491.075.1 RSMo. to clarify that the statute allows for the use of child witness statements relative to prosecutions under Section 575.270.
21: Modify the definition of deviate sexual intercourse in 566.010 RSMo. to include genital to genital contact.
22: Modify 556.037 RSMo. to eliminate the statute of limitations for the prosecutions of first-degree statutory rape and first-degree statutory sodomy.
THIS REPORT SHOULD BE USED AS A MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTATION WORLD-OVER!
LAWMAKERS/PARENTS/EDUCATORS/ATTORNEYS/CLERGY --- WORLDWIDE --- DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT:
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Somehow, the victims never seem as important as the rabbi... "People shouldn’t know, in other words, that Jews are just like everyone else."...
No Religious Exemption When It Comes to Abuse
Yeshiva University High School in Manhattan let rabbis accused of sexual abuse "go quietly."
Just as we think we know what an abuser looks like, we think we know what an abusive religious community looks like.
We may think it is highly insular — like the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, a prominent member of which was convicted last month of sexually abusing a young girl sent to him for help. Or it is hierarchical and bureaucratic: if the Roman Catholic Church did not have so many bishops and archbishops who refused to dismiss or defrock molesters in their ranks, would so many pedophile priests have been able to carry on for so long?
But we don’t know a thing. Consider Yeshiva University.
As Paul Berger reported last month in the Jewish newspaper The Forward, two rabbis at the Modern Orthodox high school run by the university were accused of sexually abusing students in the 1970s and ’80s. Leaders, Mr. Berger wrote, responded by “quietly allowing them to leave and find jobs elsewhere.” The university president at the time, Norman Lamm — until last month a titan of contemporary Judaism — told Mr. Berger that he had let the staff members “go quietly.”
“It was not our intention or position to destroy a person without further inquiry,” Dr. Lamm said.
But Yeshiva University is supposed to be modern, engaged, contemporary. Its rabbis are not treated as infallible demigods. The school’s graduates work and live in the secular world. The culture of Yeshiva is supposed to permit, even encourage, argument, not punish or ostracize critics. So surely there were no impious skeletons in the closet, right?
But the truth is, there are not two kinds of religions — the enlightened and the medieval. Every religion has evildoers stalking its corridors. They just survive, and thrive, with different strategies.
Take Zen Buddhism, the paragon of open, nonhierarchical spirituality. Anyone may practice Zen meditation; you do not have to convert, be baptized or renounce your old religion. Yet leaders of major Zen centers in Los Angeles and New York have recently been accused, on strong evidence, of exploiting followers for sex. This weekend, Zen teachers ordained by Joshu Sasaki, the semiretired abbot of the Rinzai-ji Zen Center in Los Angeles, are holding a retreat to discuss sexual harassment accusations against Mr. Sasaki. The Zen Studies Society, in New York, is under new leadership after its longtime abbot, Eido Shimano, was forced out after he was accused of inappropriate sexual liaisons with students and other women.
Paul Karsten, a board member of the Rinzai-ji Zen Center, said the intense relationship between Zen teacher and student can be trouble. For example, in private meetings, some teachers touch students. The touching is never supposed to be sexual, but there can be misunderstandings, or outright abuse. “I know of stories I have heard,” Mr. Karsten said, “where people feel like this experience has been very important to them, and others where they feel like it has been the opposite.”
Mr. Karsten acknowledged complaints against Mr. Sasaki — largely on the Internet, some anonymous — that the teacher went beyond what most reputable teachers would consider appropriate. But Mr. Karsten seemed torn between valuing extremely close teacher-student relationships and acknowledging the dangers.
“People see there has been something going on with students that on the one hand has been remarkable, and on the other hand has been inappropriate in teacher-student practice,” Mr. Karsten said. “And consensual, or nonconsensual?”
Questions e-mailed to Mr. Karsten for Mr. Sasaki, who is 105, were not answered.
Some churches have checks and balances that discourage unethical behavior. “A lot of it is secrecy versus transparency,” said Hugh Urban, author of “The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion.”
“If you have a church like the Episcopal Church, with a fair degree of transparency, that is going to make a difference,” he said. “But Scientology — almost every aspect of it from early on has tended toward secrecy.”
Scientology is known for both secrecy and, at the highest levels, extreme insularity. Committed Scientologists may fear that if they complain about abuses, they will lose their friends, even their families. Mr. Urban mentioned one woman who had told him about human-rights abuses at the church headquarters in Clearwater, Fla.
“I said, ‘Why don’t you go down the street and talk to the police?’” Mr. Urban said. “Her answer was, once you are so deep in, invested in that community, it doesn’t seem like a real possibility to go talk to the police.”
Then there is the fear of bringing shame on the community, particularly prevalent in minority groups. “When I started in 1982,” said Phil Jacobs, the editor of Washington Jewish Week, “there was an 11th commandment — ‘Thou shalt not air thy dirty laundry.’ ” He learned that commandment in Baltimore, writing about the high percentage of Jews in a treatment program for compulsive gambling. “When I started calling people, they said, ‘You’re not going to put this in the paper, are you?’ So I found out Jews didn’t get AIDS, didn’t get divorced, didn’t abuse their wives or children.”
That fear of embarrassment may be why Dr. Lamm — who is still at Yeshiva and declined to be interviewed — stayed quiet about the abusive rabbis at Yeshiva. Perhaps he loathed what they had done, and wept for their victims. But, he also may have thought that people shouldn’t hear bad things about Jews. People shouldn’t know, in other words, that Jews are just like everyone else.
That is everyone else, not just religious people. The Satmar Hasidim may have wanted to protect a beloved member, the Modern Orthodox administrators probably worried about their community’s reputation — and the Penn State loyalists enabled Jerry Sandusky.
Somehow, the victims never seem as important as the rabbi, the Zen master, the coach. In the words of a once-revered rabbi, Norman Lamm, may as well let the perpetrators “go quietly.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/us/no-religious-exemption-when-it-comes-to-abuse.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&_r=0
Yeshiva University High School in Manhattan let rabbis accused of sexual abuse "go quietly."
Just as we think we know what an abuser looks like, we think we know what an abusive religious community looks like.
We may think it is highly insular — like the Satmar Hasidic community in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, a prominent member of which was convicted last month of sexually abusing a young girl sent to him for help. Or it is hierarchical and bureaucratic: if the Roman Catholic Church did not have so many bishops and archbishops who refused to dismiss or defrock molesters in their ranks, would so many pedophile priests have been able to carry on for so long?
But we don’t know a thing. Consider Yeshiva University.
As Paul Berger reported last month in the Jewish newspaper The Forward, two rabbis at the Modern Orthodox high school run by the university were accused of sexually abusing students in the 1970s and ’80s. Leaders, Mr. Berger wrote, responded by “quietly allowing them to leave and find jobs elsewhere.” The university president at the time, Norman Lamm — until last month a titan of contemporary Judaism — told Mr. Berger that he had let the staff members “go quietly.”
“It was not our intention or position to destroy a person without further inquiry,” Dr. Lamm said.
But Yeshiva University is supposed to be modern, engaged, contemporary. Its rabbis are not treated as infallible demigods. The school’s graduates work and live in the secular world. The culture of Yeshiva is supposed to permit, even encourage, argument, not punish or ostracize critics. So surely there were no impious skeletons in the closet, right?
But the truth is, there are not two kinds of religions — the enlightened and the medieval. Every religion has evildoers stalking its corridors. They just survive, and thrive, with different strategies.
Take Zen Buddhism, the paragon of open, nonhierarchical spirituality. Anyone may practice Zen meditation; you do not have to convert, be baptized or renounce your old religion. Yet leaders of major Zen centers in Los Angeles and New York have recently been accused, on strong evidence, of exploiting followers for sex. This weekend, Zen teachers ordained by Joshu Sasaki, the semiretired abbot of the Rinzai-ji Zen Center in Los Angeles, are holding a retreat to discuss sexual harassment accusations against Mr. Sasaki. The Zen Studies Society, in New York, is under new leadership after its longtime abbot, Eido Shimano, was forced out after he was accused of inappropriate sexual liaisons with students and other women.
Paul Karsten, a board member of the Rinzai-ji Zen Center, said the intense relationship between Zen teacher and student can be trouble. For example, in private meetings, some teachers touch students. The touching is never supposed to be sexual, but there can be misunderstandings, or outright abuse. “I know of stories I have heard,” Mr. Karsten said, “where people feel like this experience has been very important to them, and others where they feel like it has been the opposite.”
Mr. Karsten acknowledged complaints against Mr. Sasaki — largely on the Internet, some anonymous — that the teacher went beyond what most reputable teachers would consider appropriate. But Mr. Karsten seemed torn between valuing extremely close teacher-student relationships and acknowledging the dangers.
“People see there has been something going on with students that on the one hand has been remarkable, and on the other hand has been inappropriate in teacher-student practice,” Mr. Karsten said. “And consensual, or nonconsensual?”
Questions e-mailed to Mr. Karsten for Mr. Sasaki, who is 105, were not answered.
Some churches have checks and balances that discourage unethical behavior. “A lot of it is secrecy versus transparency,” said Hugh Urban, author of “The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion.”
“If you have a church like the Episcopal Church, with a fair degree of transparency, that is going to make a difference,” he said. “But Scientology — almost every aspect of it from early on has tended toward secrecy.”
Scientology is known for both secrecy and, at the highest levels, extreme insularity. Committed Scientologists may fear that if they complain about abuses, they will lose their friends, even their families. Mr. Urban mentioned one woman who had told him about human-rights abuses at the church headquarters in Clearwater, Fla.
“I said, ‘Why don’t you go down the street and talk to the police?’” Mr. Urban said. “Her answer was, once you are so deep in, invested in that community, it doesn’t seem like a real possibility to go talk to the police.”
Then there is the fear of bringing shame on the community, particularly prevalent in minority groups. “When I started in 1982,” said Phil Jacobs, the editor of Washington Jewish Week, “there was an 11th commandment — ‘Thou shalt not air thy dirty laundry.’ ” He learned that commandment in Baltimore, writing about the high percentage of Jews in a treatment program for compulsive gambling. “When I started calling people, they said, ‘You’re not going to put this in the paper, are you?’ So I found out Jews didn’t get AIDS, didn’t get divorced, didn’t abuse their wives or children.”
That fear of embarrassment may be why Dr. Lamm — who is still at Yeshiva and declined to be interviewed — stayed quiet about the abusive rabbis at Yeshiva. Perhaps he loathed what they had done, and wept for their victims. But, he also may have thought that people shouldn’t hear bad things about Jews. People shouldn’t know, in other words, that Jews are just like everyone else.
That is everyone else, not just religious people. The Satmar Hasidim may have wanted to protect a beloved member, the Modern Orthodox administrators probably worried about their community’s reputation — and the Penn State loyalists enabled Jerry Sandusky.
Somehow, the victims never seem as important as the rabbi, the Zen master, the coach. In the words of a once-revered rabbi, Norman Lamm, may as well let the perpetrators “go quietly.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/us/no-religious-exemption-when-it-comes-to-abuse.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&_r=0
Friday, January 04, 2013
What Is It About "Putz" That Corbett Doesn't Understand?
http://www.yourdictionary.com/putz
"Not suffering fools gladly"...
"It is used to describe a person who is so passionately committed to a vital cause that he doesn’t have time for social niceties toward those idiots who stand in its way. It is used to suggest a level of social courage; a person who has the guts to tell idiots what he really thinks".
Penn State: Lessons Not Learned
If it were possible to compound the reasons for outrage over the serial child rape committed at Penn State, Gov. Tom Corbett took a brazenly misguided step in that direction Wednesday. The governor filed a federal lawsuit to force the N.C.A.A. to revoke the highly deserved sanctions imposed on the school and its powerful football program for a scandal that reached the highest levels of the university.
Governor Corbett barely mentioned the young victims in complaining that the state’s economy, its citizens, students and, of course, the all-important Pennsylvania State University football fans were being unfairly penalized for the abuse and rape of children by Jerry Sandusky, the imprisoned former assistant coach who for years used the football program as a lure for his young victims.
Surrounded by a claque of business leaders, students, politicians and athletes, Governor Corbett held a pep rally to announce the suit. He denounced the N.C.A.A. as unfairly crimping the lucrative football program — largely ignoring the core finding by a special inquiry last July that “the most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”
The inquiry found concern for the vaunted football program led to a long-running cover-up of Sandusky’s behavior by top university officials, including Joe Paterno, the disgraced football coach who died last January. The sanctions were agreed to in July by the university, which is not a party to the governor’s lawsuit. They included a $60 million fine, four years’ suspension from bowl game participation and the expunging of the university’s victory records during the Sandusky years. They were initially endorsed by Governor Corbett, a member of the Penn State board of trustees, as “part of the corrective process.” But Mr. Corbett, who is facing re-election next year, said he since concluded the N.C.A.A. violated its own rules and sought to “pile on” the university to counteract complaints that it was too often “soft” in disciplining misbehavior.
In his foolhardy lawsuit, the governor bypassed incoming state attorney general Kathleen Kane to hire an outside law firm to pursue his case in the name of the state. Ms. Kane declined to comment, but in her election campaign last year she promised to look into why it took so long for the pedophilia scandal to be investigated when Mr. Corbett previously served as attorney general.
In his complaints, the governor only confirmed the inquiry finding that the university’s obsession with football predominance helped drive the cover-up of Mr. Sandusky’s crimes. Mr. Corbett extolled football’s “economic engine” and bemoaned the “diminution in value of the Penn State educational and community experience” because it relied, he emphasized, “in part on the prominence of the Penn State football program.”
It would be hard to imagine a more shortsighted misunderstanding of the scandal that continues to shake Penn State. The university is wise to accept the sanctions, whatever the governor hopes to accomplish. The penalties have caused considerable resentment among the more avid Penn State fans, but Mr. Corbett denied politics underlies his complaint. He pictured Penn State caught in the “eye of a media storm” and left to “clean up this tragedy that was created by the few.”
The governor should know better than anyone that the tragedy is all about the outrageous abuse of children at Penn State, not continuing the business of football for Penn State fans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/opinion/penn-state-lessons-not-learned.html?hp&_r=0
"Not suffering fools gladly"...
"It is used to describe a person who is so passionately committed to a vital cause that he doesn’t have time for social niceties toward those idiots who stand in its way. It is used to suggest a level of social courage; a person who has the guts to tell idiots what he really thinks".
Penn State: Lessons Not Learned
If it were possible to compound the reasons for outrage over the serial child rape committed at Penn State, Gov. Tom Corbett took a brazenly misguided step in that direction Wednesday. The governor filed a federal lawsuit to force the N.C.A.A. to revoke the highly deserved sanctions imposed on the school and its powerful football program for a scandal that reached the highest levels of the university.
Governor Corbett barely mentioned the young victims in complaining that the state’s economy, its citizens, students and, of course, the all-important Pennsylvania State University football fans were being unfairly penalized for the abuse and rape of children by Jerry Sandusky, the imprisoned former assistant coach who for years used the football program as a lure for his young victims.
Surrounded by a claque of business leaders, students, politicians and athletes, Governor Corbett held a pep rally to announce the suit. He denounced the N.C.A.A. as unfairly crimping the lucrative football program — largely ignoring the core finding by a special inquiry last July that “the most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”
The inquiry found concern for the vaunted football program led to a long-running cover-up of Sandusky’s behavior by top university officials, including Joe Paterno, the disgraced football coach who died last January. The sanctions were agreed to in July by the university, which is not a party to the governor’s lawsuit. They included a $60 million fine, four years’ suspension from bowl game participation and the expunging of the university’s victory records during the Sandusky years. They were initially endorsed by Governor Corbett, a member of the Penn State board of trustees, as “part of the corrective process.” But Mr. Corbett, who is facing re-election next year, said he since concluded the N.C.A.A. violated its own rules and sought to “pile on” the university to counteract complaints that it was too often “soft” in disciplining misbehavior.
In his foolhardy lawsuit, the governor bypassed incoming state attorney general Kathleen Kane to hire an outside law firm to pursue his case in the name of the state. Ms. Kane declined to comment, but in her election campaign last year she promised to look into why it took so long for the pedophilia scandal to be investigated when Mr. Corbett previously served as attorney general.
In his complaints, the governor only confirmed the inquiry finding that the university’s obsession with football predominance helped drive the cover-up of Mr. Sandusky’s crimes. Mr. Corbett extolled football’s “economic engine” and bemoaned the “diminution in value of the Penn State educational and community experience” because it relied, he emphasized, “in part on the prominence of the Penn State football program.”
It would be hard to imagine a more shortsighted misunderstanding of the scandal that continues to shake Penn State. The university is wise to accept the sanctions, whatever the governor hopes to accomplish. The penalties have caused considerable resentment among the more avid Penn State fans, but Mr. Corbett denied politics underlies his complaint. He pictured Penn State caught in the “eye of a media storm” and left to “clean up this tragedy that was created by the few.”
The governor should know better than anyone that the tragedy is all about the outrageous abuse of children at Penn State, not continuing the business of football for Penn State fans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/opinion/penn-state-lessons-not-learned.html?hp&_r=0
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Top Lawyer Takes Yeshiva Abuse Case
Kevin Mulhearn Won Settlement From Brooklyn's Poly Prep
Twersky said that he has been inundated with emails — some supportive, some derogatory — since the first Forward story was published in December. They include many tales from former students who say they were abused and have since suffered broken marriages, substance abuse, and are plagued by suicidal thoughts.
An attorney who just won a landmark sex abuse lawsuit against an elite private school has been retained to represent a former student with similar claims against Yeshiva University.
Kevin Mulhearn has been hired by Mordechai Twersky, the first of almost two dozen students to come forward claiming they were abused decades ago while studying at Y.U.’s High School for Boys, in Manhattan.
Mulhearn said that he hoped more victims would join in any potential lawsuit against Y.U. “I think there is a substantial benefit in consolidating these claims as much as possible,” Mulhearn said.
Twersky says that not only was he abused by Rabbi George Finkelstein, who went on to become principal of the Y.U.- run high school, but Y.U. also knew of Finkelstein’s and other staff members’ abusive behavior and covered it up for decades.
Since the Forward first reported Twersky’s allegations, on December 13, 2012, more than 20 men have come forward to say they were sexually, physically or emotionally abused by Finkelstein or by Rabbi Macy Gordon, a Talmud teacher at the school. The two men were employed by Y.U. for a combined period of more than 50 years, between 1956 and 1995. Finkelstein, who lives in Israel, resigned from his position at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue after the Forward story was published. Gordon, who also lives in Israel, was put on indefinite leave from his teaching job. Both men deny the allegations.
The appearance of Mulhearn in the widening abuse allegations at Y.U.’s high school raises the legal and financial stakes considerably. At the end of December, Mulhearn won an undisclosed sum for 12 men who said they were sexually abused by football coach Phil Foglietta at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep Country Day School.......
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE: http://forward.com/articles/168655/top-lawyer-takes-yeshiva-abuse-case/
Twersky said that he has been inundated with emails — some supportive, some derogatory — since the first Forward story was published in December. They include many tales from former students who say they were abused and have since suffered broken marriages, substance abuse, and are plagued by suicidal thoughts.
An attorney who just won a landmark sex abuse lawsuit against an elite private school has been retained to represent a former student with similar claims against Yeshiva University.
Kevin Mulhearn has been hired by Mordechai Twersky, the first of almost two dozen students to come forward claiming they were abused decades ago while studying at Y.U.’s High School for Boys, in Manhattan.
Mulhearn said that he hoped more victims would join in any potential lawsuit against Y.U. “I think there is a substantial benefit in consolidating these claims as much as possible,” Mulhearn said.
Twersky says that not only was he abused by Rabbi George Finkelstein, who went on to become principal of the Y.U.- run high school, but Y.U. also knew of Finkelstein’s and other staff members’ abusive behavior and covered it up for decades.
Since the Forward first reported Twersky’s allegations, on December 13, 2012, more than 20 men have come forward to say they were sexually, physically or emotionally abused by Finkelstein or by Rabbi Macy Gordon, a Talmud teacher at the school. The two men were employed by Y.U. for a combined period of more than 50 years, between 1956 and 1995. Finkelstein, who lives in Israel, resigned from his position at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue after the Forward story was published. Gordon, who also lives in Israel, was put on indefinite leave from his teaching job. Both men deny the allegations.
The appearance of Mulhearn in the widening abuse allegations at Y.U.’s high school raises the legal and financial stakes considerably. At the end of December, Mulhearn won an undisclosed sum for 12 men who said they were sexually abused by football coach Phil Foglietta at Brooklyn’s Poly Prep Country Day School.......
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE: http://forward.com/articles/168655/top-lawyer-takes-yeshiva-abuse-case/
"There is no limit on what is so often a lifetime of suffering and anguish for victims of child sex abuse"
Queens lawmaker Margaret Markey says Poly Prep sex abuse scandal should lead to elimination of statute of limitations for victims
"As this case demonstrates, adding a few extra years to current law is not enough," Markey said of the Poly Prep scandal.
Poly Prep Country Day School last week settles a lawsuit claiming it put its reputation ahead of student safety while former football coach Phil Foglietta sexually abused boys.Related Stories
Queens Assemblywoman Margaret M. Markey (D-Maspeth)New York state assemblywoman Margaret Markey has introduced legislation since 2006 that would permit victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek criminal charges and file civil lawsuits until their 28th birthday.
But the Queens Democrat said the Poly Prep Country Day School lawsuit and other sex abuse scandals have pushed her to call for a complete end to the criminal and civil statute of limitations when she introduces the Child Victims Act later this month.
"As this case demonstrates, adding a few extra years to current law is not enough," Markey said of the Poly Prep scandal.
As the Daily News first reported last week, the attorney who represented the 12 men who last week settled the explosive lawsuit which accused Poly Prep administrators of covering up decades of sexual abuse by longtime football coach Phil Foglietta said he welcomes the change in the legislation.
"I think the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims is one of the most absurd and asinine statutes on the books in New York state," Orangeburg lawyer Kevin Mulhearn said. "It does not reflect the reality that for many survivors of sexual abuse, it takes decades to realize the extent of the damage they have suffered."
Current state law requires survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file a case by the time they are 23 years old. Previous versions of Markey's Child Victims Act would have extended the deadline by five years.
The Poly Prep lawsuit, as well as sex-abuse scandals at Penn State, Syracuse and at other institutions, showed that most victims aren't prepared to address the damage they have suffered until they are in their 40s or 50s, said Mike Armstrong, a spokesman for Markey.
"The world has changed," Armstrong said. "It's time to confront the issue in New York state."
Armstrong said advances in DNA science now make it possible for law-enforcement agencies to prosecute sexual predators who would have escaped justice in the past.
The latest version of the Child Victims Act will retain a controversial one-year window that would allow sex-abuse victims who had been previously barred from bringing civil litigation because of the statute of limitations to file lawsuits.
"There is no limit on what is so often a lifetime of suffering and anguish for victims of child sex abuse," Markey said. "Likewise, there must be no limit on the ability of society to prosecute abusers and to hold accountable the institutions and organizations who protect and hide them."
The Catholic Church and other institutions have vociferously opposed Markey's bill. Dennis Poust, a spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference, said he could not comment on Markey's latest bill because he has not yet seen it. The church, he said, does support legislation introduced by State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) that extends the statute of limitations.
Poust said Catholic leaders do not oppose extending the statute of limitations, but they do oppose the window that would allow lawsuits to be filed by victims. Poust said the window is discriminatory against private and religious institutions because victims abused by public school teachers and other public employees have to file a notice of claims months after they are assaulted, he said.
The News reported last week that the explosive suit filed against Poly Prep in 2009 — which claimed officials knew their coach was a sexual predator, but ignored complaints because they didn't want to jeopardize the institution's athletic reputation and fund-raising efforts — had been settled. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Mulhearn and several of his clients appeared at a news conference in Albany last February to urge lawmakers to pass Markey's bill.
Poly Prep attorneys argued that the suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court, should have been dismissed because it was filed long after the statute of limitations had expired. But U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block, in what may be a watershed moment for sexual abuse survivors, ruled in August that portions of suit could proceed because administrators may have lied about when they said they did not become aware of the abuse allegations until 1991.
"The law now allows institutions to hide behind the statue of limitations and profit from their own misconduct and cover-ups," Mulhearn said.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/poly-case-vicims-shouldn-limited-seeking-legal-action-article-1.1231848#ixzz2GsqTqvCz
California's new laws for 2013 address mortgages, gun laws, child sex abuse
Coaches and administrators in K-12 schools as well as higher education employees who have regular contact with children will be required to report suspected child sexual abuse. AB 1434 and AB 1435 were prompted by the scandal involving former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys. Authorities say some former co-workers knew of the abuse but failed to report it to law enforcement.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22290043/californias-new-laws-2013-address-mortgages-gun-laws
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
By far, the most vexing aspect in the struggle to prevent child sexual abuse is the fact that it is most likely perpetrated by the very adults responsible for protecting the victims.
In an inspiring and gripping article, Sports Illustrated’s December 17, 2012 edition features the stories of Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and Judo Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison. Both are survivors of child sexual abuse. R.A. Dickey suffered abuse by a 13-year-old babysitter and later a teenage boy and Kayla Harrison by her coach of many years. The article details their struggles and shows how predators can easily gain access to children. In Kayla’s case, her own olympic dream was used by her predator coach to gain access to her. The author, Gary Smith, points out that “the athletes with the biggest futures could be the easiest prey, blackmailed by their own dreams”.
CLICK:http://sexualabusect.tremontsheldon.com/2012/12/
Indeed, in as many as 93 percent of child sexual cases, the perpetrator is a relative, family friend, coach. or teacher -- someone known and often trusted by the victim. This reality makes both preventing child sexual abuse and identifying and prosecuting offenders especially difficult, setting child sexual abuse apart from other crimes.
Garden State Topic: Child Sexual Abuse Must Step Out of the Shadows, Into the Light
A recent Sports Illustrated cover story focusing on young athletes subjected to child sexual abuse reminds us once again that the pernicious scourge of child sexual abuse continues to haunt the playing fields, playgrounds, and backrooms of our nation.
Among the social ills facing our nation, child sexual abuse stands alone in its epidemic proportions, and the devastation it sets upon its young victims cannot be overstated. Despite high-profile and well-publicized instances within institutions like the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts of America, and Penn State, among others, child sexual abuse remains among the least discussed and most impactful problems our nation faces, while it tarnishes the lives of large swaths of each new generation.
Whether you measure the harm of the individual victims, or the costs to society as a whole, there is ample reason to prioritize child sexual abuse in our national dialogue and adopt policies and practices that help protect children.
The most compelling way to understand the power and enormity of child sexual abuse is through the experience of individual victims. Because child sexual abuse primarily leaves emotional scars instead of physical, its full impact on victims remains under-appreciated. Child sexual abuse occurs at a tragically high rate and can rob young people of self-determination, self-esteem, and potential, sometimes setting in motion a lifelong chain of events and decisions. Many victims don’t readily speak of the trauma they suffer as a result of child sexual abuse. This reluctance has a variety of roots: manipulation by the abuser, fear of not being believed, misplaced shame, fear of stigma, and just plain discomfort with a painful topic.
Nevertheless, despite the absence of reports from those victims who do not disclose what happened to them, the data on frequency of child sexual abuse remains staggering. Adult retrospective studies show that one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18, meaning that more than 42 million adult survivors live in the United States today.
Although research on the relationship between child sexual abuse and other social problems is still emerging, existing studies suggest that it is a major risk factor for such pressing community challenges as sexual and domestic violence, poverty, sex work, incarceration, mental illness, health problems, and homelessness. Sexually abused girls, for instance, are four times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders than girls who are not sexually abused. Further, children and adolescents who have been sexually victimized are at increased risk for unplanned pregnancy, HIV infection, and revictimization. Cumulative costs related to child sexual abuse are estimated at $23 billion annually in the United States.
By far, the most vexing aspect in the struggle to prevent child sexual abuse is the fact that it is most likely perpetrated by the very adults responsible for protecting the victims. Indeed, in as many as 93 percent of child sexual cases, the perpetrator is a relative, family friend, coach. or teacher -- someone known and often trusted by the victim. This reality makes both preventing child sexual abuse and identifying and prosecuting offenders especially difficult, setting child sexual abuse apart from other crimes.
Despite this complexity, plenty can be done to significantly prevent instances of child sexual abuse and pave the way for better outcomes for victims.
Our top priority should be a focus on prevention, and a good place to start is organizations that serve young people.
Newspaper headlines provide countless examples of sexual abuse of children participating in organizations like the American Boychoir, Boy Scouts, and Second Mile. Too few of the institutions in which we trust adults to care for our children have effective policies, practices, and accountability systems in place to prevent child sexual abuse. Even where people are aware of the threat of child sexual abuse, most lack the knowledge and tools to address it in our respective spheres of life; guidelines and established practices can make the difference.
New Jersey needs a state standard for child sexual abuse prevention practices for youth-serving organizations, including after-school programs, sports programs, and schools. Moreover, the state and federal government should require all youth-serving organizations that receive state or federal government funding to adopt such policies and practices and have systems of accountability to ensure they’re followed.
A second critical step is to expand victims’ access to justice through the courts. It often takes years for a victim of sexual abuse or assault to come forward; victims need time to recognize the extent of the harm done to them and have the courage and security to pursue justice. Both criminal and civil statutes of limitations must reflect the nature of the crime and recovery, giving victims ample time to seek justice.
Although New Jersey rightly has no statute of limitations for criminal charges of sexual assault, its civil statute of limitations provides recourse for very few. Victims wanting the opportunity to pursue civil lawsuits against abusers and the institutions that protect them in New Jersey have only two years from age 18 or discovery of the abuse to file a lawsuit. These laws protect institutions like the Catholic Church and the American Boychoir while individual victims struggle against tremendous obstacles to recovery, including costly therapy.
Sen. Joe Vitale has sought to correct this injustice by introducing legislation that would expand the legal avenues for child sexual abuse victims. The most meaningful thing that New Jersey legislators and Gov. Chris Christie could do to demonstrate their concern for child sexual abuse victims is to pass Sen. Vitale’s legislation to expand the civil statute of limitations, demonstrating that the needs of victims takes priority over protecting abusers or institutions that protect or enable them.
Finally, we must ensure that our law-enforcement professionals have ample training and resources to investigate reports of sexual violation thoroughly, promptly, and in a manner that respects the sensitivity of the crime. Every police agency should have a critical mass of trained male and female personnel to address child sexual abuse and assaults, making sex offenses among the highest law-enforcement priorities to reflect the large-scale devastation such crimes create.
In addition to adequate personnel, prosecutors should have prompt and high-quality forensic support. In New Jersey’s poorer counties like Essex, for example, prosecutors often have to wait several months for state lab analysis of DNA evidence that would help police identify suspects in existing unsolved cases, bring perpetrators to justice, and prevent potential future assaults.
Despite the enormity and complexity of the problem of child sexual abuse, we’ve only just begun to take steps to prevent it and provide recourse for victims. For the most part, our political leaders have focused energy and resources on punishing perpetrators through the criminal justice system rather than prioritizing the needs of victims and would-be victims.
If our leaders have a true commitment to child safety and the best interests of crime victims, they will enact these recommendations and look for more ways to prevent incidences of child sexual abuse and provide paths to justice for victims.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/12/23/child-sexual-abuse-must-step-out-of-the-shadows-into-the-spotlight/
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