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Oklahoma
DHS, policies are scrutinized after drug-related child deaths
by GINNIE GRAHAM, CURTIS KILLMAN & CARY ASPINWALL
Read the DHS policy giving guidance to workers in determining safety in child abuse and neglect referrals.
One in eight confirmed physical child abuse cases last year in Oklahoma were babies born exposed to illicit drugs.
Out of 128 cases, at least seven infants died of birth complications and dozens of others were sent home from the hospital with their drug-using mothers, according to a Tulsa World analysis.
Several cases in which newborns died after going home with drug-abusing parents have sparked a renewed look at how to handle child safety in those situations.
The state needs to collect more accurate data on these births and bolster its child welfare system, said Claudette Selph, a longtime child advocate in Tulsa and commissioner of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth.
The commission has noted a lack of consistency by the state Department of Human Services, saying criteria on when to remove an infant or child from the home changes from county to county and worker to worker.
"OCCY's position is always err on the side of the child's safety," Selph said. "That means Oklahoma needs significantly more resources to investigate and make decisions in the best interest of the baby."
DHS spokeswoman Sheree Powell said the recent deaths have been devastating to child welfare workers.
"Our staff grieve when children die," she said. "They are in this business to protect and keep children safe, and they are out there every day saving children. We are extremely upset and saddened any time a child is lost."
Lawmakers are calling for greater scrutiny following the death of 17-month-old Ahonesty Hicks, who died in Oklahoma City from abuse after DHS decided not to take her away from her mother, Tiffany Hicks.
Hicks tested positive for PCP after the birth of a younger infant, records show. She ignored DHS orders to keep her children away from her boyfriend, now charged with Ahonesty's death, DHS and police records state.
In November, 10-day-old Maggie May Trammel of Bartlesville was wrapped in a pink, satin-trimmed blanket and placed in a washing machine with a load of clothes, where she drowned sometime before the final spin cycle.
The month before Maggie was born, DHS caseworkers visited the family's apartment to investigate complaints of child neglect and drug use during pregnancy by her mother, Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler. At the time of Maggie's birth, a DHS assessment determined Fiddler's three children were "safe" and that she was willing to work on parenting skills. She was convicted this month on child neglect and second-degree manslaughter charges.
House Speaker Kris Steele announced this week he is forming a legislative task force to address deaths of children in programs overseen by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
'High as a kite'
Hospitals are required to ask delivering mothers about tobacco and alcohol use during pregnancy and report responses to the state Health Department but are not mandated to ask or report on the use of illicit substances, Selph said. However, hospitals are required to report suspected abuse or neglect to DHS.
The Tulsa World found at least 35 deaths of infants caused by exposure to drugs, from January 2007 to the present, according to records from the state medical examiner, OCCY and law enforcement.
Whenever possible, doctors focus on early prenatal screening to detect drug or alcohol use and try to guide expectant mothers toward treatment and counseling to protect the baby, said Dr. Joseph Johnson, chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at OSU Medical Center.
"There's a big difference if you can start to get these people off drugs earlier. It helps the women considerably and there are a lot better outcomes with the pregnancy," he said.
Women in those cases will continue to be drug screened throughout pregnancy and warned that if they test positive for continued drug and alcohol use, social services and authorities will be notified, he said.
In cases of severe drug use, however, pregnant mothers often forgo prenatal care to avoid contact with law enforcement and physicians who will report them to authorities, he said.
Patients with little to no prenatal care are automatically drug screened when they walk into the hospital to deliver - but the damage to the baby is already done, Johnson said.
Use of drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine during pregnancy frequently causes low-birth-weight, premature babies with underdeveloped organs who suffer withdrawal symptoms from the drugs.
The babies are screened for drugs in their system, and the hospital's social services coordinator and DHS are notified if an infant tests positive. After that, it's up to DHS if the baby is sent home with the mother.
"I never know which way it's going to go," Johnson said. "Sometimes we see these patients, and I'll think, 'Oh, my God, she's as high as a kite - there's no way she can take care of this baby.' And they'll send the child home with her."
From July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010 (the state's fiscal year), DHS confirmed 1,108 cases of physical abuse.
Of those, 128, or 12 percent, involved drug-exposed newborns. Other cases included 101 children of all ages exposed to methamphetamine use, 40 children exposed to drugs in their environment and 30 cases involved substance abuse in general.
'Not doing all we can'
Officials at the Commission on Children and Youth point to systemic problems, including a lack of data, a poorly funded child welfare system and a need to expand drug treatment programs.
The commission has proposed the following: Implement a reporting system to know how many babies are born to drug-using mothers, consider requiring DHS to pick up all babies who test positive for illicit drugs, provide adequate resources to DHS to handle the caseloads, research how other states handle reports of fetuses exposed to drugs and increase drug treatment beds.
Oklahoma DHS has about 1,000 child welfare workers, with starting salaries ranging between $28,572 and $34,730, depending on duties.
In 2010, the agency received about 64,000 referrals and conducted assessments and investigations in slightly less than half of the cases. DHS confirmed 7,248 cases of abuse and neglect. Hospital and medical personnel reported about 10 percent of the referrals.
"Currently DHS does not have adequate resources and their staff is significantly underpaid," Selph said. "If we move to removing every infant that is born drug positive to illicit substances, we must have well-trained and well-paid staff to help develop plans for the protections of these babies. This is our state, and our children - and we are not doing all we can."
'A safe environment'
In addition to the lawmakers' task force, the DHS commission overseeing the agency is establishing a review committee headed by former Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane. The committee plans to review deaths and near-deaths of children and adults in DHS custody.
After the report on Ahonesty Hicks was released, a statement was released by Lane, incoming Chairman Brad Yarbrough and past Chairman Richard DeVaughn calling her death "appalling."
"Oklahomans should be disturbed that any child would be subjected to such heartless treatment," the statement read. "Several weeks prior to her death, the DHS helped establish measures to provide a safe environment for Ahonesty and her baby brother. So, what went so tragically wrong? The special review committee will take a close look at this case to assess and implement any changes that might be required to better protect vulnerable children."
The decision on whether DHS removes a child depends on whether there is an "imminent threat" to safety.
That depends on factors such as past DHS referrals, prior criminal conduct and convictions and if there are family members willing and able to help in a family safety plan. Drug use is considered a "contributing factor" in abuse but not abuse in itself, Powell said.
If the practice is changed to remove all children from parents using illicit drugs, it is unknown how large the caseloads could swell, but estimates go as high as 30,000 children, Powell said.
"Substance abuse, particularly prescription abuse, is one of the biggest problems we face in dealing with families right now," Powell said.
The safety plans are used to keep children in the home with a parent with requirements such as living with a family member, taking parenting classes, keeping children away from a boyfriend or completing drug rehabilitation.
Social workers must make at least one unannounced visit to the home per week, but some plans require daily visits. Powell said the workers rely heavily on the family members who say they will help enforce the safety plan.
Safety plans were in place for the families of Ahonesty and Maggie May, with workers making the required home visits. Family members had signed documents with DHS to be partners in the plans, Powell said.
Their deaths may lead to changes in policies and practices such as upping the required weekly visits, she said.
"Our policies are constantly being updated and revised as we learn things from our cases," Powell said. "The safety plans are intense and require a lot of time. We need more workers to spend time monitoring these plans and families the way they need to be monitored. We cannot continue to do this on our own. We have to have resources."
Cases involving babies born to drug-using mothers
Ahonesty Hicks, 17 months old: When her half-sibling was born on March 9, the newborn and mother, Tiffany D. Hicks, tested positive for phencyclidine (PCP). Hicks and father of the infant, Deondre Wells, denied using drugs. Hicks said she unknowingly smoked PCP-laced cigarettes and she was going to live with her mother. DHS decided against placing the baby or Ahonesty in foster care. On March 29, Wells and Hicks were in a domestic dispute in a moving car with the children, with Wells "punching things in the car." The mother exited the car, leaving the children with Wells, who drove away and was involved in a one-car accident. That day, DHS established a safety plan requiring Hicks to live with her mother and to keep the children away from Wells. DHS said the children would be placed into foster care if the plan was not followed. Police say Hicks and the children moved into Wells' apartment. On May 3, Ahonesty died of a brain injury after Wells allegedly "shook and threw her down on the floor" while distracting him as he bathed the infant. After putting Ahonesty in the bath, Wells returned to the infant to find the baby "bubbling" under the water. The infant was not injured. Hicks returned home after work that night to find Ahonesty cold and sluggish. She called a family member for a ride to the emergency room. The relative arrived several hours later and immediately called 911. Wells, 21, is charged with first-degree murder and child neglect in Oklahoma County. He was on probation for a drug offense. The infant is now in foster care.
Maggie May Trammel, 10 days old: Died on Nov. 4, 2010, after being placed in a washing machine at her mother's apartment in Bartlesville. DHS was notified at Maggie's birth that the mother, Lyndsey Dawn Fiddler, had been using drugs throughout her pregnancy. DHS determined Fiddler was working on parenting classes and the children were safe. DHS workers responded to child welfare complaints on six previous occasions, once for taking so many prescription drugs near her due date that she was unable to walk down stairs or speak clearly. She tested positive for several drugs, including methamphetamine. Fiddler claims she does not know how the newborn got into the washing machine. An aunt, Rhonda Coshatt, was in the home at the time. Coshatt testified she took morphine and several other painkillers for back pain, and Fiddler had been using meth. Fiddler, 27, was sentenced to a split 30-year term on a child-neglect charge and to four years in prison on a second-degree manslaughter charge.
Tamberlyn Wheeler, 3 months old: Born Dec. 31, 2007, in Seminole County prematurely and tested positive for marijuana. Her mother, Crystal L. Erb, tested positive for marijuana, prescription medication and benzodiazapine but denied using illegal drugs. Tamberlyn weighed about 5 pounds and had an undiagnosed birth defect. She was released into her mother's custody after six weeks in the hospital, and they lived with a family member. Tamberlyn's father, Samuel E. Wheeler Jr., moved into the home. Wheeler had a history of using meth and marijuana. On April 30, 2008, Tamberlyn died while in her crib. There was a complication in determining the cause of death. At the time of her death, she weighed about 4 pounds 6 ounces, less than at her birth. Investigators found unused government vouchers for infant formula, with Erb claiming he could not redeem them because she lost a "code." Erb, 22, and Wheeler, 29, were charged with child neglect earlier this year in Seminole County.
Sources: Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, Medical Examiner police and court records
These are cases where no arrests or charges were filed. All information came from state Medical Examiner records:
Boy, 9 months old: Died in December 2007 at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa. He had been born prematurely (28 weeks) at St. Francis Hospital. The early delivery was attributed to his mother's drug use, which included marijuana and benzodiazapines. She had an open DHS child welfare investigation. His father is in DOC custody on unrelated drug charges, and the mother had a live-in boyfriend at the time of his death. Reports stated his mother found him unresponsive after a nap with a blanket "loosely layered" over his face. He had a "severe bleeding diaper rash," which his mother said was from the acidity of his infant formula, which she never changed. Police had been called to the home the night before his death for domestic disturbance. Police reported seeing "dirty diapers and a general filthy and cluttered environment," with no less than four blankets in the baby's bassinet.
Girl, 2 days old: At birth in November 2009, she and her mother tested positive for cocaine and marijuana and her mother admitted to using drugs prior to labor. She was born premature with circulatory system problems and an underdeveloped scalp and lungs, and died two days later in the neonatal intensive care unit of an Oklahoma City hospital. Her mother was not charged in the death but police told the Medical Examiner's office they were investigating her on complaints of child neglect and endangerment, and said DHS "was involved and present at the hospital."
Boy, 21 days old: Died in McAlester in June 2007 after being smothered while co-sleeping with his mother. Mother took hydrocodone before breastfeeding then put him to sleep next to her. She woke up with him unresponsive in the crook of her arm. DHS had counseled her the previous week about co-sleeping. They were staying with a friend of the mother while the father was in prison. Five children, three adults and cats lived in the small home.
Girl, 10 days old: Died in Tulsa in January 2009 after mother moved her from the bassinet to breastfeed then co-sleep . DHS had no previous contact with the family. Mother said she only breastfeeds and was taking oxycontin, hydrocodone, Zoloft, tardem, sertaline and promothazine. She drink an alcoholic beverage before breastfeeding the night of the death. She was unsure whether she rolled over on the infant. She said she woke up in the night and moved the infant back to the bassinet, where the father found the unresponsive baby the next morning.
Boy, 9 months old: Was born testing positive for marijuana, meth and cocaine in March 2006. DHS took immediate custody. Parents were to take custody of him after a DHS custody hearing in Tulsa. The father was changing the infant's diaper on Jan. 4, 2007 in a hotel room when the child began coughing and having trouble breathing. The father placed the baby in ice water in the bathtub and left him there while he went outside to smoke. When he returned, the child was unresponsive. Emergency crews could not revive the baby.
Girl, 18 days old: An infant living in Warr Acres died in February 2010 after being smothered by her mother's breast during a feeding. The mother was taking oxycodone, promethazine, effexor and omeprazole along with a prenatal an calcium supplement. The mother fell asleep while breastfeeding about 3 a.m. and woke about about 2 1/2 hours later to find the baby cradled under arm. She told investigators she thought she may have suffocated the infant with her breast.
Boy, 3 weeks old: Died after being smothered by his mother, who had a history of substance abuse and mental illness, which included a stint at an inpatient facility to keep custody of her older son. The mother received prenatal care while in a rehabilitation facility. After completion, she and her 9-month-old son moved in with her mother-in-law in Anadarko. The father was later arrested for a drinking and driving complaint and sent to jail. The mother-in-law had kicked out the mother and child, citing destructive behavior. She later welcome them back after the birth of the baby. On Sept. 21, 2007, the mother went to a party and her mother-in-law went gambling at a casino, leaving the children with a family member. When the mother returned, she climbed onto a double-size mattress on the floor she shared with her children. When the mother-in-law checked on them the next morning, most of the baby's head and face was under his mother's hip and thigh.
Boy, 2 months old: Died in Tulsa in December 2008 after mother found him unresponsive on a bed, which sat on the floor with no frame. The mother had six other children. The baby was born with a umbilical hernia and had not seen a doctor since going home with the mother. DHS said it had numerous complaints and cases with family, with the most recent reported in September 2007. DHS confirmed a complaint the mother had been taking an anti-anxiety drug during pregnancy and received no prenatal care.
Boy, 2 months old: Born premature in May 2009 to a mother who tested positive for opiates, barbiturates and marijuana. Baby was placed on an apnea monitor 24 hours a day upon his release to his parents. The mother drove him to a Eufaula hospital after he showed signs of serious breathing difficulties. DHS had an open case on the family, but no foul play was suspected in his death.
Girl, 1 month old: Born premature in June 2009 in Oklahoma City to a mother testing positive for marijuana. Baby died after co-sleeping with her parents. The three shared a "pallet" on the floor of a bedroom. Mother said she noticed the infant was unresponsive after waking up in the morning. She said she may have rolled over onto the baby during the night. Investigators said the home was "messy" but baby "appeared to be well taken care of."
Boy, 3 months old: Died in Ardmore in May 2007 after being placed in his crib for the first time. The infant wedged his head between the mattress and side of the crib. Deemed accidental with no foul play. The mother did not realize she was pregnant until her 7th month of pregnancy and had a history of seizures and mental illness, taking about seven types of medications. After the boy was born in January 2007, the father became the primary caregiver. DHS never received a report on the child until his death.
Boy, 1 month old: Mother of five children visited her brother's home in Lindsey where he and his roommates drank. The mother reportedly did not. She fell asleep on the couch next to her infant. At some point, her 6-year-old son joined them, and she woke to find the older sibling asleep on top of the baby, who was unresponsive. She had prior DHS referrals. She did not receive prenatal care but reportedly delivered by C-section with no complications.
Girl, newborn: Meth user went to a Tulsa emergency room in March 2009 and delivered a premature stillborn baby. She had received no prenatal care. When Tulsa police arrived to take a report and asked about recent drug use, she asked to leave the hospital room "to go smoke a cigarette" and never returned.
Boy, 4 months old: Tested positive for marijuana at birth in April 2007 and case sent to Cherokee Nation child welfare. Parents denied using drugs. Baby died while co-sleeping with parents at a Mounds mobile home. Mother was abused as a child and DHS records indicate a history of abuse of drugs and alcohol, though no abuse or neglect complaints related to other children.
Boy, newborn: Vinita mother went into early labor in November 2009 after breaking her ankle, and she tested positive for meth. The infant was stillborn.
Girl, 2 months old: Mother tested positive for drug use after giving birth in September 2007 in Oklahoma City. The mother allowed a 13-year-old girl be the infant's caregiver for three days in November 2007, when the baby died. During that time, a neighbor witnessed the infant falling out of a stroller as the girl went for a walk. The baby was found unresponsive in a bed. Reports conflict on whether the baby was co-sleeping with the teenager or if the infant died wrapped in the blanket on the floor. DHS had an open abuse and neglect case on the mother.
Girl, 2 months old: Born premature in October 2008 in Oklahoma City to a mother who had bipolar disorder and took at least four prescription medications during pregnancy. Husband said he started locking up prescriptions because she tended to overmedicate. DHS was notified by hospital officials because they believed the infant was going through withdrawls from the mother's medications. The baby died after the mother fell asleep in a chair about 4 a.m. while comforting the infant. The baby had slipped down between the chair arm with her face buried into her mother's side.
Boy, 3 months old: Infant born three months premature and addicted to cocaine in Lawton. The mother, who was in her mid-20s, had four previous pregnancies, all ended with either spontaneous or planned abortions. DHS took custody of the child placing him in foster care. The foster parents had one other special needs infant. The baby died in February 2008 after experiencing complications from his birth, including apnea and bleeding and swelling of the brain.
Boy, newborn: Mother tested positive for meth, opiates and barbiturates when giving birth to a full term infant in September 2010 in Miami. The baby never took its first breath after a routine Cesearan section. Nurse reported that when the mother's water broke, it "gave off a strong terrible odor." DHS officials said no active case was open on the mother.
Girl, newborn: Born and died in March 2009 in an Oklahoma City hospital when the mother went into labor at about 8 months gestation. The mother tested positive for meth, cocaine and marijuana.
Boy, 10 days old: Test for drugs at his birth in September 2007 in Tulsa showed cocaine presence to be "off the charts." Mother died during childbirth and also tested positive for cocaine.
Boy, newborn: Mother came to a Tulsa hospital in February 2009 complaining of no fetal movement, which an ultrasound confirmed. The mother tested positive for marijuana use. Labor was induced and the infant declared stillborn.
Boy, 6 days old: A infant died on March 7, 2007, in Oklahoma City after being born premature at 27 weeks with many health complications. The mother tested positive for cocaine, meth and two other illicit drugs, and DHS took custody. The infant never left the hospital, and the mother was allowed the hold the baby as it died.
Boy, newborn: Emergency crews arrive at a Kingston address in December 2007 to a woman giving birth to a baby breach. The woman said she did not know she was pregnant and tested positive for marijuana. The infant died at birth.
Boy, newborn: Binger woman arrives at the emergency room unaware she is 31 weeks pregnant. She tests positive for cocaine and meth use. She is not forthcoming on her drug history and undergoes a C-section. Baby boy dies later that day.
Girl, 21 days old: Born premature in August 2008 in McAlester testing positive for meth and opiates. Transferred to a Tulsa hospital, where she later died from sepsis. DHS classified the case as an injury to an unborn child.
Girl, newborn: Mother, who tests positive for meth and opiates, delivers a stillborn baby about two months early in July 2009 in Oklahoma City. Woman had previously lost a baby in a premature delivery.
Girl, 11 days old: Born premature at 26 weeks of gestation in September 2007 to a mother testing positive for ecstasy and meth. Baby placed in DHS custody but died while in an Oklahoma City hospital.
Boy, newborn: Mother tested positive for meth, cocaine and marijuana in March 2009 when arriving at an Oklahoma City in premature labor. Baby was declared stillborn.
Boy, newborn: An Oklahoma City woman delivered a 24-week fetus at her home, telling investigators she did not realize she was pregnant. She tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and alcohol use and admitted to smoking crack cocaine "every other day." The woman has a child in DHS custody after she tested positive for cocaine at that birth. She also had a previous stillbirth and miscarriage.
Boy, 23 days old: Born premature in March 2007 to a mother with a history of meth abuse and had a diagnosis of mild developmental disabilities. Had several medical conditions including seizures and respiratory infections. Placed into foster care after release and died from complications of his birth.
Boy, 2 months old: Born testing positive for marijuana three weeks premature to a mother who had a previous allegation of sexually abusing a child and for using illegal drugs. DHS places the infant and children with maternal grandmother. In April 2007, the grandmother takes the children to visit the mother, and the infant dies while napping while in the presence of the mother and grandmother. CPR and emergency crews were called. An Oklahoma City hospital reports the baby showed no external signs of trauma.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20111023_11_A1_ULNSyd871409
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New Mexico
Human traffickers eye kids for more profit
by Sandra Baltazar MartÍnez | The New Mexican
10/22/2011
Sometimes the girls haven't even reached puberty, but they are already being forced to have sex with men who could be their grandfathers.
Such sexual exploitation of children and teens — many of whom have been trafficked through New Mexico casinos and truck stops — is a growing profitable industry, Tina Frundt told social workers, lawyers and law enforcement personnel Thursday during an anti-trafficking training session at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy off Jaguar Drive.
"Drug dealers are stopping the selling of drugs to sell children, because they make more money," said Frundt, executive director and founder of Courtney's House, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that serves teen victims of sexual trafficking.
Since its inception three years ago, Courtney's House has assisted more than 500 teens, Frundt said — all U.S. citizens.
The average age of girls who come into Courtney's House is between 10 and 13 years. Some cases have involved boys as young as 6 to 8 years old.
Data from a national survivor's hotline indicates that 86 percent of victims were sexually abused before they were trafficked, Frundt said. "This is not just a foreign national issue, it's not just a U.S. citizen issue, it's an issue of children being bought and sold."
Pimps, who sometimes are family members, demand that the children and teens in their power make anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 per day on weekdays and at least $3,000 per day on weekends.
Who has the money to pay for these sexual acts? Teachers, judges, congressmen, diplomats and law enforcement officers are among the list of people the children report. The majority of the "buyers" are Caucasian men, Frundt said.
It's also true, she said, that counter to common belief, sexually exploited children are not all runaways or in foster care. Some "live in mansions."
In recent years, Frundt has found that Latino gang members from the Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) are behind some of the sexual trafficking of minors.
Not many sexual trafficking cases have been uncovered in New Mexico since a 2008 law was passed that punishes human traffickers. One, in 2010, involved a Bernalillo couple sentenced for trafficking and prostituting two 18-year-old girls who eventually escaped from the home they were being held in and called police.
Carol Horwitz, the Santa Fe Police Department's domestic and sexual violence liaison, said the kind of training Frundt provided is necessary to help police and first responders identify a possible sexual trafficking victim.
"Victims of human trafficking are never going to self-disclose," Horwitz said. She added that Santa Fe, with its large tourism industry, needs to be aware of this issue. "We have to look at what's going on at Cathedral Park, downtown, everywhere."
Santa Fe police Lt. Louis Carlos said officers are always being trained for this scenario, especially first responders. They also have a human trafficking handbook they can access.
For Teresa Candelaria, a forensic interviewer for minors at Solace Crisis Treatment Center, hearing Frundt's presentation made her realize her interviewing strategy was going to change to be more reassuring.
"I knew it wasn't going to be the same. It's probably not going to be in our building, not in our interview room, it's not going to be the same kind of structure," Candelaria said.
Frundt said she has worked with other organizations to help sexually abused children, but finally decided to start her own to make it survivor-focused. "I wanted to offer the kind of help that should have been offered to me, but it wasn't."
Anyone aware of a case of sexual trafficking should call the national survivor hotline at 1-888-261-3665 or 911.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Human-traffickers-eye-kids-for-more-profit
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United Kingdom
400 Child abuse claims at UK madrassas 'tip of iceberg'
by Fran Abrams
Britain's madrassas have faced more than 400 allegations of physical abuse in the past three years, a BBC investigation has discovered.
But only a tiny number have led to successful prosecutions.
The revelation has led to calls for formal regulation of the schools, attended by more than 250,000 Muslim children every day for Koran lessons.
The chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board said he would treat the issue as a matter of urgency.
Leading Muslim figures said families often faced pressure not to go to court or even to make a formal complaint.
A senior prosecutor told the BBC its figures were likely to represent the tip of an iceberg.
Mohammed Hanif Khan was "treated like a god" by boys in his care One hundred and ninety-one of them agreed to provide information, disclosing a total of 421 cases of physical abuse. But only 10 of those cases went to court, and the BBC was only able to identify two that led to convictions.
The councils also disclosed 30 allegations of sexual abuse in the Islamic supplementary schools over the past three years, which led to four prosecutions but only one conviction.
The offender in that case was Mohammed Hanif Khan, an imam from Stoke-on-Trent who was imprisoned for 16 years in March this year for raping a 12-year-old boy and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old.
Some local authorities said community pressure had led families to withdraw complaints.
In one physical abuse case in Lambeth, two members of staff at a mosque allegedly attacked children with pencils and a phone cable - but the victims later refused to take the case further.
In Lancashire, police added that children as young as six had reported being punched in the back, slapped, kicked and having their hair pulled.
In several cases, pupils said they were hit with sticks or other implements.
'No justification'
The number of cases appeared to be rising - among those councils which broke down the figures by year, there were 89 allegations of physical abuse in 2009, 178 in 2010 and 146 in the first nine months of this year.
With more than half of Britain's 2.5m-strong Muslim population aged 25 or under, the number of madrassas, where children spend about 10 hours each week learning to recite the Koran in Arabic, is also growing rapidly.
Mohammad Shahid Raza, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, set up by Muslim organisations to improve standards in mosques, said he would now treat the issue as a matter of urgency.
"These figures are very, very alarming and shocking. There is no justification for such punishments within our mosque schools," he said.
"I'm not sure how wide this unacceptable practice is, but our responsibility is to make those who run the mosques realise we live in a civilised society and this is not acceptable at any cost."
Mr Raza said he wanted the issue dealt with through self-regulation, but there are calls for the government to take action.
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, founder of the Muslim Institute think tank, said large numbers of unregulated organisations were opening madrassas across the country - most in mosques but some in garages, abandoned pubs or private homes.
Abuse was far too common, he said.
'Reasonable chastisement'
"We are basically destroying the lives of young people," he said. "Some kind of system must be put in place to ensure that only teaching takes place there, not sexual or physical abuse."
Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor for the North West of England, said he believed the BBC's figures represented "a significant underestimate".
"We have a duty to ensure that people feel confident about coming forward," he said.
"If there is one victim there will be more, and therefore it is essential for victims to come forward, for parents to support them and for criminal justice practitioners to take these incidents seriously."
Corporal punishment is legal in religious settings, so long as it does not exceed "reasonable chastisement".
An official report published last year which called for a legal ban on the practice - and which was accepted by the Labour government just before the general election - has not yet led to any action.
The report's author, Sir Roger Singleton, chair of the Independent Safeguard Authority, said the BBC's figures were worrying and should be investigated further:
"That does lend weight to my view that we're not just dealing with isolated instances," he said. "So I would be quite concerned to understand why the allegations have not resulted in a greater number of prosecutions."
The children's minister, Tim Loughton, declined to be interviewed. But in a statement, the Department for Education said Mr Loughton had met Sir Roger and was considering his recommendations.
"The government does not support the use of physical punishment in schools and other children's settings," it said.
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=101385
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Wisconsin
Continuing studies conference focuses on child sexual abuse prevention and treatment
Hundreds of professionals who work in the sensitive field of child sexual abuse will participate Oct. 24-27 in a conference presented by the UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies.
More than 800 therapists, child protection workers, law enforcement officers, and legal and medical professionals from throughout the U.S. will learn best practices of prevention and treatment at the 27 th annual Midwest Child Sexual Abuse Conference. This nationally-recognized conference meets at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton.
“UW-Madison Continuing Studies continues its tradition of being a national leader in providing continuing education for human services professionals,” says Jeffrey Russell, vice provost for lifelong learning and dean of continuing studies.
The conference keynote speaker is Bessel van der Kolk, MD, professor of psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine. He will discuss “Mind, Brain, and Body in the Treatment of Trauma.”
Dr. van der Kolk will explain how new insights into trauma's impact on body, brain and relationship have spawned a range of new approaches to treatment. Many of these modalities can be considered fundamental shifts from earlier therapeutic paradigms.
A second keynote will focus on “Why Expressive Therapies (art, music, dance) have Potential to Assist Trauma Resolution” and will be presented by Eliana Gil, Ph.D., psychotherapist and director of Gil Center for Health and Play, in Fairfax, Va.
Attendees will chose from almost 40 breakout sessions that cover: healing the incest wound for adult survivors, female offenders, child pornography, behind the mask of a child rapist, post-trauma play, children and internet predators, and more.
The attending professionals will earn licensing continuing education credits while hearing these leading authorities.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/19932
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Illinois
Illinois promotes program for sexual assault victims
by Joanne Von Alroth
As an emergency room nurse, Nancy Healy's heart beat with the most empathy for the patients she encountered who had been sexually assaulted.
“I always wanted to work with those patients,” she said. “I saw that they had a tough road, and I really wanted to help them.”
To learn about treating victims of sexual assault, Healy underwent sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) training in Indianapolis, which was then the closest place to the Chicago area to offer it.
SANE-trained practitioners can conduct special forensic exams and testify in court, which can help convict attackers. They're also trained to connect both adult and child victims with help from law enforcement, child advocacy centers and victim advocates.
But when she finished her training in 2005, Healy realized that the protocol didn't exist in Cook County. She rectified that after meeting with her bosses at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest.
In 2006, Healy began training others in SANE, which is a basic 40-hour course, and setting up at the hospital, which is northern Illinois' only program offered 24/7. Thanks to her drive and the team's work, it's now a state model for the program.
“If you come at any time here as a sexual assault or abuse victim, you are guaranteed to be seen by a SANE practitioner,” Healy said of South Suburban. “We have our own room, our own protocol, and we work with 76 law enforcement groups across the south suburbs.”
That work was recognized Wednesday when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a joint effort between her office and the Illinois Hospital Association to double to 150 the number of SANE practitioners in hospitals statewide by next fall.
The effort is a “critical step to encouraging more survivors to report their assaults and putting sexual predators in prison,” Madigan said in a statement. “Most sexual assaults go unreported.”
The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault estimates that only three in 10 rapes are reported to authorities. Last year, for instance, crisis centers and hotlines took calls from more than 18,000 sexual assault victims, but Illinois State Police data show just 5,300 incidents were reported to law enforcement, according to the coalition. Many of these victims are children.
The only other hospital in Illinois with a 24/7 SANE program is Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. There are 650 SANE-trained practitioners in the state, but only 75 are full-time practitioners. Why so few? Some hospitals feel they can't spare the personnel for the training while others say they can't afford it.
South Suburban's parent company, Advocate Health Care, pledged Wednesday to help boost those numbers quickly. Its Condell Medical Center in Libertyville will become the company's first Level 1 trauma center with a coordinated SANE program, and Advocate will also expand SANE training at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago.
Healy is gratified that Madigan and more hospitals see the need for SANE practitioners, but she knows there's still a huge gap in services available to victims.
“The majority of patients we see are children,” she said. “And even among adults, there's so few who understand how to treat these patients with dignity, respect and compassion. This is a very big step in the right direction, but there's a very great need.”
http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/8328739-418/illinois-promotes-program-for-sexual-assault-victims.html
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Canada
Supporting kids after sex abuse
Sexually abused children deserve the best possible response from our society, and abusers deserve to be held to account. Both goals would be achieved if the provincial government funds the proposed ORCA Children's Advocacy Centre for this region as a pilot project for the province.
The ORCA approach is based on a model that has proved successful across the U.S. It brings together specialized investigators, prosecutors and child protection workers and counsellors in one welcoming environment, reducing trauma for children and increasing the likelihood of conviction.
That does not happen now. A consultant's report commissioned by ORCA last year found that there is no standard approach to child abuse cases in the region and responses vary widely.
In one case, a specialized, trained investigator may be available to interview the victim; in another, an experienced officer might be handed the difficult task of interviewing a scared child. Children can be forced to share their stories with several officers as a case makes its way through the system, increasing the trauma.
The approach isn't just bad for children and their families. Securing convictions in such cases, where a child's testimony is often the key piece of evidence, is difficult.
An inexperienced investigator or lack of co-ordination increases the risk that offenders go free.
The approach taken by advocacy centres, and proposed by ORCA, addresses those problems effectively. Before Edmonton's Zebra Child Protection Centre opened in 2002 using the same model, conviction rates for abusers ranged were about 25 per cent.
Last year, the Zebra centre had an 84 per cent conviction rate. Just as significantly, 74 per cent of cases were resolved with guilty pleas, meaning children did not have to testify.
According to research on the centres in the U.S., there are also significant cost savings, with the average cost of sex abuse investigations cut by 36 per cent, according to a 2006 report. Other reports have found the cost of investigations is reduced 45 per cent in communities with such a centre.
The centres also provide needed counselling and support for children and families, rather than requiring them to hunt out services scattered around the community. That is humane, and it has also been shown to increase the number of children receiving the support they need.
There is wide support for the centres' approach. The federal ombudsman for the victims of crime noted the advantages - in cost-savings, effectiveness and reducing trauma for already victimized children - in a 2009 report. Last year, the federal government allocated $5 million to support the establishment of more centres.
Manitoba is moving ahead with its first centre and the Alberta government has committed $1.4 million over three years to create a centre in Calgary.
Sexual abuse is rarely talked about, but ORCA estimates some 700 children and youth are victims in this region each year. The experience is traumatizing for them and can shatter families. Any approach that minimizes the damage done and helps victims find their way forward deserves support.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Supporting+kids+after+abuse/5592207/story.html
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Canada
Scouts failed to stop sexual predator: CBC investigation
Pedophile moved from troop to troop in B.C., California.
Special Report
Boy Scouts of America leaders knew for years about incidents involving a Canadian pedophile who preyed on boys in the U.S. but failed to stop him as he moved back to Canada, where he continued his abuse.
The organization sometimes even helped him go undetected by authorities, an investigation by CBC-TV's The Fifth Estate and the Los Angeles Times has found.
Scouts Canada learned of his inappropriate behaviour in the 1980s and kicked him out, but nearly a decade passed before police charged him with crimes.
Throughout the 1970s and '80s, Richard Turley was involved with the Scouts across California and British Columbia, molesting at least eight scouts.
"It was easy," the 58-year-old, who now lives in Alberta, says about how he used scouting to target his victims. "Kids were easily accessible."
The CBC investigation, which can be seen in full Friday night on The Fifth Estate, catalogued nearly 80 cases in Canada, dating from the 1950s, where either active or former scout leaders committed crimes ranging from sexual assault to possession of child pornography. More than 300 children were abused by leaders while they were active in the movement.
Brazen kidnapping
In 1975, Turley did what he describes as the “craziest, stupid, bizarre thing” he would ever do. California newspaper headlines from 1975 dubbed it a “wild abduction tale.”
In a stolen single-engine Cessna, Turley kidnapped Ed Iris, an 11-year-old Nova Scotia boy living in La Puente, Calif., whom Turley had met while visiting a local scout troop.
"Scouts honour"
Watch the full documentary on The Fifth Estate this Friday at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.)
A day earlier, he'd shown up at Iris's house, telling Ed's mother he was “one of Canada's top scouts leaders” and asking if he could show the boy around town.
“He had badges all over the place,” says Iris, now 47 and living in Ontario. “He had his Canadian scouting book. It was impressive to a kid.”
Turley took the boy on a fun-filled day in the San Diego area. That night, the two slept in a car inside Turley's double sleeping bag covered in scouts merit patches, said Iris. Turley later admitted to molesting the boy, though Iris says he slept through it.
In the morning, Turley stole a Cessna at a regional airport, vowing to take Ed back to Canada. With the plane low on fuel, though, Turley was soon forced to land.
Turley, then 21, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to child stealing. At trial, a judge committed him to a state hospital as a “mentally disordered sex offender.”
Police files obtained by The Fifth Estate and the Los Angeles Times show that Boy Scouts of America knew about the incident because they helped officers search for Iris and Turley.
Though the Boy Scouts of America have a decades-old practice of creating “confidential files” recording individuals barred from the group for sex abuse allegations — a system aimed at preventing pedophiles from hopping from troop to troop — it appears no file was created on Turley at that time.
Put on list
In November 1976, 18 months after Turley's arrival at the Patton State Hospital, he was deemed well enough to be released. The judge ordered him to return to Canada and report for probation if he re-entered the U.S.
Within a year, Turley returned to Southern California to work at a Boy Scout camp near San Diego, an hour's drive from the hospital. He spent the next three summers working for the camp.
'Hopefully, he went back to Canada and that was their problem.' —Former Scout executive Buford Hill
On the last day of camp in July 1979, Turley arranged to stay an extra night with three boys from the Orange County troop. All three were molested that night, according to a confidential file later created by the Boy Scouts of America.
The next morning, one boy told his father, a scoutmaster, about the abuse.
The camp director, John LaBare, confronted Turley and “he readily admitted what he had done, expressed concern for his actions, immediately packed and returned to Canada,” according to a letter in Turley's U.S. “perversion file.” The camp, meanwhile, was told Turley had returned home due to family problems.
Behind the scenes, camp officials requested that the Boy Scouts of America's Texas-based national office create a “confidential file,” informally known as a “perversion file,” on Turley.
“The parents of the three boys agreed not to press charges if he would leave, but are quite prepared to do so if they hear of his involvement with scouting,” Scouts executive Buford Hill wrote.
Hill told the Los Angeles Times that he was following recommendations of the Boy Scouts of America at the time.
“I don't remember what we decided, other than we didn't want this person on our staff,” Hill said. “Hopefully, he went back to Canada and that was their problem.”
In a written statement to the Los Angeles Times, Boy Scouts of America stated that within 25 hours of learning of Turley's conduct, they expelled him.
"In the 30 years since then, the BSA has continued to enhance its youth protection efforts as society has increased its understanding of the dangers children face," wrote spokesman Deron Smith.
When Turley was shown the 1979 confidential U.S. file created by the Scouts on him, however, he shook his head in amazement that officials had not contacted police.
“That probably would have put a stop to me years and years ago,” said Turley in an interview at an Alberta motel where he works as a manager and handyman.
“And yet I went back to the Scouts again and again as a leader and offended against the boys until they came forward.”
Others were shocked Turley even made it into the Scouts after his kidnapping conviction and commitment as a sex offender.
“He should have never been there in the first place,” the scoutmaster whose son was allegedly molested by Turley told the Los Angeles Times.
Back in Canada
Though The Fifth Estate found documents showing that Scouts Canada and its American counterpart have traded information about pedophiles banned from their organizations, it appears the two did not share information about Turley.
By August of 1979, Turley had returned to the Victoria area, and within a few years, he'd begun leading a local scouts troop.
Court records show that Turley took scouts on camping trips once or twice a month, often luring boys to his tent by offering warmth or comfort. He used skinny-dipping as a pretense to molest boys and plied them with alcohol.
In his Victoria home, stocked with ice cream, candy, alcohol and porn, he entertained an endless number of boys, including scouts.
'I absolutely wish now that I had thought about going to police rather than Scout House.' —Scouting supervisor Jean Buydens
“He had an Atari and worked for a candy company and his cupboard was full of candy,” said Jason Davies, one of his victims. “This is where we wanted to go after Scouts.”
While a Scouts Canada leader, Turley also organized trips to the U.S. with his troop and recalls filing paperwork with the Boy Scouts of America to have the visits approved.
Jean Buydens, a scouting supervisor, recalls hearing whispers about parties where Turley offered boys beer and camp outings where he shared tents with boys.
“I was very suspicious of that,” says Buydens, adding she passed on what she heard.
The Fifth Estate spoke to parents, victims and Scouts executives familiar with Turley and found no evidence executives called in the police to investigate. Turley says he was never contacted by police at that time. Scouts Canada said it won't comment on specific cases.
An assistant scoutmaster had also complained about Turley sharing his tent with boys, but the meddling assistant was moved to another troop, CBC News has learned.
As rumours persisted in the mid-1980s, Scout House, the regional headquarters, asked Turley to resign. Scouts Canada added him to a “confidential list,” sources say. The exact date is unknown.
“It should have been handled differently,” says Buydens. “I absolutely wish now that I had thought about going to police rather than Scout House, but I thought talking to Scout House would be enough.”
Canadian conviction
In 1988, Turley sexually assaulted a child at a swimming pool. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and banned from associating with youth groups such as Scouts, YMCA and the Little League.
Tips?
If you have more information on this story, or other investigative tips, please email investigations@cbc.ca .
It was not until 1995 that police began their first large-scale investigation into Turley – 16 years after the Boy Scouts of America created a “perversion file” and nearly a decade after its Canadian counterpart put him on their “confidential list.”
In the end, it was not the Scouts organization that informed Saanich, B.C., police, but rather a suspicious girlfriend.
Turley was convicted in 1996 of sexually abusing four boys, three of whom were scouts, but later admitted to having at least a dozen victims.
First victim
In 1971 at age 18, Turley began more than a year of molestation with his first known victim, nine-year-old Joey Day.
Turley had moved from Toronto to Victoria as a member of the Canadian military, and had befriended Day's mother.
He offered to take Joey to cub scout meetings, but instead Turley often took the boy to his apartment.
“He fed me alcohol and I believe he was drugging me,” said Day. “I would wake up and I'd be naked in his bed.”
During an undercover sting, Turley later admitted to an officer that being involved with the Scouts organization was a “good way to recruit young boys.”
Turley served five years in prison and seven years of long-term supervised parole, which he completed in 2009.
When The Fifth Estate and the Los Angeles Times tracked him down in Alberta earlier this year, Turley said his sexual impulses are now under control thanks to an intense sex-offender program he underwent.
He's no longer that “monster” moving from “troop to troop picking out people who I thought would be easy to offend against,” he said. “Rick Turley today is a caring loving person who just wants to stay below the radar.”
But he added that he believes the very nature of Scouts made it an easy place to find targets.
“If I look back at my own self, the availability, the trust that was involved with the parents at the time,” said Turley. “I was … the nice guy, who wanted to do everything.”
Screening process
Much in Scouts has changed since the 1970s and 1980s when Turley used the movement to find his victims.
Since 1997, Scouts Canada has required police record checks, reference checks and a special screening interview for all adult volunteers and staff.
The organization's policies dictates that individuals accused of any sexual abuse are immediately suspended and then investigated, with information passed along to police and child protection authorities.
Scouts Canada also has a stringent “two-deep rule” requiring that two fully screened, registered leaders be present with youth at all times.
Turley recalls always having adult leaders present on his Scouts outings. “It didn't stop anything,” he says.
Seattle-based lawyer Tim Kosnoff, who has viewed the U.S. “perversion files,” says historically the U.S. Boy Scouts “routinely” chose not to notify police when aware of child molesters, instead noting them in their own secret files.
Despite all the changes made to the Scouts organization, Turley maintains that “Scouting is still a flawed movement.”
“If I was a parent, I would never put my kids in Scouts.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/20/scouts-turley-pedophile-list.html
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West Virginia
W.Va. man sentenced to 215 to 705 years in prison for sex crimes involved 8-year-old boy
WHEELING, W.VA. — A West Virginia man has been sentenced to up to 705 years in prison for sex crimes involving an 8-year-old boy.
The Intelligencer (http://bit.ly/rqLuLg) reports that 37-year-old James Watts was sentenced Friday in Ohio County Circuit Court to 215 to 705 years. He received the maximum penalty from Circuit Judge James Mazzone.
Watts was convicted in August on multiple counts of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust to a child. At the time, Watts was serving a Marshall County sentence for displaying obscene matter to a child and soliciting a minor for sex by computer.
Prosecutors said the incidents occurred in 2008 at the boy's home while his mother was at work.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/1840a00d7564467db19fba92ab5decf6/WV--Sex-Abuse-Sentence/
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Hawaii
US Marshals Arrest Man Involved In Child Abuse Case
Poouahi Was Implicated With His Mother In The Near Death Of A 10-year-old Girl
October 21, 2011
HONOLULU -- U.S. Marshals located and apprehended 20-year-old Hans Poouahi, Jr in Waianae Thursday for failing to comply with the terms of probation after he was implicated in a child abuse case that nearly left a 10-year-old girl dead.
Poouahi was found at a Hanalei St. home at around 4:00 p.m. He was wanted for a $20,000 cash-only state warrant. In 2005, Poouahi was only 13-years-old when he was implicated in the child abuse case.
Court documents revealed the abused victim was found on a couch on the lanai of an Ainaloa home on the Big Island with a cut on her head that "decomposing and containing maggots." She also had injuries to her upper lip and other areas of her body that showed signs of decomposition. The victim also suffered broken bones, dehydration and malnutrition.
A doctor told police that marks on the girl's body suggested she had been bound and that she had several areas of dead tissue about her body as a result of pressure ulcering and burns that appeared to be from a cigarette and cigarette lighter.
The girl spent six weeks in a coma recovering from the inflicted injuries. Poouahi was convicted as a juvenile and housed at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility until he turned 19-years-old.
Poouahi's mother, Hyacinth Poouahi, was also involved and convicted of first-degree assault, first degree unlawful imprisonment, terroristic threatening and endangering the welfare of a child. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Hyacinth Poouahi was originally charged with attempted murder but the charge was dropped when she agreed to plead guilty.
http://www.kitv.com/news/29556251/detail.html
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California
O.C. man accused of attempting to kill infant son
An Orange County man was charged Friday with attempting to murder his 2-month-old son after he was captured on a hidden camera swinging him by the neck with a noose-like blanket and repeatedly punching and shaking the baby, prosecutors say.
Joshua Robey, 24, is charged with one felony count each of attempted murder, torture and child abuse. Robey lived on and off with his girlfriend and her mother in Anaheim until three weeks before the Oct. 18 incident, when he began living in a motel in Costa Mesa.
Robey went to his girlfriend's home to babysit his son. Without Robey's knowledge, his girlfriend set up a hidden camera in the home to record him because she believed he was cheating.
Robey is accused of violently abusing and attempting to "murder the infant" while alone with him. Robey wrapped a blanket around the baby's neck, picked him up by lifting the ends of the blanket like a noose and swung the boy around for more than a minute, prosecutors say.
According to prosecutors, Robey laid the child back down and punched him several times in the chest with closed fists. He is accused of slapping and punching the baby and grabbing the boy by the throat with both hands, lifting him in the air and violently shaking him.
At one point while the child was crying, Robey covered the baby's mouth with his hand, grabbing him by the neck and shaking him in the air, prosecutors say. He is accused of attempting to suffocate his son by covering the victim's face with a blanket and covering the baby's mouth with his hand for several seconds, according to prosecutors.
The baby's mother discovered the alleged abuse the next morning when she watched the video on the hidden camera. The girlfriend's mother learned of the video that afternoon and took the baby to the hospital. Hospital staff contacted Anaheim police.
Robey was arrested at the motel that day. His son remains in the hospital, and the extent of his injuries is unknown at this time, prosecutors said. If convicted of all the charges, Robey faces up to 15 years in prison. He is being held in lieu of $1-million bail.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/man-accused-of-attempting-to-kill-and-physically-abusing-toddler-son.html
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Illinois
Illinois promotes program for sexual assault victims
by Joanne Von Alroth
As an emergency room nurse, Nancy Healy's heart beat with the most empathy for the patients she encountered who had been sexually assaulted.
“I always wanted to work with those patients,” she said. “I saw that they had a tough road, and I really wanted to help them.”
To learn about treating victims of sexual assault, Healy underwent sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) training in Indianapolis, which was then the closest place to the Chicago area to offer it.
SANE-trained practitioners can conduct special forensic exams and testify in court, which can help convict attackers. They're also trained to connect both adult and child victims with help from law enforcement, child advocacy centers and victim advocates.
But when she finished her training in 2005, Healy realized that the protocol didn't exist in Cook County. She rectified that after meeting with her bosses at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest.
In 2006, Healy began training others in SANE, which is a basic 40-hour course, and setting up at the hospital, which is northern Illinois' only program offered 24/7. Thanks to her drive and the team's work, it's now a state model for the program.
“If you come at any time here as a sexual assault or abuse victim, you are guaranteed to be seen by a SANE practitioner,” Healy said of South Suburban. “We have our own room, our own protocol, and we work with 76 law enforcement groups across the south suburbs.”
That work was recognized Wednesday when Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a joint effort between her office and the Illinois Hospital Association to double to 150 the number of SANE practitioners in hospitals statewide by next fall.
The effort is a “critical step to encouraging more survivors to report their assaults and putting sexual predators in prison,” Madigan said in a statement. “Most sexual assaults go unreported.”
The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault estimates that only three in 10 rapes are reported to authorities. Last year, for instance, crisis centers and hotlines took calls from more than 18,000 sexual assault victims, but Illinois State Police data show just 5,300 incidents were reported to law enforcement, according to the coalition. Many of these victims are children.
The only other hospital in Illinois with a 24/7 SANE program is Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. There are 650 SANE-trained practitioners in the state, but only 75 are full-time practitioners. Why so few? Some hospitals feel they can't spare the personnel for the training while others say they can't afford it.
South Suburban's parent company, Advocate Health Care, pledged Wednesday to help boost those numbers quickly. Its Condell Medical Center in Libertyville will become the company's first Level 1 trauma center with a coordinated SANE program, and Advocate will also expand SANE training at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago.
Healy is gratified that Madigan and more hospitals see the need for SANE practitioners, but she knows there's still a huge gap in services available to victims.
“The majority of patients we see are children,” she said. “And even among adults, there's so few who understand how to treat these patients with dignity, respect and compassion. This is a very big step in the right direction, but there's a very great need.”
http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/8328739-418/illinois-promotes-program-for-sexual-assault-victims.html
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Texas
Polygamist appeals child abuse conviction in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A polygamist group member is appealing his conviction in Texas on child sex abuse charges, citing jurisdiction issues.
A lawyer for Raymond Merril Jessop asked the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin on Wednesday to overturn his conviction and 10-year sentence.
Jessop was the first member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be tried after a 2008 raid at the group's Yearning for Zion ranch in West Texas.
Jessop was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who gave birth to his daughter.
The Austin American-Statesman (http://bit.ly/q3SlTI) reports that Jessop's attorney, Clinton Broden, argued prosecutors never proved the sexual encounter happened in Texas.
Attorney for the state, Ed Marshall, said jurors heard enough evidence to convict Jessop.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huD6NBvLXkoiqoqvt0ccEwnP4dqA?docId=773987710c15428b91ad6747cf0615a5
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Colorado
Reporting Child Abuse
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -- Already this year, three children in Mesa County have died as a result of child abuse. That's three more than there were in all of 2009 and 2010. Now the Department of Human Services is encouraging residents to report suspected cases before that number climbs higher.
According to the department, as of March 31st, there were 112 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in Mesa County.
Child protection officials say reports from the public are vital to making sure all children in the Grand Valley remain safe.
The county operates a 24 / 7 child protection hotline where people can report suspected abuse. Officials say informants' names are kept confidential and as long as you don't make the report in bad faith, you can never be in trouble for calling in -- even if it turns out no abuse is taking place.
"It's really important for us to be able to assess what's going on in that family," said Michelle Jones with the Mesa County Department of Human Services. "We might get one report from one source and one report from another source and that helps us put together a puzzle of what's going on in that home."
You can reach the hotline by calling (970) 242-1211.
The Department of Human Services is also offering a free community presentation on identifying the signs of child abuse and neglect. It will take place on Wednesday, October 26 at 5:30pm at the Mesa County Community Services Building.
http://www.nbc11news.com/news/headlines/Reporting_child_abuse_132291483.html?ref=483
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Kentucky
Ex-Kentucky social worker accused of repeatedly lying about cases
A former Kentucky social worker charged with falsifying records of child abuse and neglect investigations never looked into some cases and repeatedly lied about her findings — including ones involving suspected sexual abuse — according to new details filed in court.
In at least two instances, Margaret “Geri” Murphy of Lawrenceburg was the subject of complaints about her handling of cases: once in 2006 by a co-worker and again in 2008 by police involved in an investigation, according to the records filed in Anderson Circuit Court.
Yet, there is no evidence that Murphy's employer, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, took any action. Murphy's personnel records, obtained by The Courier-Journal, reflect no misconduct allegations or disciplinary action involving matters alleged in the criminal charges.
Murphy, 60, who resigned in December 2010 and now lives in Florida, was indicted Aug. 2 by an Anderson County grand jury on nine felony counts of tampering with public records and has pleaded not guilty.
She and her attorney have declined to comment on the case. The cabinet also has no comment, spokeswoman Gwenda Bond said.
The criminal case is being handled by the office of Attorney General Jack Conway, who said in August that he became aware of the alleged wrongdoing after a citizen complained to him about how Murphy handled an investigation involving the family.
“We believe she falsified information in multiple cases that (she was) assigned by the cabinet to investigate,” Conway said.
Additional details of the allegations — which occurred between April 2006 and October 2010 — are contained in a bill of particulars Conway's office filed Wednesday in Anderson Circuit Court.
In one case, Murphy later admitted to a criminal investigator with Conway's office that her actions “bothered” her because she believed an 11-year-old girl had been sexually abused, but she closed the case as unfounded, the court records said. The records offer no motive.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said he didn't know details of the investigation but said the allegations make him wonder about the effect on the children and families. “What has happened to these kids?”
He said the case also raises questions about whether the cabinet received the information and, if so, whether officials acted appropriately. But Brooks said it's difficult to know because of the cabinet's strict policy of confidentiality. “I think that secrecy hurts their credibility, rather than helps it,” he said.
The records filed in court this week detail allegations in nine cases of child abuse or neglect that Murphy handled — all of which she closed as unfounded. Five involve cases of alleged sexual abuse of young children:
In one case, Murphy lied about the evidence regarding a 2007 allegation of sexual abuse of an infant by the mother's boyfriend, falsely claiming that a state trooper had told her the evidence didn't indicate abuse, the records said.
In 2010, the case was reopened with new allegations of abuse by the mother's boyfriend. A state police officer reported that he believed Murphy's actions in the first investigation allowed the abuse to continue, the court records said. The records said police and another agency complained about Murphy's actions.
In 2009, Murphy falsified records of her investigation of a report that two foster children had been sexually abused by other children in the home, the court documents said. Another professional who interviewed the children with Murphy said one of the children reported abuse, but Murphy's report said the two foster children denied any abuse.
In another 2007 case, Murphy falsely reported that she had investigated allegations of sexual abuse of a 7-year-old child by a babysitter's husband, the records said. According to the records, she falsely claimed that she and Lawrenceburg police had interviewed the alleged perpetrator, who passed a polygraph test.
In 2010, after she was assigned to investigate the alleged sexual abuse of a 3-year-old boy, Murphy falsely reported she and a state trooper interviewed the suspected abuser and provided details of a statement in which the suspect denied the abuse, the records said. The investigation found that no such interview occurred, the records said.
In other cases as well, Murphy fabricated details of interviews or home visits she never conducted, the records said.
In 2006, a co-worker complained about Murphy's handling of a case alleging neglect of children being unsupervised, the records said. Murphy admitted to the attorney general's investigator that she falsely documented having interviewed the parents, the records said.
In a 2010 case of alleged child neglect involving drug use by parents and lack of food in the home, she reported she had visited the home and found no drugs or alcohol and a two-week supply of food, the record said. In fact, Murphy never visited the home or contacted the parents, the records said.
In another case of alleged neglect in 2010 — after police arrested two parents for smoking marijuana in a car with their infant and toddler present — Murphy reported that she interviewed the parents, who denied the allegations, the records said.
She reported there was no evidence the parents had been using marijuana and that both had passed drug screens.
In fact, the records said, both parents pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the case, and the father had failed a drug test.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/Ex-Kentucky-social-worker-accused-of-repeatedly-lying-about-cases
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California
Sex slavery: A global nightmare in your own backyard
An estimated 30 million people or more live as slaves today – working against their will for someone else. And every year, some 17,500 are trafficked into the United States. Many of these people don't have allies, but here in the Bay Area, there's one non-profit that's standing with them.
Not For Sale has a self-described simple and collective challenge: “Stand with those who are enslaved, work together to free them, and empower them in their freedom to break the cycle of vulnerability.”
President and co-founder David Batstone came by the studio to talk with KALW's Ben Trefny about the organization and its work.
* * *
BEN TREFNY: David, share a story of something you've seen while investigating sex slavery.
DAVID BATSTONE: One of the most startling early experiences I had was to visit undercover in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh, a group of young girls who were in a situation that they couldn't get out of. They were young, 11- and 12-year-old girls. I had gone to Phnom Penh to explore, really to investigate: How does trafficking happen? This was very early on in my experience.
Even in Cambodia to traffic or to sell a young 11- or 12-year-old girl is something that might get you in trouble. Sell an older woman (older meaning 18 or 19 years old) and no one cares. But 11 or 12, you still might get in trouble.
So the contact took us up the back stairs and we went inside a second story living room. In there were about 15 girls of this age, 11 or 12 years old. I was pretending to be a “John,” someone who was there looking for young girls to buy.
I was with an Australian intelligence officer who fortunately was much more experienced than I was. He had a cool demeanor, pretended to play the part, whereas as soon as I saw these little girls and they were told to flirt with me… oh my gosh, I lost my cool, I lost my demeanor. But I struggled along, got through it, and we were offered to buy two young girls each. I think it was about $12.
So I remember seeing those girls, looking at them, and walking out that night. Our exit plan was we'd come back later (we had a hidden camera; we got all this on camera), but it took another three months to close that place down. But I remember not being able to sleep for a week, just thinking about those young girls and what they were going through each night.
TREFNY: So 11- and 12-year-old girls in Cambodia; 15- and 16-year-old girls in Oakland. The sex trade is a very dark, mysterious industry. How much of that is the result of human trafficking? How many people do you think, by your definitions, are involved in that against their own will?
BATSTONE: I would say inside the United States we probably have between 150,000 and 200,000 people living in sex slavery.
The average age of a girl who goes into what we call prostitution is 13 to 14 years old. Here in Oakland, young girls every day are being brought into the sex trade and they can't get out. This is the distinction: Maybe they were convinced, because of money or some short-term opportunity, that if they sold their body it wouldn't be so bad. But you'll notice that these young girls have someone managing them, a pimp, who won't let them leave and will use violence against them. This is really a problem.
When I drive down International Boulevard in Oakland, and I see a group of 14- or 15-year-old girls, I think, “Terrible! How can they make those choices? How could they ever put themselves in that situation?”
What we often don't see is 100 yards away there will be someone, usually a man, controlling them, managing them, and not letting them leave. This really is the story of human trafficking.
There's a great organization here in Oakland called MISSSEY run by Nola Brantley. Nola works with these 14- or 15-year-old girls. And it's a real dangerous and tough business getting them free from their traffickers.
TREFNY: These girls who are on the streets of Oakland, a lot of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, see the opportunity for quick money and then they get stuck in it because of whoever's running the show for them. They're obviously Americans. Is there a much larger trade of international people coming into the country who are part of the sex trade than people who are born in the U.S.?
BATSTONE: Yeah, very much so. You have regions. In, say, Oakland, mostly East Oakland, West Oakland, and then up to Vallejo in the East Bay, you have a lot of local, domestic girls who are trafficked, U.S.-based.
A lot of what people think of when they think of sex trafficking is the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson. That is less dramatic. Usually you don't have someone going into a home and kidnapping a young girl. That still happens, but it's rare. It's more likely that someone is drawn into it and can't leave.
In all of the thousands and interviews I've done with trafficking survivors and my relationships with them, in almost every case, someone in a uniform was contributing to their trafficking. Whether it was a police officer or a customs officer, someone with authority – legitimacy according to the state – has participated in their trafficking. So they're not thinking, “I'll go out and find a police officer and he or she is going to help me.” They just see themselves as trapped in this cycle that they can't get out of.
TREFNY: How, in a city like San Francisco, with massage parlors all over downtown, can one tell the difference between a legitimate business and one engaged in sex trafficking?
BATSTONE: Well, some of the things you look for are vigilance towards those who are working there – the women or men who are a part of that establishment. Also, bars on windows that prevent them from coming out. There's also barbed wire fences that are keeping people in rather than keeping outsiders out. You'll find that there's heavy security around – cameras. The window shades are always pulled shut.
Part of this is that they want to maintain their own privacy and withhold from law enforcement. You'll also find that there's a great deal of control in the young women and men. If you're not allowed to talk to them, they're very frightened to say anything about their background and who they are. Most likely, there's a risk of trafficking in those situations.
TREFNY: I live in San Francisco's Sunset District, which is a pretty retiring, quiet, residential neighborhood. And yet, every now and then, there's a news of a house that's being used as an international brothel. Can you tell me what you know about these places? I've always been curious about how hidden it is. You can be on a street that looks like any street of houses, plain old houses, little boxes built in the ‘50s or ‘60s, and one of them, or several of them, are housing an international sex slavery.
BATSTONE: Absolutely. It's the trend to move out of more visible, downtown San Francisco massage parlors to more residential districts. The Sunset is one of the more frequent ones in San Francisco. They still have to advertise themselves to potential clients. The easiest ways to get access to information for us is through Internet sites. They're not that subtle in terms of what they're offering. It's a question of whether this involves human trafficking or is a choice by those who sell their bodies.
TREFNY: That definition is very difficult.
BATSTONE: It is. It's hard for FBI. It's hard for local law enforcement to make that distinction. When people are asking why there aren't more convictions, why isn't there visibility around the address… if it's such a problem why is it so hidden? It's the very question you raised.
It doesn't take a very sophisticated trafficker to be able to tell the young women, “If you say anything, you'll be thrown in prison, you'll be deported, you'll be punished. I know where your family lives.” There's lots of reasons a young woman wouldn't cry out for help in a public way.
So, how would you distinguish if you're in 30th Avenue in a house? These young girls just feel trapped. I've been inside these places. It's hell on earth. These five to six young girls just wait for the next guy to show up. It's prostitution.
TREFNY: What can I do to make a difference in this?
BATSTONE: There's lots of things we can do as individuals. We have two parts of what we have in the classical economical economics: the demand side and the supply side. We built an app where you can walk into a store and scan the bar code on a product. It will give you A, B, C, or F. Just like school, you want to get an A, not an F. The grade is based on 50 factors involved in making that product. We call it Free2Work. All people should be free to work.
I think that most of our listeners today don't want to wear people's suffering. They don't want to tread on people's dreams with their shoes, or consume people's tragedy with their morning coffee and sugar. But we want to make sure people's lives are enhanced in the making of the product that they're linked to.
So we have this app that's on the iPhone, on the Android, talking to the people on Nokia about putting it on the Nokia phones – and it's a free download. We just launched it, so we have about 25,000. We want to get a million consumers who go into the store and make decisions based on that. That's going to change our behaviors on the side of the consumer. That'll have a ripple effect all the way back to the producer.
On the supply side, we want to train and equip smart activists. There's a lot of dumb activism out there, quite frankly. It's good, with good intentions, but what is it really going to do?
I hate those rubber arm bands. They make me think I'm doing something, but they really yield nothing. In terms of what I can do in a very solidarity way, in a very simple way, what can I do that's actually going to have an effect, that's going to change people's lives?
We have all over the world these academies, and one in San Francisco. They are three-day academies. We keep them really low cost. You learn how to document trafficking in your region, how to be a first alerter, how to work with law enforcement in your community, what citizens can do that law officers won't do. We will not tolerate human trafficking in our own backyards.
If you live in the Bay Area, as I'm sure most of you do, the Bay Area is the home of Not for Sale. Learn the difference between consequently action that actually means something, and inconsequential action that maybe makes me feel better but doesn't really make a difference.
Not For Sale is holding a global forum this weekend on the topic of human trafficking beginning tomorrow in Sunnyvale. It will feature many of the most prominent anti-slavery activists from around the world, including Bishop Desmond Tutu, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and boxer and politician Manny Pacquaio. Find more information on the Not For Sale website.
http://blog.sfgate.com/kalw/2011/10/20/sex-slavery-a-global-nightmare-in-your-own-backyard/
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Wisconsin
County panel backs human trafficking task force
by Steve Schultze
A Milwaukee County Board panel Thursday endorsed creation of a Task Force on Human Trafficking to recommend laws and policies to combat sexual and other exploitation of children.
The board's Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee voted 7-0 to establish the group, with members from law enforcement, social services and others. Greater protections are needed to combat the problem, which manifests itself locally in prostitution, said Supervisor Eyon Biddle Sr., the author of the task force plan.
Young teenagers are recruited to sex rings, sometimes by family members or after having left home over disputes with parents, said Martha Love, a local community activist and labor leader.
"We need to look at prostitution differently," Love said. Young teenagers sometimes get involved because they have been groomed to participate by family members, Love said.
The task force would study potential changes to state law to protect children from sex trade traffickers, as well as services including providing transitional housing or safe houses for victims.
The full County Board will consider the issue Nov. 3.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/county-panel-backs-human-trafficking-task-force-132260293.html
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California
Brothers used candy to keep girls they molested quiet, DA says
The Fullerton brothers accused of taking turns molesting young girls in their neighborhood gave their alleged victims candy and ice cream to keep them quiet, prosecutors said.
The Orange County district attorney's office said the brothers would allegedly show the girls pornography before sexually assaulting them.
They were charged this week with sexually molesting a 3-year-old girl and 7-year-old girl on repeated occasions.
The 7-year-old girl told a family member of the alleged abuse in August, prompted an investigation by Fullerton police. The brothers were arrested later that month.
Cristobal Ortiz Rodriguez, 35, and Eduardo Ortiz Rodriguez, 33, on Thursday will be in court to face allegations of lewd acts on a child, sexual penetration of a child and a sentencing enhancement allegation of committing a sexual crime against more than one victim.
The molestation allegedly occurred from May 2010 to August of this year.
The girls were allegedly molested in a converted garage, at times separately by the brothers and on other occasions when the two men were together, prosecutors said.
They are each being held on $1-million bail.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/brothers-candy-girls-molest-da.html
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Virginia
Va. mom, dad plead to child abuse, neglect for using drywall to barricade 3 daughters in room
MANASSAS, Va. — A couple who barricaded their three daughters in a room by nailing a sheet of drywall across the doorway have pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Christina Moore of Bristow told police that she and the father, 34-year-old John Michael Robey, just needed a break.
The girls — ages 1, 2 and 4 — were barricaded in the room on March 26. The oldest girl used mattresses to climb over the five-foot high drywall and run to a neighbor.
Prosecutors in Prince William County on Thursday recommended Robey and Moore complete drug treatment they have started in jail and then serve three years of probation.
The News and Messanger reports the couple will be sentenced on Jan. 12. (http://bit.ly/oNRtn4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-mom-dad-plead-to-child-abuse-neglect-for-using-drywall-to-barricade-3-daughters-in-room
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Why is Child Abuse So Much More Pervasive in the U.S.
by Eric Steinman
Any local paper will have it, most likely buried beyond page six, but it will most certainly be there. What I am talking about is some horrific account of ritual child abuse, long ignored, but uncovered by local police, neighbors, or child protective services – but always a bit too late. Sometimes reading these accounts can literally churn your stomach, whether you are a parent or not. The idea of a violently oppressed child trapped in a cycle of abuse and neglect makes you question the humanity, or lack thereof, of your fellow citizen. The fact is, as child abuse exists around the globe, it is the first world, highly industrialized, United States that boasts some of the highest rates of child abuse in the world. Here is a statistic for you courtesy of the BBC: Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. To say there is a problem here is a tragic understatement.
Many loving and engaged parents (like myself) will likely react to these figures in horror and (if they haven't already) pledge to honor their children and their own roll as parents and protectors. But the fact is, our country (the U.S.) is rife with this sort of abuse and, while the individual abuser is ultimately to blame, economic and societal factors have a big impact on those numbers, so says Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters. The fact that violent crime, teen pregnancy, imprisonment and poverty are all unreasonably high in the United States (compared to other industrialized countries) are generally far higher in the U.S. undoubtedly impacts the number of child abuse cases domestically, but the fact that the U.S. also has little in the way of social policies that provide child care, universal health insurance, pre-school, parental leave and visiting nurses to virtually all in need, creates an ideal environment for child abuse to become the norm. If child abuse were an opportunistic mold, the United States would be a wet basement filled with damp towels and incubator-like warmth.
Petit, in a piece written for the BBC, says this is America's shame and makes the case that geography matters a great deal in determining the well being of a child. He uses the examples of Texas and Vermont: Texas prides itself in being a low tax, low service state, whereas Vermont is a high-tax, high service state. Petit sees Texas state policies as greatly contributing to the risk factors that children face. Children from Texas, he writes, are twice as likely to drop out of high school as children from Vermont. They are four times more likely to be uninsured, four times more likely to be incarcerated, and nearly twice as likely to die from abuse and neglect. While Texans can boast the most “freedom” of any state, they carry the burden of a deeply underserved, neglected, and often abused, child population. So while child abuse is ultimately a product of the parents/guardians, the existing state policies seem to have a hell of a lot to do with the frequency and how widespread the abuse actually is.
So as the economy staggers towards a possible double-dip recession, we could be fairly confident that incidents of child abuse, endangerment, and neglect will proportionately rise with the continuing downturn. Many legislators choose to blame parents for the abuse (as no abusive parent should remain blameless), but aren't they neglecting to see that the state, as well as the federal government, is complicit in fostering an environment perfect for such abuse. To quote Petit again, “Children did not crash the US economy. It is both shortsighted economic policy and morally wrong to make them pay the price for fixing it.”
What is your read on the political, social, and economic influence on the widespread nature of child abuse in the U.S.? Is this oversimplifying the problem? Are parents the only ones to blame for their bad behavior, or can the problem be addressed from the top down?
York County strives to become a model for preventing child abuse
One Red Lion woman attended because the abuse of her grandson pushed her to become educated.
by REBECCA LeFEVER
York, PA - Laura Tassone of Red Lion decided to attend the "Remembering Darisabel: Community Child Abuse and Neglect Summit" after her own grandson was abused at 3 months old.
She still has pictures on her phone that were taken in the hours follow the abuse inflicted on his tiny body.
Her grandson recently turned 1 year old and shows no long-term trauma from the abuse.
"I'm trying to learn what I can do to help my grandson," Tassone said after the Wednesday night event at Logos Academy.
She stood and told the crowd that child abuse isn't secluded to the city or poverty-stricken families.
Many at the summit hope situations like Tassone's will be prevented.
During the event, Dr. David Turkewitz of York Hospital put forth a challenge: Put York County on the map as a model for preventing child abuse.
One of the first challenges he gave to about 150 people was to "stop hitting children."
The rest of the summit focused on a panel of organization leaders which included Deb Bushover from Nurse Family Partnership, Martha Martin from the Lehman Center, Marie Bell of Family-Child Resources, Caroline Tyrrell of Children, Youth and Families and Pastor Aaron Anderson.
Each member talked about the programs they offer the community and gaps they find in the reporting system.
One of the biggest problems, the panel agreed, was that many families lack the transportation to access their services -- from parent resource meetings to free child care.
But the easiest way to prevent abuse, Tyrrell said, is to report it.
If people suspect abuse, they are encouraged to make an anonymous call to ChildLine so a caseworker can look into the situation.
"Sometimes the situation isn't as bad as someone thought, but there are bills piling up or the mom is overwhelmed, and we can help that family in other ways," Tyrrell said.
Leaving the meeting that night, Tassone felt she had gathered enough information to provide her son with some support.
"He's alone in raising his son, and this isn't his fault," Tassone said. "Maybe coming here can help me to help him. It's hard doing this alone."
Sex abuse survivor writes book about his life's journey
Author, sex abuse advocate was silent for 40 years about his own abuse by a minister
by Sanne Specht
For one Ashland resident, the journey from victim to advocate began when he found the courage to speak about the unspeakable after decades of silence.
After being sexually abused by a charismatic youth minister when he was a naive teenager, Randy Ellison said his life became shrouded in secrets and shame. For four decades, Ellison remained silent about the devastation wrought by the trusted leader in his community — a 40-year-old married man with children of his own.
Ellison said he never told a soul what the preacher did to him. Not even when the fallout nearly destroyed his life as he battled drug and alcohol addiction and thoughts of suicide.
"I was raised not to be out front," he said. "But the need is so great to speak about abuse."
Today, Ellison, 60, uses his voice to fight against the scourge of child abuse — as an advocate and as an author.
Ellison told his story publicly for the first time when he testified before the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee in 2010. He is the board president of Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service. And he continues to testify in Salem, advocating for tougher laws against child sex trafficking and other legislative changes, working to provide new tools for law enforcement.
Ellison also recently completed a book, "Boys Don't Tell — Ending the Silence of Child Abuse." The book is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions, and is a road map of his recovery, Ellison said.
"All of the poems and stream of consciousness were written as part of my therapy," he said. "Every one of those was written on my journey."
Ellison said becoming a published author was never a goal. But he decided to pursue the effort in hopes the book might help other child-abuse survivors and provide insights for survivors' family members.
"Survivors have to come to this as they can, as they are able," Ellison said. "You don't just address child sexual abuse because somebody writes a book."
Statistics show 1-in-4 girls and 1-in-6 boys is sexually abused before their 18th birthday, he said. It is estimated that at least 39 million Americans are survivors of child sexual abuse. Using that number, one can estimate that more than 25,000 residents of Jackson County were or are victims of child sexual abuse, Ellison said.
"Every single conversation is one piece, one seed of changing the world," he said. "And so I do it. If we can save a child from being abused, or help them heal, that's worth everything."
But Ellison said statistics show we live in a culture of abuse, "one where it is accepted or ignored by the majority of the population, our government, and our institutions," he said.
The long-term impact can be seen in estimates that 30 to 50 percent of inmates in our prisons were abused as children, more than 80 percent of participants in residential alcohol and drug treatment centers were abused as children and 25 to 30 percent of perpetrators were abused as children, Ellison said. Mental health clinics and private therapists' offices are filled with survivors, he added, and survivors' lost work and illness from unresolved abuse issues cost our society billions of dollars every year.
"So it just keeps going," Ellison said. "Knowing what I know now about abuse, how prevalent it is, that's the driving force behind my efforts."
Ellison's path from victim to activism has not been easy, he said. Two years ago, Ellison attended the 2009 Abuse Awareness rally in Medford's Vogel Plaza. His plan was to speak out about how he'd suffered at the hands of a trusted preacher.
But as he watched the crowd grow and listened to the survivors' stories being read aloud by local community leaders, Ellison's fears about going public got the better of him that day.
His palms wet with sweat, Ellison said he realized there was no way he was going to speak at that rally.
But Ellison said he'd already realized hiding from his abuse wasn't doing anyone any good. Determined to find a way to speak his truth — and with the help of a good therapist — Ellison found his voice.
"How can you not change a life?" he said. "I'm capable of doing this. We all do what he can."
Ellison hopes community members will join in the conversation, and help fight child abuse by getting involved. Volunteer at The Maslow Project, call the Children's Advocacy Center and sign up for a "Darkness to Light" class — and always speak up if you suspect abuse, Ellison said.
"Think of what this world looks like without abuse," Ellison said. "I love to picture a world like that."
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111020/NEWS/110200310
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Pennsylvania
Gruesome Details Emerge in Philadelphia Dungeon Case body
Police investigating the Philadelphia basement dungeon where four mentally disabled adults were found locked up over the weekend described Wednesday the poor physical condition of one of the victims.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that wounds found on Beatrice Weston -- the 19-year-old niece of the alleged ringleader of the operation, Linda Ann Weston -- were the worst he had ever seen on a person who was still alive.
"I've never seen anything like this in a living person," Ramsey said. "It's remarkable that she is still alive. There is no penalty that is too harsh for the people that did this."
Beatrice Weston, who had been reported missing in 2009, suffered wounds that included healed-over fractures, pellet gun wounds, and burns from heated spoons. Beatrice was also malnourished.
"The word horrific is not sufficient," Ramsey said.
Ten children and teens were taken into protective custody Tuesday night, ranging in age from 2 to 19, reportedly near the apartment building in Philadelphia's Tacony neighborhood, where the four original victims were discovered Saturday morning.
"At least we were able to locate several children that we were concerned about," Ramsey added. "That's the good news. Bad news is some of them were not treated very well. In fact, one has some pretty serious injuries."
The dungeon operation's alleged ringleader, 51-year-old Weston, her 47-year-old boyfriend Thomas Gregory, and 49-year-old Eddie Wright, were arrested Sunday and charged with criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, kidnapping and other related charges.
All three were arraigned and bond set Monday at $2.5 million for each.
Officers are investigating claims that the gang was part of an interstate conspiracy to imprison vulnerable people and steal their government support checks.
The ten young people all have ties to the case. Two of the children were born to Tamara Breeden, who is one of the four original victims. Breeden was a missing woman from Philadelphia whose case was marked "closed" last year.
Police did not want to divulge exactly where the young people were found, including whether they were at one or more houses across Philadelphia. The ten are being cared for by the city's Department of Human Services, while DNA tests are carried out.
Investigators said there could be as many as 50 additional victims in the case. On Monday, Ramsey said that Weston had Social Security documents and other personal information for "almost 50 people" in her possession when she was arrested.
Weston previously served eight years in prison for starving Bernardo Ramos, 25, to death after he refused to support her sister's unborn child.
A special task force has been created to investigate the case.
Click to see video from inside the basement from MyFoxPhilly.com
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/19/police-investigating-philadelphia-dungeon-rescue-10-others-including-children/
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Philadelphia
Ten children also found in US cellar horror case
by Daniel Kelley (AFP)
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — US police Wednesday probed a growing kidnapping horror after finding 10 children in the care of a woman accused of locking up four mentally-disabled people in a dank cellar.
"This is a very complicated case," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said late Tuesday.
"This is a very sad story. It makes no sense. When you look at the kids, the psychological trauma is pretty apparent. It's some of the worst things I've ever experienced."
Ramsey told CNN Wednesday that 10 children aged from two to 19 had now also been taken into care, including the niece of the prime suspect Linda Weston, who was reported missing in 2009.
A fourth suspect was meanwhile detained in the case after four mentally disabled adults were freed at the weekend having been held against their will in the filthy, dark, fetid cellar of a Philadelphia apartment house.
Authorities said they have now also arrested Jean McIntosh, Weston's 32-year-old daughter, who is believed to have aided the incarceration of the three men and one woman to cash in their social security checks.
McIntosh was charged with several counts, including kidnapping, conspiracy and aggravated assault. She was to be arraigned on Wednesday.
The six children and four teens were taken into care in front of the Philadelphia house. Police are still working to identify all of them, some of whom may have been kidnapped.
"They are still interviewing the children to determine whose they are and where they came from," said Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office.
Two of them may have been born to the woman held in the basement. "We don't know for sure. We'll have to do DNA testing in order to find out. Apparently they were taken from her at a very, very young age," Ramsey told CNN.
The children all bore signs of physical abuse and were extremely malnourished. Police spokeswoman Jillian Russell said they were being examined in local hospitals.
Authorities said the four adult victims aged 29 to 40, but with a mental age of around 10, were undernourished with bed sores, and at least one of the men was chained to a water heater, police said.
They were discovered by a landlord at the apartment house on Saturday, locked behind a steel door along with two small dogs in a basement space with a dirt floor, some makeshift beds and no bathroom.
Police said Weston had the identity papers of as many as 50 people when she was arrested on Sunday, suggesting she might have defrauded dozens of people in several states, moving around with victims whenever she came under suspicion.
Also under arrest was Weston's boyfriend Gregory Thomas, 47, and Eddie Wright, 49.
The adult victims have been revealing details of their grim ordeal. One of them, Darwin McLemire, 41, had been kept in a closet for almost a year in a West Palm Beach house in Florida, according to a police affidavit.
McLemire told police he met Weston in Florida last October and moved in a few weeks later. Weston took his papers, shut him in the closet, and sometimes beat him, he said.
Weston previously served eight years in prison for killing a 25-year-old man who starved to death in her Philadelphia apartment in 1981.
Mark Riordan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Family said the department had no record of the children in any of its databases or school records.
"The neighbors are coming forward saying they heard screams," Riordan said. "It does appear law enforcement was called to that house, but nothing was phoned in to the department."
Ramsey told CNN that Philadelphia had now set up a special task force to investigate the case, which may have spread through five US states -- Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia and Texas, and possibly also North Carolina.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gSk0Af5C2WwFT0AeNPne2kDqcIWQ?docId=CNG.1b8d06e6744ae77bf443892ad3eb4d4e.301
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Tennessee
TBI training course targets sex trafficking
by Beth Burger
Local law enforcement officers and nonprofit organizations will receive training on human sex trafficking from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation beginning today, authorities say.
"The numbers speak for themselves. Eighty-five percent [of Tennessee counties] reported a human sex-trafficking case in the last 24 months," TBI Director Mark Gwyn said at a Wednesday news conference where he cited a recent study mandated by the Legislature.
"You have to understand there's been very little training in this arena," he said. "We go across the state and train every law enforcement officer, which is our goal, those numbers are even going to go higher."
The Legislature also authorized the creation of a hotline for victims to receive help and reach safety. The hotline was launched statewide on Oct. 1.
"It's an anonymous hotline. Everything is completely anonymous. We want everyone to feel comfortable calling this hotline," Gwyn said. "TBI is involved, but the information will be kept confidential."
Margie Quin, assistant special agent in charge at TBI, coordinated the statewide study. One point raised by the study was there needs to be better communication between local organizations and law enforcement, she said.
"Nothing prohibits them [nonprofits] from calling the police department and saying, 'Hey, we're the rape crisis center, and we want you to know we have three sex-trafficking victims,'" she said. "At least the department knows there are victims."
To date, there have been no reports of human sex trafficking made to Chattanooga Police Department, officials say, although the statewide survey said Hamilton County had numerous cases reported.
Local law enforcement has traditionally encountered prostitution and cases of human trafficking for slave labor as issues. There are no documented cases of sex trafficking to date.
"We do have problems here, but the ones we deal with here are hometown prostitutes," Chattanooga Police Chief Bobby Dodd said.
SEX TRAFFICKING HOTLINE
To reach the hotline, call 1-855-558-6484.
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/20/tbi-training-course-targets-sex-trafficking/
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Canada
Most sex-trade workers would quit if they got off drugs, addiction expert says
by Neal Hall
Most sex-trade workers in Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside would quit sex work if they could beat their drug addictions, an expert told the Missing Women inquiry Wednesday.
Thomas Kerr, co-director of the Addiction and Urban Health Research Initiative at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, said a 2007 study found that 63 per cent of sex-trade workers said they would quit sex work if they quit using drugs.
"They said they would forego the activity if they didn't need the money for drugs," he explained.
Drug addiction, he said, involves people who spend a large amount of time securing drugs and using them.
And that includes interrupting work and social activities to score drugs, Kerr said.
He said many addicts literally risk their lives by doing sex work or drug trafficking to obtain drugs.
Many street sex-trade workers get robbed by men who assume that they have money and drugs, Kerr added.
He was the fourth "contextual" witness to testify at the inquiry about life in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES), where serial killer Robert Pickton preyed on drugaddicted prostitutes for years.
Earlier in the day, Catherine Astin, a former DTES street nurse, testified that some sextrade workers who disappeared from the DTES were immediately missed.
She recalled she knew a number of missing women, including Sereena Abotsway, who disappeared in August 2001, just before her 30th birthday.
"She was very playful, very lovely," she told inquiry Commissioner Wally Oppal.
"One minute she was there and then she was gone," Astin recalled. "She didn't just fade away. She was missed."
Astin, now a community health nurse specializing in HIV/AIDS, recalled dealing with many street sex workers over the years.
The majority were first nations women who had suffered sex abuse in childhood, she said.
She said the women used drugs to cope with the pain of past and continuing violence in their fractured lives.
Astin recalled visiting women sex workers at night on the DTES prostitution "strolls," which she described as Dickensian - the streets were dark, wet, cold and gloomy.
"The strolls are in the most isolated part of the Downtown Eastside."
Astin said women working the strolls noticed colleagues disappearing but didn't know why and felt police were doing nothing.
In cross-examination by lawyer Cameron Ward, who represents 18 families of Pickton's victims, Astin was asked if she ever went to police to report any of the missing women.
"No, I don't know why," she said. "I didn't feel it was my responsibility."
She also noted that women working the streets had an aversion to talking to police because of past negative experiences.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Most+trade+workers+would+quit+they+drugs+addiction+expert+says/5578594/story.html
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Sex trafficking becoming problematic in Kansas
by Andy Rao
K-State students attended the Lou Douglas Lecture to hear licensed master social worker Karen Countryman-Roswurm speak about Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking on Tuesday.
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, or DMST , is a prevalent issue not only around the world, but also the United States, as every year one million American children are sexually exploited.
Countryman-Roswurm , who is the founder and coordinator of The Anti-Sexual Exploitation Roundtable for Community Action, or ASCERCA, started her presentation with her own personal experiences, many of which shaped her decision to get involved in the anti-human trafficking movement.
"When I was 13-years old, my mother committed suicide," Countryman-Roswurm said. "I lived on the streets for three years and passed through the government child care system until I fought to legal emancipation at the age of 16."
Countryman-Roswurm said that her past has shaped her ability to empathize with those that have been victims or have had their lives affected by DMST.
"I understand what it means to live in hopelessness and desperation," Countryman-Roswurm said.
As the founder of ASERCA, Countryman-Roswurm plays an integral part in the intervention of DMST and also provides mental and emotional health therapy to survivors. She said she has learned two main things through her work.
"You have to be aware of and manage your own personal perspectives, biases and past trauma and not let those factors affect your ability to help the victims of DMST," Countryman-Roswurm said.
She also spoke of the social stigma behind trafficking and the fact that the victims are the people that often get victimized.
"Treat those who you are serving as though they are already the people they were meant to be," Countryman-Roswurm said. "You have to view them as the people who will achieve their dreams, not just as victims of domestic minor sex trafficking."
According to Countryman-Roswurm, DMST is much closer to home than many Kansans think. In fact, Countryman-Roswurm said that just recently, a K-State sorority member was trafficked by her sorority sister, an occurrence that she said is not as rare as some think.
"Kansas is actually the favorite recruiting ground for the New York City sex trade," Countryman-Roswurm said. "Over a five year period, 33 of the 262 children identified in New York City reported that they were from Kansas."
According to Countryman-Roswurm, the average age of a minor that is sexually exploited is getting younger. When she started working with victims 15 years ago, the average age of victims was 16 to 17 years old; today the average age of a DMST victim is 11 to 14 years old.
Children who are trafficked are lured into the sex trade through a variety of channels and are sold by pimps, who use outlets such as strip clubs, pornography, commercial sex shops and night clubs to make thousands of dollars off of soliciting the sexual services of their victims. Buyers, who are referred to as "Johns," are usually married, employed and have no criminal background.
DMST is the fastest growing and most profitable criminal activity, following only drugs and arms trafficking and, according to Countryman-Roswurm, the demand for minors as sex slaves is skyrocketing.
"One of the biggest reasons that human trafficking is so profitable is because, unlike drugs or guns, you can use a human body more than one time," Countryman Roswurm said. "The sad fact is that one person is worth about $75,000 per year."
The increasing sexual exploitation is a concern to the welfare of young American students and according, to Alexis Lundy, sophomore in family and consumer sciences and elementary education, is something that teachers should be equipped to handle.
"I think it is important as a future teacher to be aware of the fact that it is a dangerous world out there, and there are people out there waiting to take advantage of the most innocent of children," said Lundy. "We have to understand that it is everybody's responsibility to keep an eye out for danger signs, and actively intervene so that we can preserve the lives of our youth."
According to Countryman-Roswurm, one of the most effective ways to solve the issues of DMST is to change the perception of DMST and recognize how society indirectly supports violence and disrespect.
Countryman-Roswurm read the story of an anonymous fourteen year old survivor of DMST, who in a letter had written her frustration about society's reaction to her situation.
"I feel like people look at me and talk to me like I am dirty and nasty," wrote the survivor. "But I didn't do anything wrong. I am not a prostitute. I'm just a girl."
Countryman-Roswurm wrapped up her presentation by pointing out that society needs to be more conscious about what they support.
After listening to a popular rap song that glorified pimping and sexual exploitation, she pointed out that DMST is essentially embedded in our culture.
"We listen to this kind of stuff every day," she said. "This is our new romance music."
Countryman-Roswurm urged the audience to take notice of what they support and ended by saying that respect is key to solving this issue.
"Our language shapes our paradigms and our paradigms shape our actions," Countryman-Roswurm said. "If we continue to see victims as prostitutes, our actions will reflect and if we continue to support and allow DMST, the problem will only get worse."
"I feel like there's a lot that contributes to the rise of sex trafficking," said Lizzie Snell, junior in fine arts. "The environment that our society creates is so important, and we need to hold ourselves accountable. We can try and change our music and commercials, but this issue is not going away until we make some serious cultural changes."
http://www.kstatecollegian.com/news/sex-trafficking-becoming-problematic-in-kansas-1.2655034?compArticle=yes
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U.S. Opinion
America's 'shameful' child abuse problem: 5 theories
In the last decade, more than 20,000 kids have reportedly died because of neglect and abuse — almost quadruple the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan
October 18, 2011
from Best Opinion: BBC, Your Bellaire News, Nation
America has a shocking, "shameful" record when it comes to child abuse, according to a report from Every Child Matters, a nonprofit organization that focuses on child welfare. Michael Petit, the organization's president, says at BBC News that more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes as a result of poverty, malnourishment, neglect, and abuse over the last ten years. That gives the U.S. the worst rate of child abuse of any industrialized nation — triple that of Canada and 11 times that of Italy. Why is this happening? Here, five theories:
1. The U.S. is rife with social problems
"Part of the answer," Petit says, "is that teen pregnancy, high-school dropout, violent crime, imprisonment, and poverty — factors associated with abuse and neglect — are generally much higher in the U.S." than they are in other parts of the world. And the bottom line is that poor, young, uneducated parents are more likely than other moms and dads to mistreat their kids.
2. American families stick together even when they shouldn't
The American justice system "mistakenly work[s] to preserve the family unit, even where felony child abuse has occurred," says Randy Burton, a former prosecutor in Texas' Harris County District Attorney's office, as quoted by Your Bellaire News. Yes, say Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky at AllGov. "The well-intended, but often tragic emphasis in the United States on keeping families together even if a child may be in danger" could well be part of the problem. Sometimes a child is actually safer if his parents split up, and violence is thus taken out of the equation.
3. States aren't offering enough social services
Child abuse is worse in states where the government is less involved in children's lives. For instance, children in Texas "are four times more likely to be uninsured, four times more likely to be incarcerated, and nearly twice as likely to die from abuse and neglect" as children in Vermont, says Petit. Maybe that has something to do with Texas being a "low tax, low service state." Vermont, on the other hand, has high taxes and a much richer array of social services. "Further," Petit says, "other rich nations have social policies that provide child care, universal health insurance, pre-school, parental leave and visiting nurses to virtually all in need." And their rates of abuse are much lower than America's.
4. The system is completely broken
"Hundreds [of] children fall through the cracks of the child protection system," says Pakistan's The Nation. "Some blame overworked investigators and inefficient management." But perhaps the justice system simply "fail[s] to treat child abuse as the crime that it is," says Burton. As a result, "the same abused children continue to recycle through the system."
5. The feds have failed to step in
"A national strategy, led by our national government, needs to be developed and implemented," says Petit. "For a start, the Congress should adopt legislation that would create a National Commission to End Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities." Even with all our budget woes, children's services should not be cut. "Children did not crash the U.S. economy," and "it is both shortsighted economic policy and morally wrong to make them pay the price for fixing it."
http://theweek.com/article/index/220453/americas-shameful-child-abuse-problem-5-theories
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Kansas
Help stop child abuse
Though the four victims and their tormentor remain nameless, one family's horror story in the Sunday Eagle conveyed an important lesson for a community in which child abuse is appallingly common: People need to be vigilant and report their suspicions.
In this case, four girls ages 5 to 8 were rescued from severe sexual abuse because a teacher acted and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit responded.
Getting all four girls to safety wasn't easy, given that the 5-year-old was traveling in Texas with the abusive father. But the swift and decisive response in March removed the girls from a nightmare and put the man behind bars. That's where he'll stay for at least 25 years under a deal this month in which he pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated sodomy and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior with a child younger than 16.
The family's case also delivers a warning to those who know about such abuse and do nothing: The mother received probation for a charge of aggravated endangerment and agreed to sever her parental rights.
Rescue only came when a victim said something outside the family — in this case, because of a classroom lesson about appropriate touching. Then the teacher believed the child and immediately told a school social worker, who called law enforcement. Fortunately for Sedgwick County, members of the EMCU and other practiced professionals were in place and ready to take it from there. Unfortunately, the girls' case was not unusual: It was among 245 sex-crime cases against children in the county in the first six months of this year. Last year there were 530 such cases, including five involving incest.
To deal appropriately with such crimes, as well as other threats such as severe neglect, the Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County still needs help from the community as it works to fund and open a child-focused facility staffed by a multidisciplinary team made up of law enforcement investigators, prosecutors, medical professionals, counselors and advocates.
Citizens need to trust such professionals, but also their instincts.
As Virgil Miller, an EMCU detective who worked on the girls' case, told The Eagle's Roy Wenzl: “Call the police even if you just have a suspicion. Let us sort out whether there's anything going wrong.”
Report child abuse by calling either 911 or 1-800-922-5330.
Doing so will break the silence that makes such heinous crimes against children possible.
http://www.kansas.com/2011/10/19/v-print/2067928/help-stop-child-abuse.html
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Colorado
Childbirth and pregnancy can reopen sexual abuse wounds
When survivors give birth By Aimee Heckel Ashley thought she had dealt with this. So why did her heart start racing and her muscles tighten up when she watched a video of a baby being born?
Her new baby had nothing to do with what happened to her when she was a small child, she thought. Yet, surprisingly and on a level that she couldn't reason with, the idea of childbirth awoke all of these old feelings: lying on a bed screaming, vulnerable and not fully in control, surrounded by people who were supposed to take care of her.
Ashley realized this experience was going to be a turning point for her. Either childbirth was going to finally heal her old scars, or it was going to retraumatize her.
She chose healing.
The Boulder woman, who asked her last name not be used, is among the estimated one in three girls and one in seven boys who are sexually abused in their childhood.
Sexual abuse as a child can cause a myriad of psychological and behavioral struggles, spanning depression, eating disorders, criminal behavior, substance abuse and sexual dysfunction, according to Advocates for Youth. One study found 80 percent of children who have survived sexual abuse experience some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, reports the advocacy group Stop It Now.
Ashley had learned all of that during her five years of therapy and personal work.
But what she didn't expect was how it would ripple into her pregnancy and childbirth.
"Even though in your brain, you know this isn't happening again -- right now, I'm an adult in a hospital -- some part of you, I call it the body memory, or your emotions, feels like it is happening again," she says. "Somewhere deep inside you, the old part that remembers the abuse, instead of that you're a well supported woman now choosing to have a child. That other part gets bigger and takes over."
Although there is no specific data, experts and anecdotes echo Ashley's feelings. Sexual abuse survivors often find themselves colliding with old trauma when they become parents.
Many women struggle with pelvic exams, breastfeeding, the lack of control, being tethered to machines, drugs that can make their brains foggy, male doctors and nurses, people entering their rooms without permission, or even the extra attention to body parts that have been ignored or are the center of confused or negative emotions.
Many survivors experience a disconnect between their mind and body, and that new awareness of the body can be a trigger, says Rachael Uris, a psychotherapist in Boulder who specializes in childhood sexual abuse.
"For some women, the last time they felt that aware of those parts was before the abuse, and they've disconnected from it since because dealing with it was so painful," she says.
Being pregnant -- with the pregnant belly in constant sight, and people reaching out to touch it without permission -- can cause flashbacks and stress.
For others, like Ashley, simply lying down while others "do things" to you -- not feeling like an active participant in the process -- felt too parallel to the trauma she survived.
Uris says some mothers struggle with the feeling of someone else "occupying" their body.
Male survivors may have their own set of stresses. They may fear for their partners' safety, become overly protective, not feel comfortable with watching pelvic exams or even fall into a panic attack at the sounds and sights of a normal delivery, experts say.
Selena Shelley, a therapist and doula in Boulder, says she realized the seriousness of this often unacknowledged issue during her work with pregnant women. Many women were completely unprepared for the intense triggers and memories that hit them during the delivery. Others, not making the connection, couldn't understand why the pelvic exams made them feel so upset.
Shelley wanted to come up with a way to help these women prepare, come up with coping techniques and gain some sense of control for their deliveries. She wanted to train medical professionals to be aware of the signs of PTSD and open up a safe dialogue for women to share their needs and backgrounds.
Maybe then, she thought, childbirth could feel empowering, instead of one additional blow.
"There's so much power in it," she says. "If we can help women be able to have an experience that could heal really wounded, scary parts of their past, that's a slam dunk for me."
A little more than a year ago, Shelley began offering classes for survivors of sexual abuse who are pregnant. Next year, she will start offering training for health care providers, doctors, midwives and nurses.
Her three-hour class is based on the book "When survivors give birth," by Penny Simkin and Phyllis Klaus. Her next class is Sunday at Yo Mama Yoga in Boulder.
That class is what Ashley says helped her set priorities for her delivery; she wanted to feel empowered and present.
Being able to consciously choose or not choose interventions, such as an epidural, with a full spectrum of knowledge can provide a sense of control, Shelley says. In her classes, she also sets the scene for the different things that can happen in labor and delivery, from which hospitals have male nurses, to how to request a monitor that is portable, to the different equipment and set-ups so you don't have to lie flat on your back. Some changes may be as simple as facing the bed to the door, or putting a sign on the door to knock before entering.
"It's bringing those two realms into connection with each other, and giving the women insight into potential triggers," Shelley says. "You can't control what you don't know psychologically is going to come up, but what you can control is the environment you're setting yourself up with."
The most important thing Shelley recommends is having a trained and trusted expert, like a doula, at your birth, "so when something we never could have predicted comes up, there's someone you trust who you can look at and get your support through."
"I want women to know that it's possible to basically have a redo, for them to experience an empowered, choiceful experience that's intense, but that they get to call the shots on," she says.
She encourages women to make sure they're comfortable with their medical provider, because that sets the stage for a safe-feeling environment. Because a traumatic birth can bring on postpartum depression -- and later affect the relationship with the child and a woman's experiences in motherhood.
"If they're unaware and it's retraumatizing, we now have multiple woundings to deal with," Shelley says. "But there's a huge opportunity here for this work to go either direction in the road, and I think doing this right gives women a much better shot at going down the healed path."
Psychotherapist Uris says it can be helpful to remind yourself that this time, it's your choice.
"Your uterus is a place where life is borne, and your body has a remarkable power," she says. "Bring it back into a place of power and life-giving."
That's what happened with Ashley, albeit in a surprising way.
Based on her priorities of feeling empowered and present, she originally requested no epidural or narcotics. But, she says, after a while, the level of pain was actually inhibiting her ability to feel present. So to the surprise of her doctors, she requested an epidural.
"We changed the plan," she says. "And the truth was, an epidural helped me come back and be here when my son was born."
Having the chance to decide, in the moment, what she needed to do was one of the most empowering experiences of her life, Ashley says.
"It's actually an opportunity to take your body back," she says.
If you go:
http://www.dailycamera.com/health-fitness/ci_19132132
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Ohio
Ross County to Host Child Abuse Conference
Oct. 18, 2011
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Ross County has been chosen from among all counties in Ohio as the location for this year's National District Attorneys Association conference on child abuse.
The national organization is selecting one county in each state to conduct the training session, entitled "Justice In Our Communities: Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse."
"Because Adena Health System serves the Appalachian region, the health system and others from the area played a big role in Ross County being chosen for this year's event," said Julie Oates of the Child Protection Center at Adena.
"The health system provides housing for the only child advocacy center in south-central Ohio, which serves a half-dozen counties in the region. Likewise, Adena's Sexual Assault Response Team has been highly successful in identifying and helping in the prosecution of child abuse cases," said Oates.
She praised the work of Adena physicians Dr. Amy Luckeydoo, Dr. Scott McCallum, Dr. Zoran Naumovski and Dr. Sathish Jetty, in working with young victims of sexual abuse. Dr. Kristine McCallum recently joined the team of doctors.
Since 1995, the health system has assisted regional officials, including those from law enforcement and mental health, in developing a multidisciplinary team to identify and help investigate child sexual abuse.
Today, SART consists of physicians and nurses, who share a 24-hour on-call schedule, working together with Child Protection Center, law enforcement, child protective services, rape crisis volunteers, victim/witness personnel, the District Attorney's staff and the Coroner's office.
Services include identification, investigation, medical/legal examinations, treatment, and follow-up documentation. The examiners provide testimony in court and work closely with the judicial process.
Nationally, one-in-four girls and one-in-six boys are victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Unfortunately, statistics for the Appalachian region of Ohio are lacking, Oates said.
"There's a higher probability that it is underreported," she added, because people in the region prefer to deal with such problems within their families and communities.
A half-dozen speakers, each of them "experts in the field," will make presentations, Oates said. Speakers also will present strategies for child abuse professionals involved in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse.
The conference will be held Nov. 15-17 in the Christopher Conference Center at the Comfort Inn, 20 N. Plaza Blvd., Chillicothe.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ross-county-to-host-child-abuse-conference-2011-10-18
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California
Riverside passes Halloween sex offender ban
Riverside County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to ban registered sex offenders from putting up Halloween decorations or handing out candy to children.
The measure takes effect immediately.
The state attorney general's office lists 2,584 registered sex offenders residing in Riverside County, but the ban applies only to sex offenders in unincorporated areas.
Registered sex offenders will now be banned from answering the door to trick-or-treaters or putting Halloween decorations on their homes between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31 each year.
Beyond that, they will be prohibited from leaving any external lights on between 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Halloween night.
Supervisor Jeff Stone, who introduced the ordinance, noted that the cities of Orange and San Jacinto already have similar measures in place.
The Murrieta Police Department has sent out yearly warnings to sex offenders convicted of crimes against children.
"To avoid any unnecessary allegations of impropriety with minors, I strongly suggest you protect yourself by voluntarily refraining from interacting with the children during the trick-or-treat holiday," the letter from Murrieta Police Chief Mark Wright said last year.
The city of Perris voted down a similar proposal after concerns about civil rights violations were raised.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/riverside-passes-halloween-sex-offender-ban.html
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United Kingdom
Men who use trafficked girls may be prosecuted
As Anti-Slavery Day was marked across the UK yesterday, it was confirmed that prosecutions are being considered against men who unwittingly buy sexual services from human trafficking victims in Northern Ireland.
Consultation is ongoing in Northern Ireland about enforcing legislation which makes it an offence to buy prostitution services from a girl if she is under the control of another person.
And the PSNI is also studying a Swedish model which has dramatically cut down on human trafficking in that country by banning the purchase of all prostitution services – even between consenting adults.
Upper Bann MP David Simpson, who is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking, last night welcomed the news.
“Northern Ireland is becoming more and more exposed to this vile crime and I welcome the PSNI and authorities taking any steps which will help victims,” he said.
“People need to know this is not a victimless crime. There are people being trafficked across the border into Northern Ireland who are the victims of criminal gangs.
“Anything that removes the safety net for those who abuse these victims and serves as protection for them should be welcomed.”
Last month the PSNI attended a conference in Dublin organised by the Immigrant Council of Ireland and anti-trafficking group Ruhama, which involved senior members of the Swedish and Norwegian police forces and the Garda.
The conference organisers argued that a law banning the purchase of all sex would reduce sex trafficking of women and girls right across the island of Ireland. The PSNI has previously acknowledged that the model has been used successfully in Sweden to reduce human trafficking.
A PSNI spokesman told the News Letter afterwards: “We are aware of the proposals made at the conference to change legislation and we are studying them.”
The News Letter can also report that criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland are consulting about enforcing section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act, which came into force last year. It puts the onus on men who purchase sex to determine whether the women they use are operating under duress. The act does not allow a legal defence that the buyer did not know the victim was under the control of another person.
A PSNI spokesman told the News Letter: “There is consultation ongoing between PPS and PSNI through the Organised Crime Task Force on the implementation and enforcement of this legislation. This may involve media campaigns in conjunction with enforcement and prosecution.”
It is understood a variety of techniques can be used to prove a woman is operating under duress, such as tracking marked bank notes given to them which are then found in the possession of their pimp.
Yesterday the Policing Board marked UK Anti-Slavery Day with a commitment to tackle the crime.
“This is a particularly outrageous crime which unfortunately is on the increase,” said spokesman Conall McDevitt MLA. “This is an important issue for the board and we intend to consider human exploitation in more depth in the future.”
Meanwhile, last night volunteers from Craigavon ACT (Active Communities against Trafficking) marked Anti-Slavery Day day by flooding their area with flyers.
Spokeswoman Mel Wiggins said: “The activists are playing their part to inform the public that men, women and children are being recruited and then tricked or forced into exploitation on a street near them. They are joining with other local groups across the country who are acting together on the UK's second official Anti-Slavery Day to make their communities harder for traffickers to hide themselves and their victims in.”
Also yesterday it was revealed that Virgin Atlantic has been the first airline to train cabin crew to spot and report signs of human trafficking on flights.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/men_who_use_trafficked_girls_may_be_prosecuted_1_3164469
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United Kingdom
Children trafficked for 'sex work and drug production'
Some children were trafficked for benefit fraud and domestic slavery Sexual exploitation and cannabis production are the main reasons why children have been trafficked into the UK, according to latest figures.
The information comes in a report by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).
Of the 202 children trafficked so far this year, more than a quarter were intended for sexual exploitation, it found.
Most of the children were aged between 14 and 16.
The report was based on referral data from 1 January until 15 September of this year from the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) and the NSPCC's Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (CTAIL).
Of the victims, figures suggest that females were trafficked more often than males.
The report says children were also trafficked for domestic slavery and for benefit fraud whereby exploiters traffic children into private fostering arrangements in order to claim benefits, or obtain benefits under several fraudulent identities for a child.
The data also shows that:
- 67 children were trafficked from Africa, 29 of whom were from Nigeria, mostly female and were sexually exploited;
- 63 children were identified as being from Asia. The bulk of these were male, from Vietnam and trafficked for labour exploitation and to work on cannabis production farms;
- 50 were trafficked from Eastern Europe, of which nearly half were from Romania and were mainly used for criminal activity such as pickpocketing and shoplifting;
- 22 were from other areas including Western Europe, South America and the Caribbean.
Ceop said voodoo was often used as a way to control and coerce victims from Africa into exploitation.
Victims have said they were forced to take part in witchcraft ceremonies prior to being trafficked from Nigeria. They were then told that they and their family would be cursed or harmed if they do not comply with the instructions of their exploiter or if they do not pay back a debt to their exploiter.
'Slave-like existence'
Ceop said the true number of children trafficked into the UK was unknown because "by its nature, it is an often hidden and covert crime which is difficult to identify".
John Cameron, head of the NSPCC's helpline, said: "The gangs who bring these vulnerable children into the UK are highly organised and ruthless.
"The trafficking is often carried out like a military operation with victims being taken through several countries and passed along a line of criminal 'agents'.
"Even if the children are intercepted by the authorities and put into care they are frequently tracked down again by the people exploiting them and spirited away to a slave-like existence."
He said trafficking was a "considerable problem" which required urgent action from all relevant agencies and urged people to contact their helpline.
Peter Davies, chief executive of Ceop, said: "Child traffickers constantly alter tactics to evade detection so regular assessments are important to identify new ways of entry into the UK, patterns of exploitation and victim experiences so that frontline agencies have the latest understanding."
It is the first time a report using these datasets has been published.
It aims to provide an overview of child trafficking to inform authorities such as police forces and children's services of emerging trends so that potential victims can be recognised.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15352651?print=true
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Florida
Airport airs out dirty laundry: Display to raise awareness of domestic violence
by Katie Tammen
VALPARAISO — The T-shirts come in a variety of colors and designs, but their message remains the same: End domestic violence.
The shirts, which are hung up with clothespins inside Northwest Florida Regional Airport, are part of a campaign called “The Clothesline Project” to not only raise awareness about domestic violence but also start conversations.
“Let's take out the dirtiness in society and kind of air it out for everybody to see,” said Michelle Sperzel, the executive director of Shelter House, the organization behind the T-shirts.
Each of the shirts on display was created as part of an art therapy program for domestic abuse survivors in Okaloosa and Walton counties, she said.
A child-sized T-shirt said “Save the children” and “Love me, don't beat me.” An adult T-shirt told the story of multi-generational abuse and its conclusion.
“My father's father beat him when he was a child. My father beat me when I was a child … my children are my hope, my future, my life,” the shirt said.
Another shirt simply had a handprint with a line through it.
Sperzel said they were able to hang up about 40 shirts in all at the airport but also had more hung up at a gym on County Road 30A where a self-defense course is taught.
“It's all about public awareness and community awareness,” Sperzel said. “We need to talk about it because it's the only way people are going to come forward.”
The shirts at the airport are just the beginning of a larger movement to bring domestic violence into the national spotlight during the month well-known for breast cancer awareness but much less for domestic violence, although the two have shared the month for decades.
Sperzel said they will soon hold a walk/run to help raise awareness about the topic. She encouraged people who are interested in learning more about the organization or in donating to visit the website at www.shelterhousenwfl.org or to call 243-1201.
Shelter House also operates a 24-hour crisis line for domestic violence survivors at 1-800-44-ABUSE or 863-4777.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/laundry-44543-airs-raise.html
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United Kingdom
Child abuse claims at UK madrassas 'tip of iceberg'
by Fran Abrams - BBC News
Children as young as six have reported abuse
Britain's madrassas have faced more than 400 allegations of physical abuse in the past three years, a BBC investigation has discovered.
But only a tiny number have led to successful prosecutions.
The revelation has led to calls for formal regulation of the schools, attended by more than 250,000 Muslim children every day for Koran lessons.
The chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board said he would treat the issue as a matter of urgency.
Leading Muslim figures said families often faced pressure not to go to court or even to make a formal complaint.
A senior prosecutor told the BBC its figures were likely to represent the tip of an iceberg.
Community pressure
BBC Radio 4's File on 4 asked more than 200 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales how many allegations of physical and sexual abuse had come to light in the past three years.
One hundred and ninety-one of them agreed to provide information, disclosing a total of 421 cases of physical abuse. But only 10 of those cases went to court, and the BBC was only able to identify two that led to convictions.
The councils also disclosed 30 allegations of sexual abuse in the Islamic supplementary schools over the past three years, which led to four prosecutions but only one conviction.
The offender in that case was Mohammed Hanif Khan, an imam from Stoke-on-Trent who was imprisoned for 16 years in March this year for raping a 12-year-old boy and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old.
Some local authorities said community pressure had led families to withdraw complaints.
In one physical abuse case in Lambeth, two members of staff at a mosque allegedly attacked children with pencils and a phone cable - but the victims later refused to take the case further.
In Lancashire, police added that children as young as six had reported being punched in the back, slapped, kicked and having their hair pulled.
In several cases, pupils said they were hit with sticks or other implements.
'No justification'
The number of cases appeared to be rising - among those councils which broke down the figures by year, there were 89 allegations of physical abuse in 2009, 178 in 2010 and 146 in the first nine months of this year.
With more than half of Britain's 2.5m-strong Muslim population aged 25 or under, the number of madrassas, where children spend about 10 hours each week learning to recite the Koran in Arabic, is also growing rapidly.
Mohammad Shahid Raza, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, set up by Muslim organisations to improve standards in mosques, said he would now treat the issue as a matter of urgency.
"These figures are very, very alarming and shocking. There is no justification for such punishments within our mosque schools," he said.
"I'm not sure how wide this unacceptable practice is, but our responsibility is to make those who run the mosques realise we live in a civilised society and this is not acceptable at any cost."
Mr Raza said he wanted the issue dealt with through self-regulation, but there are calls for the government to take action.
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, founder of the Muslim Institute think tank, said large numbers of unregulated organisations were opening madrassas across the country - most in mosques but some in garages, abandoned pubs or private homes.
Abuse was far too common, he said.
'Reasonable chastisement'
"We are basically destroying the lives of young people," he said. "Some kind of system must be put in place to ensure that only teaching takes place there, not sexual or physical abuse."
Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor for the North West of England, said he believed the BBC's figures represented "a significant underestimate".
"We have a duty to ensure that people feel confident about coming forward," he said.
"If there is one victim there will be more, and therefore it is essential for victims to come forward, for parents to support them and for criminal justice practitioners to take these incidents seriously."
Corporal punishment is legal in religious settings, so long as it does not exceed "reasonable chastisement".
An official report published last year which called for a legal ban on the practice - and which was accepted by the Labour government just before the general election - has not yet led to any action.
The report's author, Sir Roger Singleton, chair of the Independent Safeguard Authority, said the BBC's figures were worrying and should be investigated further:
"That does lend weight to my view that we're not just dealing with isolated instances," he said. "So I would be quite concerned to understand why the allegations have not resulted in a greater number of prosecutions."
The children's minister, Tim Loughton, declined to be interviewed. But in a statement, the Department for Education said Mr Loughton had met Sir Roger and was considering his recommendations.
"The government does not support the use of physical punishment in schools and other children's settings," it said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15256764?print=true
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U.S. Leads Developed World in Child Abuse Death Rate
October 18, 2011
by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky
The United States leads the developed world in child-abuse deaths, according to the organization
Every Child Matters.
More than 20,000 American children have died over the past decade in their own homes because of family members, with about 75% being under four years of age and nearly half being under one.
The U.S. child-maltreatment death rate is three times higher than
Canada's and 11 times that of
Italy.
The group attributes this unfortunate record to a number of factors, including the U.S.'s higher rates of teen pregnancy, dropping out of high school, violent crimes, imprisonment and poverty.
In addition, Americans are less likely than citizens of other rich countries to have easy access to social services such as child care, parental leave and health insurance.
Some observers also blame the well-intended, but often tragic emphasis in the United States nf keeping families together even if a child may be in danger.
http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/US_Leads_Developed_World_in_Child_Abuse_Death_Rate_111018
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Missouri
Baby Lisa's mother says she was 'drunk' when child vanished
Another day, another twist in the troubling case of Baby Lisa. Make that several twists.
The child's disappearance earlier this month mobilized Kansas City, Mo., law enforcement, and the ensuing investigation has riveted the country. The new details come courtesy of the child's mother, Deborah Bradley, who had been keeping out of the media spotlight in recent days but emerged to drop several bombshells.
For starters, Bradley acknowledges she was drunk -- possibly passed out -- the night her child vanished. She also has altered key elements of the story she previously told police and the media.
The mother, who maintains that she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance, said she knows she will be judged for her actions on that night. But she asked people to set that criticism aside until her daughter is found.
Meanwhile, prominent New York defense attorney Joe Tacopina announced that he's now representing Bradley and the child's father, Jeremy Irwin. "I stand here to ferociously accept their presumption of innocence," he said at a news conference Monday, according to ABC News. Tacopina previously represented late pop icon Michael Jackson in his molestation trial, among other clients.
The 10-month-old Kansas City girl vanished Oct. 4. Her mother had told authorities she tucked the child in about 10:30 p.m. and went to bed. The child's father, Jeremy Irwin, returned home around 3:30 a.m. after a night shift and discovered that the child was missing.
What follows are some of the newest developments, many of which were explored by Fox host Megyn Kelly of "America Live." You can watch the Kelly interview here and here.
-- The mother said she could not recall precisely how much she had to drink the night her daughter disappeared; she likely had more than five glasses of wine, she said, but not as many as 10. She said she might have blacked out.
-- Bradley said she actually put the child to sleep about 6:40 p.m. -- four hours earlier than she originally stated. She said that she could not recall checking on the child again that night but that she might have done so. "Most of the time, I check on her," she said, adding that she knows for certain that she checked on her two sons, ages 6 and 8. "I'm assuming I went and checked on her too."
-- She said she spent the evening drinking wine with a neighbor. "I don't see the problem with me having my grown-up time," she said. She then ticked off the chores and duties she performs around the house, including cleaning, cooking and kissing "boo boos." "There's nothing wrong with me doing what I want to do after dark," she said.
-- Bradley originally said that she does not believe that whoever took the child entered through a side window. Now, she says, she believes that the culprit did indeed enter the home in that way.
-- She told NBC that her sons say they heard noises the night Lisa disappeared but that she does not want them to be interviewed by law enforcement. “I have not sat down and talked to them about it, specifically to not have to put them through anything else,” she said. |
During much of the interview with Kelly, the child's father sat stone-faced. He said, "I really don't have much of a reaction" to how his wife spent that evening. "It doesn't change" the fact that someone kidnapped his child, he said.
The couple pleaded once more for her safe return. "There's a bad guy out there with my baby right now," Bradley said.
Law enforcement officers have aggressively searched the home and nearby wooded areas, and so far have not turned up any evidence that points to a suspect. Members of the Missouri National Guard have been assigned to join FBI agents and officers from several police and sheriff's departments across the state in the search for the infant.
An anonymous $100,000 reward has been posted for the child's safe return or for information leading to a conviction in her disappearance.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/
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'Sesame Street's' YouTube channel briefly showed porn, not Elmo
Not even Sesame Street is safe, it seems.
Over the weekend, "Sesame Street's" YouTube channel was compromised, with hackers going into the channel and substituting X-rated pornography for videos of Elmo, Cookie Monster and assorted celebrities singing about letters and numbers.
Parents, you've heard it before, but we're going to say it again: Don't let the little ones surf the Web unsupervised. In fact, don't even let them watch the Web unsupervised.
The hacking of "Sesame Street" lasted only about 20 minutes before the channel was suspended by YouTube for "repeated or severe violations of community guidelines," according to a report about the incident in the IT security blog Naked Security. The channel is now back online in its original G-rated format, currently featuring an animated video about bullying.
An official statement on the page apologizes for any inconvenience experienced by viewers on Sunday and explains that the channel was temporarily compromised and has since been restored to the original lineup of the best classic "Sesame Street" video clips.
But in the online world, 20 minutes can have long-lasting repercussions.
The story about the incident, which was reported by several news outlets including CNN and Entertainment Weekly, has gone viral -- with many outlets mining humor from the situation with headlines that said “brought to you by the letter X.” But many of the most recent comments on the channel's page decidedly not kid-friendly.
Some people expressed outrage that anyone would hack "Sesame Street's" channel, but a larger percentage seemed disappointed that the porn was taken down. We'll spare you the details of those messages, but we will say they drive home the point that unsupervised Web viewing isn't a good idea -- even if the little ones can't read with much skill yet.
The "Sesame Street" folks suggest that, if you'd like to watch videos with your preschooler in a safe, child-friendly environment, you go to, where else, www.sesamestreet.org
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/
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California
Los Alamitos bans sex offenders from parks and playgrounds
Los Alamitos enacted a law Monday night to ban registered sex offenders from parks and playgrounds where children gather, becoming the latest municipality in Orange County to pass such an ordinance.
The ordinance will take effect 30 days after a second reading by the City Council on Nov. 7, the Orange County district attorney's office said.
Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said in a statement that Los Alamitos has just five registered sex offenders but added that 766 are registered in neighboring Long Beach.
"They are surrounded by dangerous sex offenders," he said of Los Alamitos.
Similar laws have been enacted by Westminster, La Habra and Irvine. The ordinances are modeled after one approved for unincorporated county areas in April by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/
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Pennsylvania
Philly police: Disabled victimized by theft scheme
by MARYCLAIRE DALE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman convicted in the starvation death of a man nearly 20 years ago is facing charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment for allegedly preying on four mentally disabled adults, locking them in a basement and wresting control of their Social Security disability checks.
Linda Ann Weston was charged Monday with kidnapping, false imprisonment and other offenses, with bail set at $2.5 million after her landlord stumbled upon the four adults, all weak and malnourished, in a dank, foul smelling boiler room on Saturday.
Also charged were Eddie "the Rev. Ed" Wright and Gregory Thomas as Philadelphia police and the FBI investigate.
Detectives also found dozens of ID cards, power-of-attorney forms and other documents in the apartment, suggesting the alleged theft scheme involved more than just the four captives.
In 1983, a 13-year-old Philadelphia boy testified that his older sister had beaten another sister's boyfriend with a broomstick and locked him in a closet. The man died of starvation weeks later.
Linda Ann Weston was convicted of murder, but it's not clear from court records how much time she spent in prison.
She's now behind bars in another heinous scheme that echoes the earlier case.
Weston, now 51, is accused of preying on four mentally disabled adults, and locking them in a basement crawlspace in northeast Philadelphia. A landlord found them Saturday, weak and malnourished.
Police suspect Weston and two others were keeping them in squalor while wresting control of their Social Security checks. One victim said he met Weston through an online dating service.
"That was real dirty of (her). That was wrong," Derwin McLemire told KWY-TV on Monday. "I escaped one time to one of the house that we used to live in, of hers, and I didn't get away so they got me."
He and two others told the station they had been on the move for about a year with their alleged captors, traveling from Texas to Florida to Philadelphia.
"They moved them around," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Monday after examining the boiler room-turned-dungeon inside a small apartment house. "Whenever it looked like people knew what was going on, they moved."
The landlord found the victims Saturday morning after he heard dogs barking in the area. He found the door to the foul-smelling room chained shut. Inside, Turgut Gozleveli lifted a pile of blankets to find several sets of human eyes staring back at him. One man was chained to the boiler.
Philadelphia police soon arrested Weston at her daughter's apartment upstairs, along with two other men.
Detectives also found dozens of ID cards, power-of-attorney forms and other documents in the apartment, suggesting the alleged theft scheme involved more than just the four captives.
"Without a doubt. This is just the beginning of this investigation," Lt. Ray Evers said Monday. "She's been out of jail for a period of time, and we think she's being doing this for quite some time."
Exactly how long, how much money the scheme brought in, precisely how the disabled were deceived, and how many people in all were victimized are still unclear, investigators said. The FBI has joined the investigation.
Weston was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and other offenses, with bail set at $2.5 million. Also arrested and jailed were Wright, 50, whom she described as her boyfriend, and 50, and 47-year-old Thomas.
"Talk about preying on the weak and weary," Evers said. "You can't get any lower than this person."
A Florida girl missing from West Palm Beach, where neighbors said the group had come from earlier this month, was also located by police. The girl's mother told WPTV-TV she was friends with the son of one suspect and disappeared around the time one suspect abandoned a home there.
As of Monday, the defendants did not appear to have lawyers.
The victims, a woman and three men, were found in a crawlspace that reeked of urine and was too shallow for an adult to stand up. There were mattresses and blankets, but the only food found was a container of orange juice. The adults shared their space with three dogs.
Gozleveli called police, suspecting they were squatters, then watched as officers and ambulance workers helped them up the steps to the street in a working-class section of the city's Tacony neighborhood.
The victims, ages 29 to 41, had the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, along with some physical disabilities, authorities said. One could barely see.
Neighbors said the defendants and their alleged captives had arrived in an SUV from West Palm Beach, Fla., about two weeks ago, though it does not appear the victims spent the entire time in the basement.
Danyell "Nicky" Tisdale, a block captain in the neighborhood, said that about a week ago, a man and woman and four mentally disabled adults held a yard sale, selling piles of shoes, jackets and other clothing on the sidewalk.
Since the arrests, police have slowly and patiently been trying to elicit information from the alleged captives. All four were treated at hospitals and placed with social service agencies.
The woman had been reported missing by her family in Philadelphia in 2005, police said. One of the men was also from Philadelphia, and a second one from North Carolina. Their relatives were contacted. Police were having trouble finding family members for the fourth victim, 40-year-old Herbert Knowles.
According to an investigative report obtained by The Associated Press, Knowles was reported missing in Norfolk, Va., in December 2008 after a mental health case worker couldn't reach him and family members failed to hear from him.
The case worker reported that Knowles' Social Security checks were going to a Philadelphia address. The report said Philadelphia police went by the address and were told no one there had ever heard of Knowles.
Knowles' government benefits were stopped at one point after his mail was forwarded to Philadelphia, but Weston took the man to a Philadelphia social service agency in 2008 and showed identification, and the checks resumed, Norfolk police said.
Norfolk police spokesman Chris Amos said police did not continue looking for Knowles because as an adult he was under no obligation to report to his case worker.
"It's not illegal to be missing," Amos said. "A lot of people are missing by choice."
Scam artists can get control of a disabled person's checks by visiting the Social Security office with the victim, who then designates the other person to receive the payments, said Nora J. Baladerian, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles and advocate for people with disabilities.
Only if there is a report of suspected abuse would social service agencies enter the picture, she said.
In Florida, Weston and Thomas appeared to live with several disabled adults, including a man and woman who had bruises on their faces, neighbors in a poor section of West Palm Beach said. The woman also had what looked like a large burn mark on her face, neighbor Ronald Bass said.
He said he often heard yelling, apparently from the disabled women, and that police frequently went to the house.
Another neighbor, Sadie Pollard, said she saw bruised lips and other facial injuries on the disabled people, but was told they had been fighting with each other.
Mark Riordan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families, said a search of its databases as well as vital statistics and school records, found no record of the alleged perpetrators, the victims, or the children who lived with them.
"This family has clearly led a nomadic lifestyle and had become quite adept living beneath the radar. Until now," he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbGzFqLeqzu5m1lHl3O9ZUFxoULg?docId=d272df2f32074a28b75aa91d1618696c
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Thomas Lobel wearing a dress and
taking on a more feminine role. |
|
Treatment of transgender boy 'child abuse'
October 18, 2011
Fox News
The lesbian parents of an 11-year-old US boy have taken the controversial step of giving their son hormone blockers to delay puberty after he expressed a desire to become a girl.
California couple Pauline Moreno and Debra Lobel decided to start the hormone blocking therapy after son Tommy decided he wanted to be a girl, according to Fox News.
The treatment will delay the onset of puberty until Tommy — who now goes by the name Tammy — is 14 or 15, giving him more time to explore the female identity he has assumed. |
Moreno and Lobel said their son started to identify as a female from the time he was three, insisting to his parents that he was a girl.
After threatening genital mutilation at the age of seven, Tommy was diagnosed with gender identity disorder by psychiatrists, which ultimately led to the decision to try the hormone therapy.
"He was in his own world just completely detached and that was a problem we always had — getting Thomas to participate in life,' Moreno told the Mail .
"What we saw emerge when Tammy was allowed to be Tammy is, 'Whoa!' It was an immediate transformation. She was so giggly and she was now interacting she was now making it a point to defend herself."
But critics have blasted the move as "child abuse" and say this type of therapy at such a young age could have severe consequences.
"I think that it's highly inappropriate to be interfering with natural hormonal growth patterns,” senior managing health editor Alvarez said on foxnews.com.
"There are significant potential problems necessary for growth and development.
"Potential long-term effects can include other abnormalities of hormones, vascular complications and even potential cancer."
Dr Paul McHugh, professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, agreed with Alvarez.
"This is child abuse. It's like performing liposuction on an anorexic child," he said.
"It is a disorder of the mind. Not a disorder of the body. Dealing with it in this way is not dealing with the problem that truly exists.
"We shouldn't be mucking around with nature. We can't assume what the outcome will be," McHugh told foxnews.com.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8361715
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America's child death shame
Why is the problem of violence against children so much more acute in the US than anywhere else in the industrialised world, asks Michael Petit, President of Every Child Matters.
Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?
Downward spiral
Part of the answer is that teen pregnancy, high-school dropout, violent crime, imprisonment, and poverty - factors associated with abuse and neglect - are generally much higher in the US.
Further, other rich nations have social policies that provide child care, universal health insurance, pre-school, parental leave and visiting nurses to virtually all in need.
In the US, when children are born into young families not prepared to receive them, local social safety nets may be frayed, or non-existent. As a result, they are unable to compensate for the household stress the child must endure.
In the most severe situations, there is a predictable downward spiral and a child dies. Some 75% of these children are under four, while nearly half are under one.
Geography matters a lot in determining child well-being. Take the examples of Texas and Vermont.
Texas prides itself in being a low tax, low service state. Its per capita income places it in the middle of the states, while its total tax burden - its willingness to tax itself - is near the bottom.
Vermont, in contrast, is at the other extreme. It is a high-tax, high-service state.
Mix of risks
In looking at key indicators of well-being, children from Texas are twice as likely to drop out of high school as children from Vermont. They are four times more likely to be uninsured, four times more likely to be incarcerated, and nearly twice as likely to die from abuse and neglect.
Texas spending
- $6.25 billion (£4.01bn) spent in 2007 on direct and indirect costs dealing with after-effects of child abuse and neglect
- $0.05 billion (£0.03bn) budgeted in 2011 for prevention and early intervention
Source: Univ of Houston, TexProtects
In Texas, a combination of elements add to the mix of risks that a child faces. These include a higher poverty rate in Texas, higher proportions of minority children, lower levels of educational attainment, and a political culture which holds a narrower view of the role of government in addressing social issues.
Texas, like many other traditionally conservative states, is likely to have a weaker response to families that need help in the first place, and be less efficient in protecting children after abuse occurs.
The sharp differences between the states raises the question of an expanded federal role.
Are children Texas children first? Or are they first American children with equal opportunity and protection?
Blame parents?
A national strategy, led by our national government, needs to be developed and implemented. For a start, the Congress should adopt legislation that would create a National Commission to End Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.
And no children's programmes should be on the chopping block, federal or state. Children did not crash the US economy. It is both shortsighted economic policy and morally wrong to make them pay the price for fixing it.
But instead as the US economy lags, child poverty soars, and states cut billions in children's services, we are further straining America's already weak safety net.
Inevitably, it means more children will die. The easy answer is to blame parents and already burdened child protection workers. But easy answers don't solve complex problems.
And with millions of children injured and thousands killed, this problem is large indeed, and it deserves a large response.
Michael Petit is the president of Every Child Matters. He served as the state of Maine's human services commissioner, and as deputy of the Child Welfare League of America.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15193530?print=true
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Malta
When child abuse goes online
While the Internet has been a source of significant positive change, it has also created new opportunities for the abuse and exploitation of children and young people through the electronic dissemination of child pornography, including the accessing and distribution of child pornography, and child grooming on the Internet.
How can child abuse happen online?
Indecent images of children, websites dedicated to child pornography, forums discussing ways of how to groom children, sharing of abuse images via peer-to-peer networks - you name it, it happens.
Child indecent images can vary from indecent posing of minors to severe sexual abuse. Trends show that the ages of the victims are getting lower and the abuse is becoming more brutal and severe. In 2010, INHOPE, the European hotline network, received 24,047 reports indicating child sexual abuse material. 71% of these reports were of children younger than puberty age. This number is expected to increase this year as more countries start using the INHOPE reports management system. (INHOPE 2010 annual report).
Some websites are commercial, meaning that the material is hosted for profit and a person has to pay in order to view the content. Others are amateurish and depend on sharing and uploading between users who have a sexual interest in children. Apart from websites, indecent images of children can be exchanged in chat rooms, forums, and peer-to-peer networks. Regardless of the means used to upload, download or access this type of material, it is all illegal. Although the material may not be hosted in Malta, we still hold the responsibility to help stop child abuse.
Online child abuse has devastating consequences for the victims. The scars can be deep and long-lasting. Every time someone views, downloads, shares or publishes a photo or a video of a child who is being exploited for the pleasures of a perpetrator, it is as if the child is being abused again and again.
What can I do, one may ask. If you encounter indecent material showing minors under 18 years of age, while surfing the Internet – visit www.besmartonline.org.mt, click on the ‘Report Abuse' button, and fill in the form with as many details as possible. You can remain anonymous and confidentiality is ensured. It is important to report this type of material; however, you should not actively search for it yourself as this would be illegal.
Reports are assessed by operators of the Maltese hotline, who work in collaboration with the Cyber Crime Unit and INHOPE to block and take down illegal content.
Besmartonline is a project run jointly by the Malta Communications Authority and Agenzija Appogg's Hotline Team. More information about the project is available at www.besmartonline.org.mt
http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=133868
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Oklahoma
Increase in child abuse
ARDMORE, OK - According to a 2009 government report Oklahoma ranks third behind New York and Mississippi in most alleged abuse and neglect in state facilities.
The Oklahoman is reporting the Oklahoma Department of Human Services misrepresented information regarding the number of children abused while in their care, stating that 99.8 percent of children in their care did not experience maltreatment while in DHS care.
The Oklahoman reports in 2009 there were 154 confirmed cases of abuse or neglect in state facilities.
Pontotoc County Sheriff John Christians said there has been an increase in child abuse lately and he hopes educating parents on how to deal with the stress of raising a child would cut down on child abuse.
"There are services available," Sheriff Christian said. "Parents are overstressed I think the economy certainly plays a part in what is occuring."
The Department of Human Services was unable to be reached for a comment.
http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/Increase_in_child_abuse_131951813.html
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California
Oakland confronts child prostitution, sex trafficking
Oakland teenager Daisy Armstrong held the audience at the city's First Unitarian Church captive with her spoken-word performance.
“She makes money any way she knows how,” Armstrong said in a cadence between a croon and a chant, her voice filling the church without help from a microphone. “She just turned 13. Shouldn't know what a naked man looks like.”
That poem, she explained after finishing her recitation to thunderous applause, was based on the experience of a 14-year-old acquaintance who was prostituted on the streets of Oakland.
The audience so moved by her performance was all too familiar with the story Armstrong recounted. They were mostly service providers, but also law enforcement officers, judges and attorneys, and many of them work to stamp out the problem of prostituted children in the city.
They gathered at the church on a recent fall afternoon to listen to Julian Sher, investigative reporter and author of "Somebody's Daughter: The Hidden Story of America's Prostituted Children and the Battle to Save Them." His book is part of a recent trend of attention to the problem of child sex trafficking in the United States.
“Oakland may be the crucible of the problem,” Sher said. “But it may also be the solution.”
A stretch of International Boulevard in East Oakland is notorious as a hub of child sex trafficking.
The Alameda County district attorney's office in 2005 piloted H.E.A.T. Watch, a program aimed at eliminating child sexual exploitation by encouraging collaboration among the community, law enforcement and policymakers and committing to vigorous prosecutions of traffickers. The program received federal funding last year to expand in the Bay Area.
“A lot of the kids that are picked up here are not even from Oakland,” said Nola Brantley, executive director of MISSSEY, an organization devoted to helping victims of child sexual abuse and economic exploitation.
High levels of poverty and other high-priority violent crimes, like murder, make the area a breeding ground for exploitation, Brantley said.
Living in that kind of atmosphere makes children more vulnerable to victimization, Brantley said.
Any child, she stressed, could become a victim of sexual exploitation. The primary risk factor is age, she said. The average age that a child becomes sexually exploited is 12, Brantley said. Pre-adolescents are particularly susceptible to the manipulations of pimps.
The kids who live in neighborhoods like East Oakland, however, are especially vulnerable, Brantley said. Home life in poor neighborhoods can be less stable. Parents of exploited kids tend to have a history of incarceration and drug abuse. Children who are trafficked are likely to have a history of sexual abuse and to have spent their childhoods bouncing around foster homes.
“These kids grow up in an environment where victimization is normal,” Brantley said.
Sher tossed out chilling national numbers on the problem of sexually exploited children at his talk: 61 percent of children who are prostituted were rape victims before they were exploited for money. Fifty-five percent are foster children, and 25 percent were hospitalized for mental health problems.
The extent of the problem of prostituted children in the U.S. was hotly debated after a recent Village Voice article suggested that the number of juvenile arrests for prostitution indicated a problem that was miniscule in scope.
Brantley uses referrals from social services and participation levels in programs for prostituted children, in addition to arrests, to estimate that at least 500 people under the age of 18 were prostituted in Alameda County last year.
That number has doubled since MISSSEY started offering services in 2005, Brantley said, but she attributed the increase to more understanding and reporting of the problem, rather than an uptick in exploited children.
Looking for high numbers of sexually exploited children is the wrong way to define the problem, Sher said.
“The lack of numbers is the answer,” he said. “No one is counting them because they don't count.”
The healing process, helping the girls mend themselves and stay off the street, has both practical and emotional components, part of which is making the girls feel like they count.
At MISSSEY, which is serving 75 children under the age of 18 and admits clients up to age 21, girls get services from assistance with housing to help getting to doctor's appointments. “The goal is self-sustainability to reduce vulnerability,” Brantley said.
But they also get Christmas presents, field trips to places like Half Moon Bay and a drop-in center for girls older than 14, where they are always welcome. “They never have to leave the program,” Brantley said. “They are always part of MISSSEY.”
MISSSEY gives the girls a sense of home, filling in a gap in their lives that might have left them vulnerable to exploitation in the first place.
Even with the focus on sexually exploited children, there are not enough resources to provide needed services, Brantley said, noting that her program is always full. The relative lack of services available to women who were trafficked as children and remained “in the life” after they turned 18 is also a serious problem, advocates say.
Few services exist for adults who were prostituted as children, said Gloria Lockett, executive director of the California Prevention Education Project, or CAL-PEP, a decades-old organization focused on connecting prostitutes and prostituted children with services like HIV testing.
Open-air prostitution contributes to an atmosphere in which children can be sexually exploited, Lockett said.
But the problem of prostitution is also complicated in a way that our focus on child exploitation misses, she added. Some girls – sexually exploited children are mostly girls, advocates and statistics suggest – are driven into sex work because they need the money, not because they are tricked into prostitution, Lockett said.
“The story is more complicated than a relationship between a victim and a pimp,” Lockett said. “There are a lot of reasons why a woman may be a prostitute, besides being forced into it by a man.”
Young girls who come from families in which drug addiction and prison are the norm may become breadwinners, financially responsible for younger siblings as well as themselves.
“We can't take care of them,” Lockett said. “We don't have a house voucher. We don't have a place for them to go. We wish we did.”
“It's always been if they don't make money themselves, there is no one else to take care of them,” she added.
Women prostituted as children may not be willing or able to leave the streets until they are too old for services aimed at people younger than 21, said Lania Watkins, a caseworker at CAL-PEP.
“A young lady I am working with now is 20. She's been in the life since she was 12 years old. She doesn't have any skills,” Watkins said. “It can be discouraging. Once people are adults, there are no services for them.”
The heroine of Sher's book, "Somebody's Daughter," found herself in this precise situation, he said. Maria was raped as a child, ran away from home and was picked up by a pimp, who kept her in his stable of girls. That part of her story fits with the experiences of prostituted children described by experts and advocates.
Maria is remarkable, Sher said, because she went on to help the FBI capture her pimp, who was later convicted of running a sex trafficking ring.
That moment of triumph wasn't the end of her story, however. Unable to earn a living wage in her 20s and with a young child to support, Maria returned to prostitution.
“There are very few adults today working as prostitutes who didn't start off as minors,” Sher said. “They know if they go on the street, their money problem will be solved. Resisting that takes enormous willpower.”
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/oakland-confronts-child-prostitution-sex-trafficking-13097
