The Child Protection eNewsletter

Judges free child molesters…
Is therapy really a better answer for child molesters than throwing them in jail? A Vermont judge thinks so. http://www.wcax.com Judge Edward Cashman, explaining that he no longer believes in punishment, sentenced a child rapist to a 60-day prison sentence so that he can get “treatment”, justifiably sparking public outrage http://www.washtimes.com, http://www.baltimoresun.com and http://www.cnn.com to which Vermont officials have responded by offering treatment while the child rapist is in prison. http://hosted.ap.org

Even in conservative Lancaster County, PA, a judge, David Ashworth, is coming under fire for sentencing a child molester who molested a nine-year-old girl in front of another nine-year-old girl to probation and alcohol counseling. http://local.lancasteronline.com The very next day there was yet another case in which this allegedly conservative judge gave yet another child molester probation.

What is missing here is that almost no child molesters will “recover” with short term therapy. Alcohol does not suddenly make you sexually attracted to eight or nine-year-olds. The point of lengthy prison sentences is to take the offenders off the streets so that they cannot prey on other children. That’s why passing Jessica’s Law, vol3_iss46, vol3_iss30 which includes mandatory prison sentences, is so important.

NYC girl’s death spurs agency review …
A 7-year-old girl found dead in an apartment she shared with five siblings was apparently bound and held captive before her stepfather killed her with a vicious blow to the head. http://www.cnn.com The girl died amid an investigation by the Administration for Children's Services into reports of abuse in the home. The case followed recent reports about troubling holes in the city's safety net for abused children. ACS Commissioner John Mattingly said in a statement he was "deeply disturbed" by the death. He and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city was reviewing how it investigates claims of child abuse. http://hosted.ap.org

In other news…
Exclusive private schools, according to The Washington Post, are warning students and their parents that their online activities may affect not only their safety, but also their academic and professional lives. http://www.msnbc.msn.com For more information on blogging safety, we recommend you visit http://www.blogsafety.com/.

Scientists have been testing a “trauma pill” that, when given after a traumatic event like rape, may make the resulting memories less painful and intense. http://cbs2chicago.com Not everyone would consider such medication an advance in science.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit has criticized as hypocritical an auxiliary bishop's support of giving clergy abuse victims more time to sue. http://hosted.ap.org Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 75, revealed last week that a priest inappropriately touched him while he was a student at a Catholic high school in the mid-1940s. vol4_iss2

Aurora, CO is considering charging sex offenders a $125 fee to register under Megan’s Law. http://www.thedenverchannel.com Most Colorado cities charge about $25 per registration.

A 22-year-old man posing as a 17-year-old member of a European royal family turned out to be a sex offender after an investigation by student reporters for the school newspaper. http://hosted.ap.org He claims he didn’t know having sex with a 14 year old was illegal. The minimum age of consent in any state in the union is 16. Maybe it’s time to bring back (and enforce) those “15 can get you 20” PSA’s.



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