The Child Protection eNewsletter

Supreme Court rejects death penalty for child rapists… 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.  Yahoo news story here

In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion.  His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented.

There has not been an execution in the United States for a crime that did not also involve the death of the victim in 44 years.

The Supreme Court banned executions for rape in 1977 in a case in which the victim was an adult woman.  Forty-five states ban the death penalty for any kind of rape, and the other five states allow it for child rapists.

The case on appeal is the only time a state has sought to execute someone.  Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas allow executions in such cases if the defendant had previously been convicted of raping a child.

The court struggled over how to apply standards laid out in decisions barring executions for the mentally retarded and people younger than 18 when they committed murder.  In those cases, the court cited trends in the states away from capital punishment.

In this case, proponents of the Louisiana law said the trend was toward the death penalty, a point mentioned by Justice Samuel Alito in his dissent.

"The harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapists is grave," Alito wrote. "It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other states that these harms justify the death penalty."

Mayor denies teen pregnancy pact… 

The mayor of Gloucester, Massachusetts said there is no evidence a group of young girls made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together, seeking to dispel an explosive theory put forth by the high school principal.  CBS News story here

"Any planned blood-oath bond to become pregnant–there is absolutely no evidence of," Mayor Carolyn Kirk said Monday after a closed-door meeting with city, school and health leaders.

Conspicuously absent from that meeting was Gloucester High School Principal Joseph Sullivan, who has not responded to repeated requests for comment after he was quoted last week in a Time magazine story saying the girls planned to get pregnant together.  The mayor, who also sits on the school committee, said she was not comfortable having Sullivan at the meeting.

Kirk cited privacy concerns in refusing to answer many questions about the 17 girls who became pregnant this school year–more than quadruple the number who generally become pregnant as the school.

Kirk said she and Superintendent Christopher Farmer have been in touch with Sullivan, and that he was "foggy in his memory" about how he came to believe there was a pact.  "When pressed, his memory failed," Kirk said.

Authorities have talked to school and health officials who work most closely with the children and, Kirk said, "The people that worked with the children on a daily basis have said there has been no mention whatsoever of a pact."

But Time posted a story on its Web site Monday that included new quotes from its earlier interview with Sullivan in which the principal said a lack of access to birth control did not play a part in the surge of pregnancies.  "That bump was because of seven or eight sophomore girls.  They made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together," Time quoted Sullivan as saying.

Time also reported Monday that Pathways for Children chief executive Sue Todd, whose organization runs the high school's onsite daycare center, told the magazine on June 13 that its social worker had heard of the girls' plan to get pregnant as early as last fall.  Todd has not returned calls from The Associated Press.

Whether these pregnancies are the result of a teen pact or not, ABC News investigates why girls might participate in such a scheme.  ABC News story here  Psychological experts say that pacts among teens, adopted for any number of reasons, are actually quite normal.

"Kids make pacts," says Nadine Kaslow, chief psychologist at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and a professor at Emory University's School of Medicine.  "It's kind of a way to feel like a part of an in group.  It gives kids an identity they share."

But in some cases, the stakes are far higher than most parents know.  While some teen pacts are relatively benign agreements, other such arrangements have been shown to involve much more dangerous behaviors–among them drug use and suicide.

"Teen pact behavior–whether to get pregnant or to commit suicide–has the same underlying characteristics," notes Dr. Carole Lieberman, Beverly Hills psychiatrist and a clinical faculty member at UCLA.  "The act the teenagers conjure up together is forbidden and self-destructive, and therefore must be kept secret."

And as with many past instances of teen pacts–such as an April 2007 suicide pact in Australia and another in June of the same year in Ireland–the parents of the teens involved likely had little clue as to what was going on until it was too late.

"The members of the pact develop trust, camaraderie and rebelliousness by sharing this secret," Lieberman says.  "These bonds then impel them to commit the forbidden act that they wouldn't have the courage to do on their own."  "Teenagers who enter into pacts are feeling neglected and estranged from their parents, Lieberman says.  "The teenage years are fraught with challenges to their fragile emotions, so parents need to stay closely involved with their teen's life."

Kaslow agrees that strong parental ties go a long way against the power of teen pacts.  "What you want to do is have a relationship with your kid where they can talk to you about it," she says.  "You want to be close enough to your kids to talk about life and death, about baby-making, about drugs and alcohol."

In other news… 

Southern Baptist Convention leaders are railing against sexual predators, calling upon local churches to drive out anyone accused of sex crimes against children, but a quick Internet search by the Tennessean shows the organization has not cleansed its own Web site.  Full Tennessean article here  An online minister search directory on the Southern Baptist Convention Web site contains the names of at least 10 Baptist ministers convicted of, or indicted on charges related to, sex crimes involving minors–including three in Tennessee.  Allowing those preachers to remain on the ministers directory angers Wade Burleson, an Oklahoma pastor who has pushed the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee to weed out church leaders accused of sexual misconduct.  "This is embarrassing," he said.  "… At least we should have a way to get people off the list."  The Southern Baptist church in the June/July issue of SBC Life features an eight-page pull-out special report on child sexual abuse aimed at urging churches–and assisting them in doing so–to take steps in protecting children from sexual predators.  See vol6_iss42

A UK cleric unleashed a stinging attack on "terrorist" cyberbullies who drove a 13-year-old boy to hang himself because of his love of Emo fashion and music.  Timesonline story here  Canon John Evans, conducting the funeral of Sam Leeson, said online tormentors who hounded him because of his dark clothes and alternative music taste murdered him as surely "as if someone had killed him with a gun".  He called on companies operating social networking sites to take action against the "cowardly" minority of bullies "hiding in the dark", to prevent such tragedies from happening in future.  Those making millions from such sites had a responsibility to tackle online abusers, who he said were "just as bad as those who throw bombs."  Last month the suicide of 13-year-old Hannah Bond, from Kent, was widely linked with her being a follower of Emo, which has drawn criticism for glamorizing pain and death.  Fans of the movement–which means "emotionally hardcore"–later protested outside the offices of the Daily Mail over reports that it encouraged suicide.  For more information on bullying visit eGuide vol1_iss5

Standing 7 feet 3 inches tall and registered as his state's highest-risk type of sex offender, William Baldwin is tough to miss in his Pierce County, Wash., neighborhood.  Full ABC News story here  Wielding a bat, Tammy Lee Gibson, 40, Baldwin's neighbor, found the man and beat him so badly that he needed to go to the hospital before officers arrested him again for failing to register as a Level 3 sex offender at a new address.  He sat in the Pierce County Jail on $20,000 bond–the same jail where Gibson was being held on $15,000 bond.  Gibson faces felony assault and harassment charges tied to the beating, which occurred shortly after Pierce County sheriff's officers distributed fliers notifying residents that Baldwin, 24, had moved into the neighborhood.  Gibson originally told police that Baldwin had molested her daughter but later pulled back the accusation, claiming instead that she had seen Baldwin talking to her 10-year-old daughter last July 4.  The flier from the sheriff's office, she said, made her snap.

A fast-acting 11-year-old armed with a digital camera helped guide police to a man she said tried to lure her from a Denver park into his car.  Full ABC News article here  Mohammed Al Hamdani, 39, was arrested and is being held at the Denver City Jail on suspicion of child enticement, Denver police spokesman John White told ABC News.  Hamdani was identified by Denver police as a would-be kidnapper after they released a photograph taken Saturday by an unidentified girl who claimed that Hamdani approached her at a city park on Saturday.  "At some point, he tried to get this 11-year-old to go with her to his car," White said.  "She was pretty savvy, pretty smart, and was somehow able to convince the suspect to allow her to take his picture."

A 16-year-old girl is a key witness in Texas's effort to pursue criminal charges against members of her polygamist sect, even though she denies investigators' claims that she was abused.  Full AP article here  The girl, a daughter of the sect's jailed prophet, says she's never been married and doesn't have a baby.  She denies church elders are influencing her and wants to fire her lawyer.  The state can't even prove her alleged abuse happened in Texas.  A court filing shows that the girl has been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury Wednesday, the day the panel convenes in Schleicher County, home of a west Texas ranch run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It's not clear what, or whether, criminal indictments of FLDS members may result.  But the girl scheduled to testify Wednesday illustrates that to win indictments, prosecutors may have to overcome the denials of the teens they allege were abused.  Any criminal prosecution on sex charges is likely to be difficult.  The state does have DNA material collected from most YFZ ranch residents to help them sort out family groups after the April 3 raid, and FLDS officials fear the evidence could be used against them in a criminal case.  Texas Child Protective Services said it would turn over the DNA test results to criminal prosecutors if it were subpoenaed by a grand jury or ordered by a court to do so.  Even if they had DNA evidence of abuse, prosecutors would have jurisdictional problems.  Without the cooperation of the sect's teen girls, prosecutors will be unable to determine what state any alleged abuse occurred in.  The sect has homes in Texas, Arizona and Utah and elsewhere.

South Windsor, Connecticut police arrested a local physician and charged him with failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a child, officials said.  Journal Inquirer story here  Dr. Raymond C. Kurker, 54, was charged with failure to report abuse or neglect of a child, police said today.  The child’s mother suspected the child’s biological father of sexually abusing the 5-year-old and reported her suspicions to Kurker, as well as telling him that there was an incident captured on a video recording, Commander Matthew Reed said.  Reed said Kurker told the mother “something was going on,” but agreed not to report his suspicions to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families at the mother’s request.  The mother evidently pleaded with Kurker not to report the incident, Reed said, because she wanted to get more evidence against the father, and he agreed to wait a week.  The law requires certain people to report suspicions of child abuse to DCF, Reed said.  Kurker should not have agreed to the mother’s request, Reed said, but should have reported the incident immediately.  Reed said Kurker said he did call DCF and reported the incident in a timely manner as required by law, despite the mother’s request; however, DCF has no record of receiving the call, Reed said, and Kurker doesn’t remember the name of the person he spoke with.

Also, a North Fort Myers, Florida High School teacher has been charged with not reporting child abuse after a 14-year-old student told him in mid-May that Ruben Dario Deleon was sexually assaulting her.  News-Press article here  The teacher, Eric Zuspann, did not notify the Florida Department of Children and Families, according to a Lee County sheriff’s report.  That report also shows that once DCF did learn of the abuse May 20, it failed to notify law enforcement.  DCF asked Deleon, 32, to leave the house on Winsome Road when it learned of the abuse, but he returned two days later, May 22, and fatally shot his wife, Jeannette Deleon, 35, in front of the 14-year-old, sheriff’s reports say.  He then pistol-whipped the girl, fracturing her skull and breaking her fingers.  “The first time we heard about this was when the 911 call came in,” said Lieutenant Tammey Gray.  The charges Deleon faces include a count of premeditated murder and sexual battery on someone younger than 18, according to court records.  The day after the shooting, the girl told the Child Protection Team that Deleon had started sexually abusing her when she was 9, the report said.  The girl also said Deleon blamed her for her mother’s death because she’d told her about the abuse.

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