CNN photo of Thatcher with ‘pedophile’ Jimmy Savile, Child Abuse in China, National Child Abuse Prevention Month – Obama

- Conservatives outraged over CNN photo of Thatcher with ‘pedophile’ Jimmy Savile
- Jimmy Savile sought Margaret Thatcher Stoke Mandeville help
- Spare the rod, please (China)
- National Child Abuse Prevention Month – Obama

Conservatives outraged over CNN photo of Thatcher with ‘pedophile’ Jimmy Savile By David Edwards  Monday, April 8, 2013

Conservative supporters Margaret Thatcher expressed outraged on Monday after CNN marked the death of the the former British prime minister by airing a photo of her with former BBC television presenter Jimmy Savile, a suspected pedophile.

In a CNN Starting Point segment soon after the news of Thatcher’s death broke on Monday, the morning show displayed the black and white photo of Thatcher and Savile appearing together at an event in the 1980s to support the NSPCC children’s charity. CNN showed the photo at least four times during the five-minute segment.

Scotland Yard announced that in 2012 that it had launched an investigation about a year after Savile’s death in October 2011 into allegations that he had sexually abused hundreds of children.

Wall Street Journal Social Media Editor Neal Mann noted on Twitter that CNN “obviously didn’t get the memo” when it ran the photo of Thatcher with Savile.

“That is the picture CNN chose to run for Margaret Thatcher’s obituary? A pedophile?” Michelle Malkin’s Twitchy website asked, accompanied by a list of tweets by conservatives slamming CNN’s decision….

video from CNN’s Starting Point, broadcast April 8, 2013. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/08/conservatives-outraged-over-cnn-photo-of-thatcher-with-pedophile-jimmy-savile/

Jimmy Savile sought Margaret Thatcher Stoke Mandeville help
27 December 2012

Jimmy Savile met Margaret Thatcher several times to get support for his Stoke Mandeville Hospital appeal, newly released government papers show.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20797726

Spare the rod, please
Apr 3rd 2013 by C.S.-M.  BEIJING
….In 2005 the All-China Women’s Federation, a state-controlled body, issued a report on child abuse that was sponsored by UNICEF. It found that almost half of current university students had suffered physical abuse as children, from a sample of 3,500 who were surveyed. The violence they had suffered often took place in schools, where teachers were the principal perpetrators. There are no reliable nationwide statistics on the frequency child abuse in China. But the number of reports that appear in the state press—and are disseminated widely by social media—demonstrates a growing awareness of the practice. And with the awareness, a new intolerance for it; attitudes towards corporal punishment are changing. The practice now looks to many like a real problem.

The spread of “black” or unregistered kindergartens is partly to blame. China’s preschool capacity has been stretched thin and reputable kindergartens have become unaffordable for many families. (The teacher pictured above is working as a volunteer, with the children of migrant workers who cannot afford private tuitions.) Many schools cut costs by hiring untrained and unlicensed teachers….

Despite their being condemned by public opinion, even serial wrongdoers often walk free. The police detained Ms Yan but then she was released without charge. Critics say China’s laws for protecting children are flawed in that they refer only to abuse by the family, not by teachers or anyone else for that matter. Prosecutors must also prove that physical harm has been done—which means that any and all abusive acts that cause no lasting, visible damage go unpunished. To fix this, the Shanghai Women’s Federation has proposed that China’s legislative body, the National People’s Congress, introduce a definition of child abuse into the criminal code. In the uproar that followed Ms Yan’s release more than 20,000 “netizens” participated in a straw poll in order to vote in favour of a prohibition on child abuse….
http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/04/child-abuse

National Child Abuse Prevention Month – Obama
By Daniel S Friedlander, Friedlander Communications, Ltd., Community Contributor
April 8, 2013

Proclamation by United States President Barack Obama and statement by Terri Zenner Greenberg, executive director of CASA Lake County (Court Appointed Special Advocates) on April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Proclamation by President Barack Obama, President of the United States:

America is a country where all of us should be able to pursue our own measure of happiness and live free from fear. But for the millions of children who have experienced abuse or neglect, it is a promise that goes tragically unfulfilled. National Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time to make their struggle our own and reaffirm a simple truth: that no matter the challenges we face, caring for our children must always be our first task….

Our Government shares in that obligation, which is why my Administration has made addressing child abuse a priority. Since I took office, we have advocated for responsible parenting and invested in programs that can give our sons and daughters a strong start in life. I was also proud to sign measures into law that equip State and local governments with the tools to take on abuse, like the CAPTA Reauthorization Act and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act….
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/northbrook/community/chi-ugc-article-national-child-abuse-prevention-month-obama-3-2013-04-08,0,4813927.story

Retired Teacher: School Officials Knew About Sexual Abuse, Did Nothing, Parents sue Grain Valley School District after teacher’s abuse

Retired Teacher: School Officials Knew About Sexual Abuse, Did Nothing

Carol Buchanan tried to come forward in the 1990s, but was punished for it

By Cheryl Hurd   Friday, Mar 29, 2013
Carol Buchanan is a retired teacher who taught in the Moraga School District.

Now she may become best known as a whistleblower in the sexual abuse case involving now University of California at Berkeley swim coach, Kristen Cunnane.

“Why didn’t somebody listen? What else could I have done?” Buchanan asked.  “I do feel guilty in hindsight.  If this happened today, there would be no problem.  I would immediately go to (Child Protective Services).”

Buchannan said in the 1990s, students told her that a popular science teacher, Dan Witters, was sexually abusing them, and she complained to administrators

She says the district wasn’t responding to her complaints and, after a 25-year career with the  district, she wasn’t fired — but they strongly suggested that she take a leave of absence.

She did.

Buchanan says she felt vindicated when Cunnane publicly came forward last year. She was a middle school student decades ago, and is now a 30-year-old swim coach at UC Berkeley….

A recent article written about Buchannan’s allegation pointed out hat it failed to find documents to corroborate her story but superintendent Bruce Burns says the district is still looking.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Retired-Teacher-Schools-Officials-Knew-About-Sexual-Abuse-Did-Nothing-200555861.html

Parents sue Grain Valley School District after teacher’s abuse
March 29, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. —  Attorneys for the parents of a girl allegedly abused by a teacher in the Grain Valley School District filed a lawsuit against the district principal, superintendent, and other school officials, alleging they did not take appropriate action against Matthew Nelson.

Nelson, formerly a teacher at Prairie Branch Elementary School, was arrested in January 2012 and later pleaded guilty to 10 counts of child molestation, five counts of statutory sodomy and one count of attempted child molestation for incidences dating back to August 2008. The crimes involved children under 14 years of age, some under the age of 12.

The lawsuit states the Grain Valley superintendent and assistant superintendent, along with the former and current principal of Prairie Branch Elementary failed to take action against Nelson even though they had knowledge of prior inappropriate contact by Nelson against at least one other student.

In a letter sent home to parents in February 2012, district superintendent Dr. Roy Moss said that someone first filed an anonymous report on teacher Matthew Nelson in 2008, and that the district investigated the allegations with the limited information that they had at the time….
http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/29/parents-sue-grain-valley-school-district-after-teachers-abuse/

Senior LAUSD officials knew of child abuse claims, lawyers say

Senior LAUSD officials knew of child abuse claims, lawyers say March 21, 2013

Senior LAUSD officials were allegedly aware of parent complaints in 2009 about a Wilmington teacher who was charged in January with abusing children over an extended period of time, say attorneys who represent alleged victims.

The latest allegations concern the case of Robert Pimentel, 57, who has been charged with molesting 12 students at De La Torre Elementary School. Pimentel has pleaded not guilty.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials had previously acknowledged Pimentel’s principal was aware of allegations in 2002 and 2008. The principal’s alleged failure to act was cited as reason for her removal by L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy. Both Pimental and Principal Irene L. Hinojosa resigned as the district was preparing to fire them.

The superintendent said in January that he did not know whether allegations against Pimental went higher than the principal.

On Thursday, attorneys alleged the allegations reached senior officials, namely Holly Priebe-Diaz, a veteran district mediator, and Linda Del Cueto, who oversees instructional programs in the San Fernando Valley. In 2009, she was one of eight top regional administrators across the nation’s second-largest school system.
According to accounts by the attorneys, Priebe-Diaz and Del Cueto were involved in a mediation to settle conflicts between parents and Hinojosa. As they worked through various issues, one parent asserted Pimentel had touched her daughter inappropriately and the principal had failed to follow up appropriately. Another parent who was present has corroborated that account, said attorney Luis Carrillo….

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/senior-district-officials-knew-of-child-abuse-allegations-attorneys-claim.html

Los Angeles Archdiocese Is Accused of Failing to Release All Abuse Records, Kesgrave/Stowmarket: Inquiries into historic child abuse allegations at three former schools, Ireland finally admits state collusion in Magdalene Laundry system

Los Angeles Archdiocese Is Accused of Failing to Release All Abuse Records
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and JENNIFER MEDINA February 4, 2013

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles released 12,000 pages of internal files last Thursday on priests accused of sexually abusing children, saying that it was finally abiding by a settlement it signed with victims six years ago to make the painful history public.

But it now appears that the files the church released with much fanfare are incomplete and many are unaccounted for, according to the abuse victims’ lawyers. In addition, on many documents the names of church supervisors informed of abuse allegations were redacted by the archdiocese, in apparent violation of a judge’s order.

At issue is whether the survivors of abuse and the public will ever learn which church officials were responsible for mishandling or covering up allegations of sexual abuse.

Abuse victims had insisted that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles release the records as part of a settlement in 2007, which provided $660 million to more than 500 victims. Other Catholic dioceses that have settled with victims have released similar records.

“We know we have not gotten a complete disclosure,” said Jeff Anderson, who is among the lawyers representing the victims. “They have removed things that should not have been removed, some of which we have seen before, so we know that they exist. It’s more deception, deceit and secrecy.”

But J. Michael Hennigan,  a lawyer for the Los Angeles Archdiocese, said in an interview that while there were probably a few errors, there was no intention to withhold information.

“I would be surprised if we did this job perfectly,” he said. “The team that worked on this worked under pressure sometimes late into the night.”

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles fought for six years all the way to the State Supreme Court to block the release of the documents. Early in January, Judge Emilie H. Elias overturned a previous decision, and ordered the archdiocese to lift the redactions of the names of certain kinds of officials: archbishops and bishops, vicars for clergy members and directors of treatment facilities, as well as pastors, “church agents” or employees who had supervisory responsibility over an accused priest and were made aware of complaints or suspicions about him.

But on many pages it appears that the names of supervisors, like pastors in parishes or the supervisors of religious orders, are missing.

For example, the file on Carlos Rodriguez, a priest serving in a parish in Central Los Angeles, includes a letter to him from his religious order, the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, informing him that he is being sent to a treatment center in Maryland. Mr. Rodriguez was accused of molesting several teenage boys over the years. But while the letter makes clear that the writer is the priest’s religious superior, the name is redacted. Other documents in the file are similarly missing names of religious order supervisors….
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/us/los-angeles-archdiocese-is-accused-of-failing-to-release-all-priest-abuse-records.html

 

Kesgrave/Stowmarket: Inquiries into historic child abuse allegations at three former schools
Colin Adwent Crime Correspondent Monday, February 4, 2013

THREE former Suffolk schools are now at the centre of criminal investigations into historic child abuse allegations.

The accusations, which relate to alleged physical and sexual assaults, are said to have occurred between the late 1970s and run through to the 1990s.

A solicitor representing ex-pupils of one of the schools – Oakwood School in Stowmarket – has said the number of claimants has reached three figures.

Andrew Grove, who is based in Cambridge, said: “We now have 100 complainants on the civil claim relating to Oakwood School.”

Last week detectives said they were re-opening the 1992 inquiry into alleged abuse at Kesgrave Hall independent school.

The investigation, codenamed Operation Garford, comes after former students’ calls for it to be re-opened were backed by Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter.

Responding to the new inquiry, Dr Poulter said: “I am pleased that Suffolk Police are conducting a full and thorough investigation into the alleged child abuse at Kesgrave Hall school, following my intervention.

“A number of people have written to me raising concerns about abuse when they or their family members were pupils at the school, and I would again urge anyone who has been the victim of abuse to come forward and immediately contact Suffolk police.”

Four people were suspended in 1992 during the Kesgrave Hall inquiry. No charges were ever brought. The school closed in 1993.

However, a woodwork teacher Alan Stancliffe, was convicted and jailed in 1999 and again in 2007 for indecent assaults on three ex-pupils….
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/kesgrave_stowmarket_inquiries_into_historic_child_abuse_allegations_at_three_former_schools_1_1857903

 

Ireland finally admits state collusion in Magdalene Laundry system

Taoiseach Enda Kenny fails to formally apologise for involvement over female enslavement causing more outrage
Henry McDonald in Dublin     The Guardian, Tuesday 5 February 2013

After more than seven decades of exploitation and a 10-year struggle for justice, Ireland on Tuesday admitted its role in the enslavement of thousands of women and girls in the notorious Magdalene Laundry system, but stopped short of issuing a formal apology from the government.

A long-awaited report headed by Senator Martin McAleese said there was “significant state involvement” in how the laundries were run – a reversal of the official state line for years, which insisted the institutions were privately controlled and run by nuns.

But the Irish Premier Enda Kenny’s failure to give the women and their supporters a full, formal, public apology in the Dail on Tuesday afternoon has infuriated the victims and their supporters, who said such an approach risked undermining Ireland’s attempt to right a historic wrong. Instead Kenny stated his “regret” about the stigma hanging over the women.

“The stigma that the branding together of all the residents, all 10,000, in the Magdalene Laundries, needs to be removed, and should have been removed long before this,” Kenny said. “And I really am sorry that that never happened, and I regret that it never happened.”

Claire McGetterick of the Justice For Magdalenes group said last night: “Frankly their country has failed them again”.

Labelled the “Maggies”, the women and girls were stripped of their names and dumped in Irish Catholic church-run laundries where nuns treated them as slaves, simply because they were unmarried mothers, orphans or regarded as somehow morally wayward.

Over 74 years, 30,000 women were put to work in de facto detention, mostly in laundries run by nuns. At least 988 of the women who were buried in laundry grounds are thought to have spent most of their lives inside the institutions….
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/05/ireland-magdalene-laundry-system-apology

School abuse victim $23m damages, Savile 450 alleged victims, Epigenetics and Stress

School abuse victim wins $23 million in damages
By Melissa Pamer, NBCLosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES — A former student in Los Angeles was awarded $23 million in damages Tuesday for sexual abuse he endured at the hands of his elementary school teacher.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated for less than five hours before finding in favor of the teen.

The lawsuit, filed on his behalf in October 2009, concerned abuse by Forrest Stobbe, the boy’s fifth-grade teacher at Queen Anne Elementary School in the Mid-Wilshire area.

Stobbe was sentenced to 16 years in prison after pleading no contest to criminal charges in the case in 2011. He had been arrested in 2010, when he was 39….

Stobbe abused the boy 10 to 15 times in the classroom during the 2008-9 school years, and another five times during the summer of 2009, according to Estey.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/19/16014572-school-abuse-victim-wins-23-million-in-damages

Jimmy Savile abuse: Number of alleged victims reaches 450  12 December 2012

Police have confirmed that the number of alleged sex abuse victims of the late Jimmy Savile has reached 450.

The Operation Yewtree team said 589 alleged victims have come forward during their investigation of offences committed by Savile and others.

Of the alleged victims, 82% were female and 80% were children or young people.

Meanwhile, police have set up Operation Fairbank to investigate allegations by Labour MP Tom Watson of a paedophile ring in high places.

Mr Watson said in October that police should investigate claims of a “powerful paedophile ring” linked to a previous prime minister’s “senior adviser” and Parliament.
‘Exploited his position’

Savile, who died last year aged 84, was a Radio 1 DJ and the presenter of the Jim’ll Fix It show on BBC One.

Operation Yewtree, which launched 10 weeks ago, has a team of 30 officers and has so far cost about £2m.

Police said on Wednesday they have recorded 199 alleged crimes in 17 police force areas against Savile.

They said they had recorded 31 allegations of rape against Savile in seven force areas.

Met Police Commander Peter Spindler, head of Operation Yewtree, said: “Savile’s offending peaked in the 70s and what we can show, or will be showing in the New Year, is how he used his position in society across the country – the crimes relate to 17 different police force areas – how he exploited this position to get his sexual gratification.”

BBC home affairs correspondent Matt Prodger says the level of allegations against Savile – 450 in total – is unprecedented – never before have police received that number of allegations against a single person.

Our correspondent says he believes the police have a total of 20 suspects whom they wish to interview. They have interviewed seven people in total – six of whom were arrested.

Police are looking at three strands within their inquiry – claims against Savile, those against Savile and others, and those against others only….

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20697738

‘I’m staying put’: Esther Rantzen claims she will remain child abuse charity patron after claims she ignored warnings over Jimmy Savile

Rantzen is a patron of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood
Child abuse campaigner Shy Keenan says she warned Rantzen about paedophile rumours but Rantzen strenuously denies this
Television presenter faces accusations that she failed to act on information
ChildLine founder says she cannot remember the incident and denies that Jimmy Savile’s name was ever mentioned
Department of Health launches inquiry about why Savile was appointed to ‘taskforce’ overseeing management of Broadmoor hospital
Rantzen said today she would remain as patron of child abuse charity, despite founder claiming trustees would discuss if she was still appropriate

By Anna Edwards, Alex Ward and Larisa Brown
15 October 2012

Esther Rantzen has strenuously denied rumours she is facing the sack as patron of a child abuse charity after she failed to act on allegations that Jimmy Savile molested youngsters….

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2217149/Im-staying-Esther-Rantzen-claims-remain-child-abuse-charity-patron-claims-ignored-warnings-Jimmy-Savile.html

Jimmy Savile abuse allegations: Timeline
2 November 2012 Allegations of sexual abuse by Sir Jimmy Savile continue to emerge after ITV broadcasts an investigation on 3 October. This timeline charts the presenter’s rise to fame, the claims against him and subsequent action by police and broadcasters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19921658

Genes and Immune System Shaped by Childhood Poverty, Stress
Oct. 18, 2012 — A University of British Columbia and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) study has revealed that childhood poverty, stress as an adult, and demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity, all leave an imprint on a person’s genes. And, that this imprint could play a role in our immune response.

The study was published last week in a special volume of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that looks at how experiences beginning before birth and in the years after can affect the course of a person’s life.

Known as epigenetics, or the study of changes in gene expression, this research examined a process called DNA methylation where a chemical molecule is added to DNA and acts like a dimmer on a light bulb switch, turning genes on or off or setting them somewhere in between. Research has shown that a person’s life experiences play a role in shaping DNA methylation patterns.

The research team discovered that childhood poverty, but not socioeconomic status as an adult, was correlated with the marks or methylation patterns left on genes.

“We found biological residue of early life poverty,” said Michael Kobor, an associate professor of medical genetics at UBC, whose CMMT lab at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) led the research. “This was based on clear evidence that environmental influences correlate with epigenetic patterns.”….

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121018123052.htm

L. L. Lam, E. Emberly, H. B. Fraser, S. M. Neumann, E. Chen, G. E. Miller, M. S. Kobor. Factors underlying variable DNA methylation in a human community cohort. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; 109 (Supplement_2): 17253 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1121249109

http://www.pnas.org/content/109/suppl.2/17253

 

Elmo actor faces sex abuse claim from fourth accuser, Abuses at infamous Florida boys reform school even more widespread, report says, Merzbacher victim: Archdiocese has much to answer for

Elmo actor faces sex abuse claim from fourth accuser
By Courtney Hazlett, TODAY  12/10/12

A fourth man is accusing Kevin Clash, the puppeteer and actor who for many years portrayed “Sesame Street” character Elmo, of sexual abuse.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Miami, the accuser — using the name John Doe — claims that Clash befriended him in late 1995 or early 1996, when Doe was 16 or 17. In 1996, he says, Clash flew him from Miami to New York at Clash’s expense. It was during Doe’s stay in New York that the abuse allegedly happened.

In a statement, the victim’s attorney Jeff Herman said, “According to our lawsuit, Kevin Clash knowingly paid to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of satisfying his sexual interests.”

Herman also represents two other men who’ve accused Clash of sexual abuse: second accuser Cecil Singleton and the third accuser, who is also using the name John Doe.
http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/12/10/15819226-elmo-actor-faces-sex-abuse-claim-from-fourth-accuser

Abuses at infamous Florida boys reform school even more widespread, report says
By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News 12/10/12

Scientists have found 19 previously unknown grave shafts on the grounds of a notorious Florida reform school, suggesting that many more boys died there amid brutal conditions than had previously been known, the researchers said Monday.

The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, which was also known as the Florida State Reform School, closed in June 2011 after state investigators and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division confirmed widespread abuse over many decades.

The state attributed its decision to close the school to budgetary reasons. Yet long before then, the institution had been the target of investigations and lawsuits alleging not only physical and mental abuse but also forced labor, rape and even murder of the young charges sent to its care since it opened in 1900.

The prominent writer Roger Dean Kiser, author of “The White House Boys — An American Tragedy,” about the horrors he experienced while incarcerated there in the 1950s as a child, has called the school a “concentration camp for little boys.”….

They’re called the White House Boys because much of the abuse occurred in an 11-room building on the school grounds known as the White House, where former students say they were beaten with leather straps. A group of the former students sued the state in 2010, but the case was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired….

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/10/15823192-abuses-at-infamous-florida-boys-reform-school-even-more-widespread-report-says

Documentation of the Boot Hill Cemetary (8JA1860), at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, Marianna, Florida
http://goo.gl/KYqJo http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/NEWS/AJDocs/20121210_DozierSchoolReport.pdf

Merzbacher victim: Archdiocese has much to answer for

December 6, 2012

Regarding Baltimore Archdiocese Vice-Chancellor Sean Caine’s recent letter justifying the church’s response to allegations of child sexual abuse, I am glad that in 1993 Maryland’s attorney general made it clear that all abuse cases should be reported (“Archdiocese acted responsibly,” Dec. 2). So much for the Catholic Church being a moral leader.

When I returned to the archdiocese in 1993 to again report the abuse I had suffered, it was through Fr. William Mannion. At that point I had been in touch with 17 other victims of John Merzbacher.

I was never contacted directly by the diocese. Instead I was sent a message from the diocese through Fr. Mannion: “The diocese is going to contact the police and give them your name only.” Eventually I and the other victims reached out to an attorney, who contacted the Baltimore City police. They reported the crimes to the state’s attorney’s office.

The archdiocese knew full well of my fear of contacting the police on my own after the death threats I had received at gunpoint from Mr. Merzbacher. Nor did the diocese contact any other former Catholic Community Middle School students during this time.

For seven years after the trial of Mr. Merzbacher I wrote repeatedly to Cardinal William Keeler and the superintendent of Catholic Schools asking that Eileen Weisman be removed from her position as principal of the Cathedral School. It was only after I contacted the head of the lay board that action was finally taken to remove Ms. Weisman from her position. It wasn’t until seven years after the Merzbacher trial that she was forced to resign, and not only did the diocese allow her to retire but stood by while the parents at the school collected money to dedicate a playground in her name….
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-abuse-archdiocese-20121206,0,7429725.story

A Critic at Large – In Plain View How child molesters get away with it

A Critic at Large – In Plain View
How child molesters get away with it.
by Malcolm Gladwell September 24, 2012

In a 2001 book, “Identifying Child Molesters,” the psychologist Carla van Dam tells the story of a young Canadian elementary-school teacher she calls Jeffrey Clay. Clay taught physical education. He was well liked by his students, and often he asked boys in his class to stay after school, to do homework and help him with chores. One day, just before winter break, three of the boys made a confession to their parents. Mr. Clay had touched them under their pants. The parents went to the principal. He confronted Clay, who denied everything. The principal knew Clay and was convinced by him…..

“We weren’t really prepared to call the police and make it into a police investigation,” one of the mothers told van Dam. “It was an indiscretion, as far as we were concerned at this point. It was all vague: ‘Well, he put his hands down there.’ And, ‘Well, it was inside the pants, but fingers went to here.’ We were all still trying to protect Mr. Clay’s reputation, and the possibility this was all blown up out of proportion and there was a mistake.”

The families then learned that there had been a previous complaint by a child against Clay, and they took their case to the school superintendent….

The allegations against Clay, he thought, were simply the result of the fact that he was “young and energetic.” Clay threatened to sue. The parents dropped their case. Clay was a man repeatedly accused of putting his hands down the pants of young boys. Parents complained. Superiors investigated. And what happened? The school psychologist called him a victim of hysteria…..

We now know what Sandusky was really doing with the Second Mile. He was setting up a pipeline of young troubled boys. Just as important, though, he was establishing his bona fides. Psychologists call this “grooming”—the process by which child molesters ingratiate themselves into the communities they wish to exploit. “Many molesters confirmed that they would spend anywhere from two to three years getting established in a new community before molesting any children,” van Dam writes. One pedophile she interviewed would hang out in bars, looking for adults who seemed to be having difficulties at home. He would lend a comforting ear, and then start to help out….

The pedophile is often imagined as the dishevelled old man baldly offering candy to preschoolers. But the truth is that most of the time we have no clue what we are dealing with. A fellow-teacher at Mr. Clay’s school, whose son was one of those who complained of being fondled, went directly to Clay after she heard the allegations. “I didn’t do anything to those little boys,” Clay responded. “I’m innocent. . . . Would you and your husband stand beside me if it goes to court?” Of course, they said. People didn’t believe that Clay was a pedophile because people liked Clay—without realizing that Clay was in the business of being likable….

This is standard child-molester tradecraft. The successful pedophile does not select his targets arbitrarily. He culls them from a larger pool, testing and probing until he finds the most vulnerable. Clay, for example, first put himself in a place with easy access to children—an elementary school. Then he worked his way through his class. He began by simply asking boys if they wanted to stay after school. “Those who could not do so without parental permission were screened out,” van Dam writes. Children with vigilant parents are too risky. Those who remained were then caressed on the back, first over the shirt and then, if there was no objection from the child, under the shirt. “The child’s response was evaluated by waiting to see what was reported to the parents,” she goes on. “Parents inquiring about this behavior were told by Mr. Clay that he had simply been checking their child for signs of chicken pox. Those children were not targeted further.” The rest were “selected for more contact,” gradually moving below the belt and then to the genitals….

Sandusky started with wrestling, to make physical touch seem normal. In the shower, the boy initially turned on a showerhead a few feet from Sandusky. Sandusky told him to use the shower next to him. This was a test. The boy complied. Then came the bear hug. The boy’s back was touching Sandusky’s chest and his feet touched Sandusky’s thigh. Sandusky wanted to see how the boy would react. Was this too much too soon? The boy felt “weird” and “uncomfortable.” Sandusky retreated. The following week, Sandusky showed up at the boy’s home, circling back to test the waters once again. How did the boy feel? Had he told his mother? Was he a promising lead, or too risky?….

Horsing around in the shower? That was Jerry being Jerry. It did not occur to them that the goofy, horseplaying Sandusky they thought they knew was another of Sandusky’s deceptions. Those who put all their ingenuity and energy into fooling us usually succeed. That is the lesson of a world-class swindler like Bernard Madoff, and of Donald Silva, in his parents’ bed with a ten-year-old boy and the woman he later married—not to mention Jeffrey Clay. Clay, van Dam writes, got his teaching certificate reactivated. He went on to teach the handicapped and take foster children into his home. “Needless to say,” she adds, “his expertise, enthusiasm, and exceptional generosity to those who are needy has been very much appreciated by the community in which he now lives.” Tim Curley and Gary Schultz currently face criminal charges. Graham Spanier was forced out of office last November, a few days after the grand-jury indictment of Sandusky was released…. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/09/24/120924crat_atlarge_gladwell

Child Abuse Concerns Spur Federal Takeover at North Dakota Indian Reservation
September 17, 2012 by Sarah Childress

The Bureau of Indian Affairs said Monday that it will take control of social services on a North Dakota reservation, amid concerns from federal officials that the tribe’s mismanagement of the agency led to the abuse of children on the reservation.

The reservation, home to the Spirit Lake tribe, a group of roughly 6,600 people living in a remote area of the northern United States, has been under scrutiny since August 2011, when federal officials from the bureau began working with tribal authorities to improve child safety after the local BIA office reported “serious deficiencies” at the agency. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/biographies/kind-hearted-woman/child-abuse-concerns-spur-federal-takeover-at-north-dakota-indian-reservation/

Former Pacoima teacher pleads no contest to molesting 13 students

Former Pacoima teacher pleads no contest to molesting 13 students

Paul Chapel III, a former third-grade teacher at Pacoima’s Telfair Elementary, faces 25 years to life in prison, the L.A. County district attorney’s office says.

By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times

August 21, 2012

A former Telfair Elementary teacher pleaded no contest Monday to molesting 13 students at the Pacoima school and faces 25 years to life in prison, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

As a preliminary hearing was to begin for Paul Chapel III, he pleaded no contest to 13 counts of lewd acts on a child, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Elena Abramson.

“They were all students at Telfair, aged 8 and 9…. Some of them were students in his class and others he met outside the classroom in breaks or after school,” Abramson said. The molestations of seven females and six males occurred from September 2006 to April 2011.

Prosecutors last fall charged Chapel, 51, with molesting four students. Los Angeles Unified school officials waited until February to tell parents about the third-grade teacher’s arrest, however, doing so after two teachers at Miramonte Elementary School accused of molestation were arrested and reporters questioned the district about other teachers removed for similar accusations.

The school district fired Chapel in March. In May prosecutors charged him with molesting nine additional students. Some of the victims were in San Fernando Superior Court on Monday, prepared to testify.

Lawsuits filed by two of the victims against the school district say Chapel kissed the children and fondled their genitals.

Court documents alleged that the district ignored repeated complaints about Chapel and allowed him to return to work despite several red flags in his history. He had previously left a private school after allegedly making inappropriate remarks during a sex education class. He was tried but not convicted in a 1997 alleged molestation….
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0821-teacher-abuse-20120821,0,7075525.story

Luis Walker, Air Force Staff Sgt., Faces Sentencing For Rape, Assault, Chile investigating 61 schools for child sex abuse

Luis Walker, Air Force Staff Sgt., Faces Sentencing For Rape, Assault
By WILL WEISSERT 07/21/12

SAN ANTONIO — An Air Force instructor convicted of raping a female recruit and sexually assaulting several others cried Saturday as he asked a military jury not to sentence him to life in prison.

Staff Sgt. Luis Walker is among 12 Lackland Air Force Base instructors investigated for sexual misconduct toward at least 31 female trainees, and he faced the most serious counts among the six instructors charged in a sex scandal that rocked one of the nation’s busiest training bases.

A military jury convicted Walker on Friday on all 28 counts including rape, aggravated sexual contact and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. Trial judge Col. Wesley Moore consolidated those charges into 20 on Saturday morning, saying some counts duplicated others, but the change did not affect Walker’s maximum sentence….

Five of the women testified Saturday at Walker’s sentencing, saying they couldn’t sleep or maintain relationships with men after the assaults. They said Walker’s actions eroded their trust in authority and affected their performance at work.

“It’s gotten to where I had anger issues even at work,” said one, who had left the military. “If anyone makes even the slightest sexual reference, I go off. I have zero self-control.”….

The women told jurors during the trial that Walker gained their trust to get them alone in his office or an empty dormitory, where he then forced them into kissing, touching or intercourse. The alleged sexual misconduct among instructors at the base apparently began in 2009, but the first woman didn’t come forward until last year. The women who testified against Walker said they didn’t tell anybody at first because they feared being booted from the Air Force…..

According to prosecutors, Walker had sexual intercourse with four of the 10 female recruits. He was also accused of making flirtatious or sexually suggestive comments, sending inappropriate text messages and sometimes groping his recruits.

Prosecutors also accused Walker of forcing five recruits to engage in sexual acts with him by threatening their military careers, and they said he intimidated two of the women into lying about his alleged misconduct. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/luis-walker-air-force-sta_n_1691690.html

Chile investigating 61 schools for child sex abuse  July 20, 2012

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile’s attorney general is investigating 61 schools in the country’s capital for possible child sex abuse….

Attorney general Sabas Chahuan said Friday that his office will look at 49 schools in eastern Santiago and 12 on the capital’s west side. Several teachers have recently been accused of sexually molesting children at day care centers and schools in affluent neighborhoods on the city’s eastern side.

According to official estimates, reports of sexual abuse of children under age 14 jumped 22 percent in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2011. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501715_162-57477114/chile-investigating-61-schools-for-child-sex-abuse/

Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University’s Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday, 14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case

Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University’s Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday
Reuters   By Ian Simpson 07/10/2012

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – An investigation into Penn State University’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will be published on Thursday, and the family of late football coach Joe Paterno has questioned its fairness and confidentiality.

The head of the eight-month probe, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, said on Tuesday its report would be published online at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Thursday. He will hold a news briefing at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania State University’s trustees hired Freeh and his law firm to investigate the school’s handling of explosive allegations involving Sandusky, a former assistant coach in the high-powered football program, and university officials.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted last month of 45 counts of child molestation involving 10 boys. Some of the sexual abuse took place at Penn State football facilities.

The charges involving Sandusky prompted the firing in November of university President Graham Spanier and head coach Paterno, who won more games than any other major college football coach. Paterno died of lung cancer in January at age 85.

At the heart of the Freeh probe is how Paterno and other Penn State officials reacted to allegations by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant. McQueary told them in 2001 he had seen Sandusky in a sexual position with a boy in a football locker room, but neither police nor children’s services were informed.

Former Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a former university vice president, face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse stemming from the alleged cover-up. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/sandusky-sex-abuse-report-penn-state_n_1663691.html

14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case By Jonathan Lloyd, NBCLosAngeles.com 7/11/12

Attorneys representing 14 mothers of students at Miramonte Elementary School announced Tuesday the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the school district did not protect their children from a teacher accused of lewd acts involving children.

The lawsuit claims the Los Angeles Unified School District was negligent in the case of former teacher Mark Berndt, charged with lewd acts involving at least 20 children at the school.

Berndt was arrested in January.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning, claims the children were sexually abused by Berndt between 2002 and 2011, and that the LAUSD “was negligent and did not protect their children from sexual abuses; and that the Los Angeles Unified School District completely ignored previous complaints,” according to a statement from attorney Luis A. Carrillo.

The charges against Berndt involve 23 children who were 7 to 10 years old. His arrest stemmed from an investigation that began after a film processor — mandated by state law to report child abuse — provided photos to sheriff’s deputies….

Deputies recovered more than 100 similar photos at Berndt’s home, according to investigators. The film processor later discovered more photos….

Berndt pleaded not guilty.

His arrest was followed by another Miramonte Elementary teacher and the dismissal of the entire school staff. Martin Bernard Springer is charged with three felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12684038-14-moms-sue-la-schools-in-child-abuse-case