Penalties for Falsely Reporting Child Abuse
The Jerry Sandusky criminal trial is over; the civil lawsuits are in active settlement mode. Undoubtedly, the entire country is more tuned into child abuse than it ever was. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that about 105 bills on the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect have been introduced in 2012 legislative sessions in 30 states and the District of Columbia. 1 All of them include a penalty for failing to report suspected child abuse.
Oregon is one of the states which recently enacted child abuse reporting legislation. It added to the ...
Should There Be A Statute Of Limitations For Child Sex Abuse Cases
The Jerry Sandusky trial brought the issue of child sex abuse to light. It also highlighted several of the problems that occur when trying to prosecute these cases. One such problem is the statute of limitations that victims face. Most states provide victims with a five-year window to come forward with their allegations.
The statute of limitations should be done away with for a couple of specific reasons. The first reason is that the victims are often too scared or ashamed to come forward until they are adults. Kids who are abused at age 8 may not come forward until they ...
Lessons from Penn State: Training Mandated Reporters
From a special edition of Centerpiece, the official newsletter of the National Child Protection Training Center:
The recent child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University, in which multiple, well-educated professionals declined to report clear evidence of maltreatment, is not an
isolated instance. Twenty years of research documents what every child protection professional in America already knows—that most people most of the time won’t report even
clear evidence of maltreatment or otherwise intervene to save a child.
Although less clear, the Penn State ...
Fallen Angel in Adoption
As many of you know, The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s (CCAI) Angels in Adoption™ Program provides Members of Congress the opportunity to honor an individual, couple, or organization from their district that have made an extraordinary contribution on behalf of children in need of homes. I have long supported this effort and any effort to raise awareness about the needs of foster and adopted children.
Back in November, I discovered that none other then Penn State child molester Jerry Sandusky was honored as an Angel in Adoption back in 2002. ...
Child Abusers Are Not Invisible
Pedophilia occurs with disturbing frequency in athletic programs, churches, Boy Scout troops, and youth organizations—places that children congregate, including the homes of trusted family members.
Professor Daniel Pollack, a frequent contributor to ChildLaw, has co-authored a social work textbook called How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Workbook for Professionals and Students. If you read this blog regularly, you'll know all about this book which we profiled earlier this year.
A recent op-ed written by the book's co-author, James Dickerson, highlights ...
Dr. Eli Newberger on Penn State
In the best and most enlightening interview on the Penn State scandal to date, Dr. Eli Newberger, a renowned expert on child abuse and pedophilia, talks about what Sandusky said in his interview and the victims of Sandusky's alleged abuse.
Watch this great interview here.
Barely Legal in PA
Okay, I'm finally speechless. The Penn State scandal has finally done it. This post needs no further commentary:
Sandusky lawyer impregnated a teen
The lawyer for accused child molester Jerry Sandusky apparently likes his women young.
Defense attorney Joe Amendola, 63, representing Sandusky in the sexual molestation case roiling Penn State and Joe Paterno’s legendary football program, impregnated a teenager and later married her, The Daily has learned.
According to documents filed with Centre County Courthouse, Amendola served as the attorney for Mary Iavasile...