Is no child safe?

I haven't posted on the resignation of Kevin Clash the voice of Elmo because I was waiting for more facts to come out. I didn't want to just jump on the negative bandwagon if the man was being falsely accused. When doing research again today there is another article of two more males who are saying he had sex with them when they were underage. http://lovebscott.com/news/two-more-accusers-step-forward-against-kevin-

One of the things I am seeing all over the internet is that a fifteen year old is mature enough to engage in a consensual sexual relationship. If it was two fifteen year olds maybe, but a man over the age of forty seeking sex with a minor is wrong. I have even seen the articles about the second man who has accused him of having sex with him when he was a minor, has adds on Craigslist. The Craigslist add is him as a person over the age of eighteen not younger than eighteen. In my opinion some of those articles are to try to discredit the second accuser.

I have also seen blog sites where mothers are defending Kevin Clash. Some commenters on these blogs even say  things like "So what, my child loves Elmo." I am interested in why their isn't the same type of outrage against Kevin Clash and Sesame Street compared to Jerry Sandusy and Penn State. Or Jimmy Seville in the UK. BBC news has been getting flack for this for weeks now. And anyone with access to the internet knows what Penn State has been going through. I say rightfully so.

I am concerned that somehow this story is going to end up at the bottom of a heap somewhere and just die out. Why? In my opinion because of the PR machine at Sesame Street. I am not saying that Sesame Street should be irrevocably harmed by this. The first accuser recanted and said he was paid $125,000 to keep quiet.     http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/accuser_got_to_recant_jGgd9v0ejj6wpiqVzzD9xK Where did this money come from? I have read that back in June Sesame Street was notified of the allegations from the first accuser and determined that there was no merit to them. I wonder how many times this happened? If there were any other times. I understand Sesame Street protecting their brand but doing so can hurt them in the long run.  They only need to look at Penn State to see how bad this can become for them.

It is ironic that this has happened to a brand that is so well known to children and parents. A brand that has stood for wholeness, education and honesty. It is the same reason that their isn't extreme public outrage. If this man knowingly had sex with males under the age of consent he committed a crime and should therefore be held accountable. If Sesame Street knew of other accusers in the past and did nothing they need to be held accountable as well. It is easy for people to just blame victim in cases like this. That is what happened for decades when it came to the Boy Scouts, Catholic Church, and other brands who chose to protect their brand other then to protect children. That is what is so good about social media. It has changed the way the truth comes out. Rosie
Television

Elmo Actor Kevin Clash Resigns Amid Sex Allegations

By Associated PressNov. 20, 2012

 VICTORIA WILL/AP PHOTO

"Sesame Street" muppet Elmo and puppeteer Kevin Clash pose for a portrait in the Fender Music Lodge on Jan. 24, 2011.

Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied. A day later, the man recanted his charge. A lawsuit by a second accuser was filed Tuesday, according to attorney Cecil Singleton.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sesame Workshop says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Streetin the wake of allegations that he had sex with an under-aged youth.

Sesame Workshop called the controversy surrounding Clash’s personal life “a distraction that none of us want” and led to his decision to leave the show.

Clash created the voice and persona for Elmo, who has become one of Sesame Street’s most popular characters.

CHILDHOOD

Why Kevin Clash’s Personal Life Troubles Parents of Elmo Fans

By Bonnie RochmanNov. 14, 20129 Comments

I feel that I had to respond to the article below. I feel that whatever one's sexuality is shouldn't impact any type of investigation into children being sexually abused (what I am meaning is gay or straight I do not feel that pedophilia is a sexual orientation. Many in the movement to normalize pedophilia do. For instance B4U-ACT http://b4uact.org/).

If during an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse, their are those who are abusing children that are gay. It doesn't mean that the only reason they are being investigated is because they are gay. They are being investigated because they are accused of harming children. We are in the twenty first century not the dark ages. A child sexual predators sexuality, should play no part in any investigation. What the focus needs to be is on whether or not a human being has made the decision to harm a child. Bringing up one's sexual orientation is just smoke and mirrors and takes away from the reality that children have been harmed. I hope that there are no more articles like this published. We need to remain vigilant about protecting children and not get off on smoke and mirrors. Rosie

Paedophile scandal risks becoming gay witch-hunt - Cameron

By Guy Faulconbridge and Matt Falloon

LONDON | Thu Nov 8, 2012 6:58pm GMT

(Reuters) - Speculation about the identity of a senior Conservative party member accused of child sex abuse could descend into a "witch-hunt" of homosexuals, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday.

Cameron ordered an investigation this week after a child abuse victim said a prominent member of the prime minister's party had abused him during the 1970s, prompting Internet speculation over who the politician might be.

I received a comment on a story from THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2012 Paedophile John Maber admitted 27 abuse charges ttp://www.memoirofaredemptivelife.com/2012/07/paedophile-john-maber-admitted-27-abuse.h I thought appropriate for me to do a blog post on this. The reader shared the following blog site www.stjohnnz.com 


This is a very thorough blog on what happened in New Zealand about a pedophile cover up of two individuals, Karl Berghan (20) and Sam Brens (21). The story revolves around young girls who were groomed by these two child sexual predators. I was most appalled by one of the young women's therapist who was aware she was sexually active at 14 years old with a man of 20 years old. Her response to this girls parents was that they should be so lucky that she found love so young. The reality is what this therapist did was unethical. A 14 year old can't consent to a sexual relationship. That is why we have age of consent laws. The young girl eventually divorced her parents and received a gag order. This prevented her parents from speaking out about what was happening. Thankfully they won their case and the gag order was dropped.

What is sad is this victim is now in her early twenties and is totally convinced that she wasn't a victim in this. She won't reunite with her parents until they stop pushing justice for what happened to her and them. This is how good pedophiles or child sexual predators (whichever word you choose to use) groom. They have her totally convinced that she was an active participant. What did they have to benefit for convincing this child she was an active participant? Even though these "men" and I use the word loosely, were arrested and brought to trial none of their victims would testify. That meant the case was dropped and justice wasn't severed. 

Please take the time to read this blog and view the videos. It is very sad that children are not more protected. Stories like these have to be told. Grateful for this information, Rosie

ST JOHN AMBULANCE NEW ZEALAND

• ABOUT

Behind the doors of NZ's most trusted commercial brand.

10/11/2012

Did St John Ambulance NZ conduct a cover-up of a Pedophile Protection Network within their organization?

Penn State Conference on CSA #CSAC12-Dr. Finkelhor

I haven't posted in a little while I needed to process everything from the Conference and to sort my thoughts on how I was going to discuss everything on this blog. The first guest speaker for the conference was Dr. David Finkelhor, PhD. Dr. Finkelhor is well know in the field of child sexual abuse. He is the Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Finkelhor wrote a book back in l979 called Sexually Victimized Children which was the start of the movement on child sexual abuse advocacy/awareness. I have attached the video of Dr. Finkelhol's presentation on the next page.

To be honest I wasn't looking forward to hearing from him. He has been quoted in several media outlets as saying that child sexual abuse is on the decline. I took issue with him in a couple of blog posts back in June of this year. He did make his claims that child sexual abuse is declining. What he didn't say was that his data shows a decline in child sexual abuse. He obtains his data from child sexual abuse cases where the victim tells. The reality is that when he comes to any type of sexual assault only ten percent of people tell.  He did make clear that it is very hard to be able to get accurate data on this topic. He also made clear that the topic of child sexual abuse is a very grim topic.

Attending the Penn State Conference on Child Sexual Abuse

I am very excited to be attending the Penn State Conference on child sexual abuse. It starts this Sunday and goes through next Tuesday. I had some business cards printed up so I can hand them out. This is a copy of the card KNOW Trespassing is the name of the non-profit I am in the process of starting. The name is a double entendre. NO Trespassing means that a child should never be trespassed. Know Trespassing means that the agency will educate on what child sexual abuse is.

The mission of the agency is:

New (PTSD) treatment stops nightmares

I think that this is an important topic to cover on this blog.http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-treatment-stops-nightmares-20121017-27rgl.html In Australia a physician has developed a new technique to deal with PTSD:

Dr Andrea Phelps, from the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, said a technique called imagery rehearsal treatment was allowing people with post-traumatic stress disorder to literally rewrite the script of distressing nightmares to change their dreams or get rid of them.

This has good implications for those of us who have PTSD related to childhood sexual abuse. Some times PTSD can be debilitating and interfere with one's life tremendously. It can creep up on you when you least expect it. For me certain smells, situations, environments and people can trigger my PTSD. I feel very fortunate that the flashbacks and body memories aren't near as bad as they used to be. I hope the study on this technique continues to have the positive effects that is claimed. It certainly isn't fair that after having survived a horrific trauma like child sexual abuse that survivors have to deal with it effects for most of their lives. Rosie

New treatment stops nightmares

Julia Medew

EVER wanted to erase a horrific nightmare from your mind? Australian doctors believe they've found a way to do it.
Dr Andrea Phelps, from the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, said a technique called imagery rehearsal treatment was allowing people with post-traumatic stress disorder to literally rewrite the script of distressing nightmares to change their dreams or get rid of them.
Regular and repetitive nightmares are a defining feature of PTSD, especially for soldiers who have experienced extreme fear and trauma during combat.
In some cases, sufferers have had the same dream regularly for more than 30 years, causing a fear of sleep and insomnia which affects their ability to function during the day.

Another victim of an online predator (aka pedophile) and sheds light on YouTube and Facebook Predators

This is a terrible story and shows the depths that child sexual predators will go.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/10/15/bc-amanda-todd-tormentor-anonymous.html I have discussed previously on this blog that on YouTube there are plenty of predators. These predators try to get children to do things. They pose as a child themselves, especially the opposite sex and are able to convince children to show them parts of their bodies. Once they do that they then blackmail these children and then we have the situation that occurred with Amanda Todd. The following quote states it well:

The kind of sexual exploitation described by Todd is part of a seedy cyber-underworld that targets young girls and it is not bullying, but a vicious crime that should be pursued even after her death, say child advocates.

This poor girls sexual abuse media will be around forever. Being used by child sexual predators who claim looking at child sexual abuse media (aka child pornography) is a victimless crime. I wonder how these predators will feel once they learn that this child killed herself because of being bullied into showing parts of her body she didn't want to.  The person who bullied her apparently wasn't the person she made the video for. But this predator was able to figure out who she was and went onto Facebook and threatened to expose the video. I am glad that Anonymous has let it be known who this child sexual predator is. I also hope that more light is shined on what is happening to children on social media sites. For one thing more parents need to make sure they know what is going on with their children. I don't think children should be allowed to have computers in their own room. The computer needs to be in a room where it is highly visible. This would reduce the number of children who are being targeted by sexual predators on social networking sites. In my opinion a child doesn't need to have a phone that allows them to video themselves or makes them easily traceable and that allows media to be uploaded from their phone onto a social media site.

I think we forgot sometimes that children (those under age 18) are just that children. They don't have the life experience that adults do. They make choices with their limited life experience that are very risky. And are job as adults is to teach them how to be safe. Safety must always come first with children. This whole story is a terrible tragedy and I pray for the family. Rosie

Amanda Todd's alleged tormentor named by hacker group

'Anonymous' names man it claims bullied B.C. teen who took her own life

CBC News

Posted: Oct 15, 2012 6:01 PM PT

Last Updated: Oct 16, 2012 11:44 AM PT

 The tragic story of B.C. teen suicide victim Amanda Todd has taken another bizarre twist as the internet hacking and activist group Anonymous has named a man the group says was the girl's primary tormentor.
Todd, 15, of Port Coquitlam, died last Wednesday, a month after posting a haunting video on YouTube that cited the sexualized attack that set her down a path of anxiety, depression and drug and alcohol abuse.

PSU starts talks with 20 Sandusky accusers

I found this article this morning on twitter http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-14/news/34449795_1_sandusky-victim-sandusky-accusers-jerry-sandusky
I bet there will be even more victims to come forward. A pedophile (aka child sexual predator) has many victims. There will be those (especially in the movement to abolish the sexual offender registry) who will claim that most will be in it for the money. I am sure that is possible, but I am just as sure that each and every story will be investigated. The article addresses this.
We need to continue to get the word out that by the time a pedophile (aka child sexual predator) gets caught he or she has offended many, many times. I have read up to 100 to 600. This means not only that they molested or sexually abused a child. It means they looked at child sexual abuse media (aka child pornography) each view is considered an offense, groomed children each child groomed is considered an offense, purposely put themselves in a position to be near children, etc. This is why we have to pay attention to those who wish to abolish the SOR. Their biggest claim is that the registry doesn't work because most people who get arrested for child sexual abuse are not on the registry. They claim that those on the registry have a low rate of re-offending (I am sure without considering that looking at child sexual abuse media and grooming children are re-offending). They don't ever say that the registry is working because once someone is on it for sexually abusing a child they don't re-offend. This would mean that the SOR is a deterrent from future offenses and therefore is working.

I have said before on this blog that there are problems with the registry. Especially consensual teenage sex (known as Romeo and Juliette offense) and public urination. I do not think there are problems when it comes to an adult sexually abusing a child needing to be on the registry. Their needs to be a way to protect children and the SOR is one way. I also think that more adults on the registry who blame the fact they are on it because the "girl" said she was older. I agree that lying isn't good and that this shouldn't happen but if the person had gotten to know the "girl" prior to the sexual relationship he may have been able to determine she was underage. I think if the movement to abolish the SOR would just focus on the areas that need to be reformed they would have a better shot of fixing the SOR. The problem is that the very people most actively involved in this movement have sexually abused a child and they think that once they serve their time they shouldn't have to be on the registry. To me this is mixing apples and oranges. Rosie

October 14, 2012|By Jeremy Roebuck, Inquirer Staff Writer

Pennsylvania State University has entered into preliminary settlement talks with at least 20 men accusing Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse, the college's appointed mediators said.
That figure - more than double the number of victims who testified against the former assistant football coach at trial - offers the first glimpse of Penn State's potential liability in the largest scandal in its history.
Their ranks include the eight accusers named in state prosecutors' case against Sandusky, four more who have either filed lawsuits or come forward to claim molestation in the news media,
and at least eight more who have not publicly aired their allegations of abuse.

Parents on alert: Child abductions rarely committed by strangers

This article is a reminder that in most cases children are not abducted by strangers. Yes unfortunately their are children who are abducted by strangers and stranger danger is important to protect children. Especially against the eighteen percent of people who abduct children they don't know. http://kdvr.com/2012/10/11/parents-on-alert-child-abductions-rarely-committed-by-strangers/ This is very similar to the reality that most children who are sexually abused are abused by someone who they know. Most of the research I have done on this states that children who are sexually abused by strangers only account for seven percent of all cases of child sexual abuse. I have had people leave me comments on this blog challenging this percentage and I have steered them to the articles where I have gotten my information.

It honestly sucks we live in a world where children can't walk down the street without being at risk. It also sucks that children live in an environments where adults take advantage of them in the worst way. Almost every person that I speak to, in relation to my experience and my advocacy against child sexual abuse, knows someone who has been sexually abused. I spoke to a women today and she shared three story's that she experienced with pedophiles when she was raising her daughter. She shared how she works with children who have survived this trauma and explained to me how mad it makes her mad at how much damage is done to children. She explained that it is not only physical, but emotional and spiritual as well. She stated to me what I have said, "It effects their very soul and lasts a lifetime." I would love to be on some sort of panel as a survivor who talks to those who are convicted of sexually abusing a child. I would be very glad to share the impact this has had on my whole life. For that matter I would love to be able to be on a panel arguing against those who want to abolish the sexual offender registry.

I pray for this young girls family this story is tragic. Rosie

Posted on: 8:16 pm, October 11, 2012, by Dan Daru, updated on: 08:18pm, October 11, 2012

According to the Department of Justice, 800,000 children are reported missing every year in the united states.  Out of that number, 69,000 were kidnapped. “I think anytime a child is missing it’s a big number.  Whether it’s one or 69,000, but yes, 69,000 sounds like a large number,” says criminal justice professor Stacey Hervey from Metro State College in Denver.
Our children are taught to beware of stranger-danger. “If someone you don’t know approaches you, that you yell and scream that this is not my mom or dad,” says Hervey.

Sandusky's sentences and hoping it sends a message to other pedophiles (aka child sexal predaors)

It is all over twitter that Sandusky got 30 to 60 years for his terrible sexual abuse of numerous children. I also read that Sandusky claims he is innocent. If that isn't telling I don't know what it. He apparently released a tape yesterday (I am guessing as a way to try to persuade the public) stating, that he is innocent. The reality is that he got away with his charade for many many years. It must seem weird to him that his lies aren't working any more.  His denial seems to be running so deep that he has become delusional. It must be very weird for him to have to be held accountable for his actions. Actions that for many years were pushed aside by many people. If you spent the better part of thirty plus years getting away with harming children because of the status you held. I think you would be very confused as to why your claiming innocence isn't working anymore. Those at Penn State who were part of this coverup need to realize that they are part of the reason Sandusky is out there claiming he is innocent. If they didn't believe his lies and held him accountable for his actions years ago; not only would less children have been victimized but, he would have had several years sitting in jail thinking about what put him there.

Fighting Paedophilia How a Country with 751,223 population can protect children. What's our excuse?

I found this article on the internet yesterday. http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2012/10/01/fighting-paedophilia/ It is a story from Guyana  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana
This article is very well written and understandable. While the legislation update proposed is to chemically castrate all convicted child sexual offenders (Guyana uses the word paedophile). I don't know if chemically castrating all convicted child sexual offenders is the correct thing to do. What I am most impressed by though is that this Country only has 751,223 people and seem to understand the toll that child sexual offenders cause their victims.

No	Region	Area km²	Population	Population per km²
1	Barima-Waini	20,339	24,275	1.2
2	Pomeroon-Supenaam	6,195	49,253	8.0
3	Essequibo Islands-West Demerara	2,232	103,061	46.2
4	Demerara-Mahaica	1,843	310,320	168.4
5	Mahaica-Berbice	3,755	52,428	14.0
6	East Berbice-Corentyne	36,234	123,695	3.4
7	Cuyuni-Mazaruni	47,213	17,597	0.3
8	Potaro-Siparuni	20,051	10,095	0.5
9	Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo	57,750	19,387	1.3
10	Upper Demerara-Berbice	19,387	41,112	2.1
	Guyana	214,999	751,223	3.49

The regions are divided into 27 neighbourhood councils.^[10]
perWikipedia

They also seem to understand that most child sexual offenders, offend many times before getting caught. And that offenders come from all walks of life and are very manipulative. I do agree with this quote from the article:

“In those two pieces of legislation, convicted paedophiles would be subjected to monitoring for life.”

I take this to mean that if a child sexual offender harms a child, gets caught, goes through their court system and is convicted they will have to be monitored for life. It is interesting to me that they use the word pedophile instead of child sexual offender. I take that to mean that they choose to use the correct label for an adult who is attracted to children, is at least 5 years older then the child, and acts on their attraction. As far as I can tell here in the USA our legal system chooses to call them child sexual offenders rather than call them pedophiles. I am not talking about the Romeo and Juliet offenders, or those who are on the SOR for peeing in public. I am talking about adults who sexually abuse children. I think we can learn by Guyana's actions. If we labeled those who sexually abuse children pedophiles it would reduce the rhetoric of those involved in the abolishment of the SOR. I have been told several times by those involved in the abolishment of the SOR movement, that they are opposed to be called pedophiles when that is a medical definition and no medical person has given them that label. I think we need to look into Guyana's reason and logic to use this label. I say GO GUYANA! Rosie

Fighting Paedophilia

October 1, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under Editorial 

Last week, “Child Protection Week” was observed with a flurry of activities by the Human Services and Social Security Ministry under the theme “Adults – take action against child abuse – the time is now”. Cabinet spokesperson Dr Roger Luncheon (still on the job after his copyright faux pas) averred that in Guyana, the adults in politics are taking action by strengthening the existing Sexual Offenders Act with the Prevention of Crimes Amendment Bill (http://sgdatabase.unwomen.org/uploads/Prevention%20of%20Crimes%20%28Amendment%29%20Act%202008.pdf) which will be debated in the upcoming parliamentary session.
The good doctor of the Office of the President took pains to assure that, “In those two pieces of legislation, convicted paedophiles would be subjected to monitoring for life.” We believe that the government, and especially the OP, could have sent the strongest possible signal that it was serious about fighting paedophilia by being more forthcoming in a case that hit the headlines two years ago. To the public at large it appeared that a cover-up had been effected.
Paedophiles can be found in every demographic category: old, young, educated, uneducated, professional, non-professionals – and of all races, colours and creeds. Typically, however, the paedophile is male, single, seemingly fascinated with children – especially around puberty and targets shy, handicapped, and withdrawn children, or those who come from troubled homes. They work to master their manipulative skills and often unleash them on troubled children by first becoming their friend, building the child’s self-esteem.

Male child sexual abuse victims at higher heart attack risk

 I found this study on the internet and thought I would be good to post it on this blog. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120906123240.htm
I have posted several other articles and studies that have to do with the long term effects of child sexual abuse. This study showed that:

 "Men who reported they were sexually abused during childhood were particularly vulnerable to having a heart attack later in life,"

It continues to sadden me that those of us who have survived this horrible epidemic have to deal with it's consequences indefinitely. Yet those who commit this terrible crime and are held accountable through the court system, don't like that they have to be labeled as a sexual offender. They especially hate having to be on the sexual offender registry. I say if you harm a child irreparably you should be held accountable for that. If that means you have a permanent label then you should have thought about that prior to sexually abusing a child. I usually don't get off on a rant like this but there are times I get fed up with those who complain that they served their time so they shouldn't have to be on the SOR. There is a whole movement to abolish the SOR. They claim they are violated because they have to be a registered sex offender. That their human rights have been irreparably harmed. I especially love to read how those in the movement to abolish the SOR are against child abuse. I laugh when I read that because if this were true they would be doing things to make children safe. They would believe that 93% of child who are sexually abused know their abuser. They would believe that before a child sexual offender gets caught they have abused up to 100 times. This means they have viewed child sexual abuse media or touched a child, or groomed a child, etc. before they get caught. If they meant that child abuse was wrong they wouldn't call those who speak out against this epidemic "perpetual victims."

What they wouldn't do is to claim that the SOR doesn't work because those who get caught are first time offenders. As I have stated previously this is inaccurate as most offenders abuse at least 100 times before they get caught. Just because someone hasn't gotten caught doesn't mean they haven't harmed a child previously. If they would read the statistics and studies they may awakened to this reality. They don't want to be in my opinion because then their argument wouldn't hold water. Sorry for the rant just disgusted. Rosie

Childhood Sexual Abuse Linked to Later Heart Attacks in Men

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2012) — Men who experienced childhood sexual abuse are three times more likely to have a heart attack than men who were not sexually abused as children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers found no association between childhood sexual abuse and heart attacks among women.

In Plain View How child molesters get away with it.

The New Yorker did a wonderful article on pedophiles and child molesters. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2012/09/24/120924crat_atlarge_gladwell
The article is called:

In Plain View

How child molesters get away with it.

by Malcolm Gladwell September 24, 2012

Jerry Sandusky built a sophisticated grooming operation, outsourcing to child-care professionals the task of locating vulnerable children—all the while playing the role of lovable goofball.  ILLUSTRATION: A. J. Frackattack; PHOTOGRAPH: Gene J. Puskar/AP

Going to the link on the New Yorker only allows a non-subscription reader to read the first couple of pages. The complete article is six pages long. I did find a blog that was able to post the complete article.

This article is very important. I think all police in this global world of ours need to be rooted out for sexual predatory behavior. If they are to investigate abuse how can they be non-biased if they are partaking of what they are investigating? While this article doesn't just focus on child sexual predatory behavior exclusively, this is part of what needs to be rooted out. We don't do enough in any profession to make sure children are safe with adults. Even adults who are supposed to be the very people who are to protect them. That is why child sexual abuse is so insidious. Ninety three percent of those who sexually abuse children know them. They have spent time grooming the child, the child's family and more then likely the community at large. So when I see an article where sexually predatory behavior is taken seriously I think I need to post it on this blog. Rosie

Sexual predators in police 'must be rooted out'

IPCC says police abuse of colleagues or members of the public is corrupt and not enough is being done to stop it

Revealed: the scale of sexual abuse by police officers

• Sandra Laville, crime correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 September 2012 04.58 EDT

IPCC chair, Anne Owers, said the police must take steps to reduce predatory behaviour. Photograph: Rex Features

Sexual predators in the police service must be treated as corrupt officers and rooted out by their senior supervisors, the police watchdog has said.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said the service was not doing enough to stop suspect sexual behaviour by officers. Instead, it was treating individual cases as isolated, and failing to carry out reviews and learn lessons to prevent such abuse taking place again, the IPCC said in a report published on Thursday.
It warned that failure to stop such behaviour could lead to an escalating scale of sexual abuse against members of the public, or police staff, or both. "This is supported by what is known about how the behaviour of sexual offenders can escalate over time," the IPCC said.
The report highlights failings that in some cases have allowed individuals with a history of inappropriate behaviour to continue targeting vulnerable women and men they meet while on duty.
Dame Anne Owers, the chair of the IPCC, said more work was needed to identify the scale of the problem. "We do not know precisely how many people have been victims of police officers or staff abusing their powers; we are only aware of the individuals who have had the confidence to come forward," the report said.

When a boy is sexually abused by a woman ‘people do not often recognize the harm’

This is an important article and discusses the double standard, at times, (when a woman abuses a boy) that there is when it comes to the sexual abuse of boys compared to girls. The effects of the sexual abuse are no different for a boy or girl. They both bring shame, confusion, a breech of trust, guilt, and life long issues they will have to deal with. The big difference is that when a woman sexually abuses a boy society sometimes has a different reaction. It is looked at as a right of passage, like it is a good thing. There are several instances I can think of when a woman has abused a boy when the press has printed articles that claimed the effect is different for a boy.

While woman as sexual predators are unusual it still occurs. I think the numbers are higher then is currently known. The shame on both boys and girls of being sexually abused by a woman is great. I experienced this at the hands of Ruth. She felt that "massaging" her children or having them engaging in "massaging" each other was okay. It was very confusing because she was my mother (and I use that word loosely). When I was a teenager and I would find boys, (under the age of consent) in our house who would come running down stairs (Ruth's bedroom was upstairs) buckling their pants and acting embarrassed because someone else was in the house. Then Ruth would slowly follow them down stairs with this Cheshire cat smirk on her face. I thought the whole thing was disgusting and I found it embarrassing to have a parent who would choose to think it was okay to have sex with children. The fact that one boy in particular kept coming back (I thought willingly) was even more embarrassing because he was also dating a friend of mine. I finally had to tell him I would tell his girlfriend what he was doing if he didn't stop. It hadn't dawned on me at that time, that Ruth was being a sexual predator toward him and that he may not have wanted to be doing what they were doing. Of course Ruth wasn't happy when he didn't return she was furious over it and didn't understand what happened. I wasn't telling or I would have been beaten with in an inch of my life. Ruth was doing this while she had a live in boyfriend in the house. I couldn't tell him either because of fear of being harmed.

We need to continue to look at what motivates a woman to sexually abuse a child. I have read statistics where when asked, almost one hundred percent of women who sexually abused children said they themselves had survived sexual abuse as a child. The statistics are lower for male sexual predators their statics are around thirty percent. One of the reasons I have read that the statistics for male sexual predators are lower is that some don't acknowledge what was done to them was sexual abuse. They believe they were willing partners and therefore weren't abused. This also allows them to continue to sexually abuse children and to believe the children were willing participants. If they were to acknowledge they were sexually abused as children would mean they would have to acknowledge they were sexually abusing children. Until more is known as to what peripatetics someone sexually abusing a child the longer this epidemic is going to continue.
There is good news though and that is that every person who was sexually abused doesn't go onto sexually abuse. Which means that just because someone was sexually abused as a child doesn't mean that they will go onto sexually abuse. It also means that those who sexually abuse make a choice to do so and should be held accountable for their actions. Rosie

By Keith L. Alexander, Published: September 2

Keyvette Gamble went to a friend’s house with her 4-year-old daughter, playing cards into the early morning with plans to spend the night at the Southwest Washington apartment. After everyone had nodded off, Gamble slipped over to a bed where her friend’s 14-year-old son was sleeping.
Gamble, 24, then sexually assaulted the teenage boy, according to court records. The attack in September was one of three child sex abuse cases to reach a D.C. courtroom this year that involved an adult female defendant accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

While sex abuse cases are all too common, prosecutors and child victim advocates say prosecutions of adult women sexually attacking boys are extremely rare. All unrelated, the three cases in the District surprised local authorities and have raised awareness of an often-underreported crime.
“This is unusual,” said prosecutor Kelly Higashi, chief of the sex offense and domestic violence section of the D.C. Superior Court unit for the U.S. attorney’s office. “People do not often recognize the harm this does to a boy.”

I found this short article the other day on twitter. It struck a cord with me because my dealing with the pain and destruction of my childhood and early adulthood, is the reason I am where I am in my life. When one survives multiple traumas, especially child sexual abuse the easiest thing to do is try to ignore it. This leads to addictions, mental and physical health issues and a lower quality of life then someone should have. One of the biggest obstacles for me was that I knew I would have to distance myself from Ruth (biological mother). Doing this also meant I had to distance myself from some of my siblings who weren't ready to distance Ruth from their lives. Ruth would make all of her children take sides. If she was mad at one of us she wanted us all mad at the person as well. This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make but I knew it was in mine and my children's best interests.

Getting myself into therapy to help me deal with my trauma issues was the best thing I did in my life besides to have my children. I was in therapy for several years and I would be lying if I said it was easy. It wasn't. There were plenty of times I wanted to just give up and not deal with the pain anymore. One of the things about therapy is that once one layer of pain is dealt with another layer pops up. That is one of the things that got tiresome. I would get frustrated because I wanted instant gratification and wanted to be "healed" immediately. That won't ever happen. The reason more layers were able to come up was that my psyche was ready to deal with it. I have been told that if I remembered the ritual abuse when I was nineteen when I started having flashbacks that I would have ended up psychotic and/or suicidal. I married my children's father because my psyche knew he was abusive and my being abused would keep me from remembering the ritual abuse. As bad as it was to be in domestic violence I remain in awe of how the brain works. Once I got out of the domestic violence and received intensive cognitive behavioral therapy the other layers started to crop up.

Another reality is that if I didn't delve into the pain and trauma I was at risk of repeating the same cycle Ruth repeated. I didn't want that for my children. I wanted them to have a better life and I wanted to make sure that I was part of breaking a cycle that occurred for at least four generations. If that is the only thing I accomplished in my life I have accomplished something that impacts generations to come. What a good legacy to be part of. As hard as things were at times I am thankful I perservered and did the hard work that was required. I am also grateful for all of the people in my life who played a role in my healing. God put good people in my life at the right times. My life is a blessing and I need to never forget that.  Issues will still pop up at times which makes me grateful I did the hard work. I know handle the issues more appropriately then I ever had. Feeling very blessed, Rosie

Amy Chan

 

The Importance of Processing Pain

Posted: 09/07/2012 12:40 pm

Some say that pain of the heart is the worst kind to experience. There is no surgery, no medicine, no band-aid that will truly minimize the suffering. That dull, chronic pain feels like it is with you every where you go. It's at the core of your thoughts, it haunts you right before you go to sleep -- it feels attached, as if it is a part of you.

One of the outcomes for survivors of child sexual abuse

I just read the article http://richarddawkins.net/news_articles/2012/9/8/church-s-suicide-victims#.UE322y7_8Ep.twitter and it made me so sad. I know there are many many people who are trying to get the word out on the devastating effects of child sexual abuse. I appreciate them in their efforts. The reality is that there isn't enough information about the long term effects on someone who has survived sexual abuse out there to the masses yet. This is another story about how the Church has hidden information pertaining to sexual abuses. The suicide rate is higher among survivors of sexual abuse. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/192/4/suicide-and-fatal-drug-overdose-child-sexual-abuse-victims-historical-cohort For the Church to cover this up is just disgusting and hiding this fact plays into the theory that there are no long term effects for someone who has survived sexual abuse.

There are those (especially those who are part of the movement to abolish the sexual offender registry) who honestly believe that there are no long term effects of child sexual abuse. They argue that those of us who share our stories and try to educate on this topic are being perpetual victims. This just isn't so, it's that we know first hand the impact that this terrible epidemic has had on us and we share our stories so others will learn of this impact. There are times when I still get upset over the reality that I suffer long term affects from the trauma I survived, and that I did nothing to cause it (the song Wildflower by Skylark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9bJJNUdXEs has always been able to put in words what this is like for me). It was "adults" who felt that they had the right to take away a child's innocence. It is hard for people who have not survived this (especially the perpetrators themselves) to fathom what it is like to have to deal with the long term effects. I am lucky very lucky that I have had the support in my life that has helped me to get in my life where I am. Unfortunately there are those who don't get the same opportunities I have had. There are those who get into drugs and alcohol as a way to cope with what they have survived. Again I am fortunate as I didn't do this but I certainly got into destructive addictive relationships.

I have been thinking a lot about the reality that the reason a lot (not all) of people as adults who don't know how to be good parents, communicate, love unconditionally, are addicted to drugs, alcohol, have mental health issues, can't hold jobs or are workaholics, etc. is because our rate of child abuse in this country is so high. We don't do near enough to insure that children have stable, happy childhoods. I can tell you that Ruth and Jack (my parents) came from the same type of environment I was raised in. When I traced my family history back four generations every generation has survived a traumatic childhood. Traumatic childhoods reek havoc on a society when these children grow up and don't have the skills to maintain good healthy relationships, etc. I am beginning to believe that schools (from kindergarten on) should be required to teach inter-communication skills, coping skills, anger management, life skills, how words do hurt, etc. I honestly believe that if this were to happen that when these children grew up the rates of addiction would be lessened. The rates of adults repeating the same type of trauma to their children that was done to them would go down. There is no magic bullet I understand that. Still we need to do something as a society to increase the likelihood that inter-generational abuse gets stopped so that we can become a nation that values it's children and wants adults to have the best lives possible. Rosie

Church's suicide victims

by theage.com.au - Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker and Jane Lee posted on September 08, 2012 03:00PM GMT
Thanks to msloane for the link

CONFIDENTIAL police reports have detailed the suicides of at least 40 people sexually abused by Catholic clergy in Victoria, and have urged a new inquiry into these and many other deaths suspected to be linked to abuse in the church.

Rob Walsh, whose cousin Martin, and brothers Noel and Damien committed suicide after being abused. Photo: Paul Rovere Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/churchs-suicide-victims-20120412-1wwox.html#ixzz25tG9yBhA

Biddeford pastor arrested on child porn charges

I had to back away from writing so much about child sexual abuse predators. It becomes overwhelming sometimes just to look and focus on them. The number of stories about child sexual predators preying on children are so high, and just keep coming. Don't get me wrong I'm not stopping but I just needed a breather. That is until this story of another Pastor who is supposed to be a man of God who gets arrested because he owns child sexual abuse media (aka child pornography). This is why so much more education needs to occur on the professions of child sexual predators. People need to focus on the reality that anyone who has access to children can potentially harm them. I know that this is a dark response to this topic but it is true. Do I think that people shouldn't trust other people? No. I just think we need to be hypervigilant when it comes to the safety of our children. I think it is very possible that victims of this predator will come to light. Someone just doesn't wake up at the age of sixty and decide to download child sexual abuse media. I am glad that this predator got caught. I am sorry that he felt owning images of children being sexually abused was an okay thing to do. There will be those who will complain that he only had one hundred pieces of media that isn't much, that harboring child sexual abuse media is a victimless crime. No matter how much information gets out that harboring child sexual abuse media isn't a victimless crime, there will be those who choose to believe otherwise. I honestly feel sorry for them that they don't have compassion enough to understand that child sexual abuse is wrong, a crime and harms children irreparably.  Rosie

Police say James Napier, 60, had more than 100 pictures on his computer of children, some under the age of 12, engaged in sexual activity.

By Eric Russell erussell@pressherald.com
Staff Writer

BIDDEFORD — A local pastor who ministers to the homeless in downtown Biddeford has been charged with possession of child pornography.
James Napier, 60, was arrested Saturday at his home in Alfred by Maine State Police after detectives searched the residence and found more than 100 pictures on his computer of children, some under the age of 12, engaged in sexual activity.