Child Abuse and the Adults Who Enable It
It seems like a lot of people still don't get it. At the same time the media is flooded with stories about the despicable conduct of coaches and administrators at Penn State who covered up for a child rapist, another protection racket on behalf of rapists continues to push forward in Kentucky.
A 17-year old girl passed out at a party and was sexually assaulted by two boys, probably after being drugged. The court came up with a secret plea deal where the rapists got off lightly and, to add insult to injury, ordered the victim to keep quiet. Not willing to keep quiet and frustrated with her inability to get justice from the system, the victim exposed the names of her attackers on Twitter.
Now she's facing contempt of court charges that could lead to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It seems ironic to me that contempt of court would be a crime, since any institution that would protect the perpetrators of child abuse and sexual assault while refusing to protect the victims -- whether that institution is a court or a college or a church -- is worthy of nothing but the utmost contempt.
Meanwhile, Penn State will be facing "unprecedented" penalties from the NCAA that will be announced tomorrow morning at a 9 AM (eastern) news conference in Indianapolis. And the criminal investigations continue, with former president Graham Spanier facing a possible indictment for his part in the cover-up.
I've had a lot to say about Penn State, but it's been hard to find the words. People who say that the school shouldn't be penalized seem to miss the point. The harshest of penalties are necessary to send a strong message to the leaders of other institutions that this will not be allowed to happen again.
This includes holding people criminally responsible where that is warranted. And we need to start treating Catholic bishops and cardinals who cover up child abuse the same way: arrest them, put them on trial, convict them, and send them to jail.
We certainly don't need to be using the time and resources of the courts to punish people who refuse to simply stay silent and take the abuse that they've been subjected to.
There is something sickening and evil about a society that doesn't take the simplest steps to protect children from harm. You would think and hope that when it comes to child abuse, adults would have the moral compass to simply do what is right of their own accord.
But sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case with a significant number of people and events continue to show that this isn't a problem that's limited to Penn State. So if some people need to be motivated by the fear of criminal charges and jail rather than their own sense of right and wrong, so be it.
A 17-year old girl passed out at a party and was sexually assaulted by two boys, probably after being drugged. The court came up with a secret plea deal where the rapists got off lightly and, to add insult to injury, ordered the victim to keep quiet. Not willing to keep quiet and frustrated with her inability to get justice from the system, the victim exposed the names of her attackers on Twitter.
Now she's facing contempt of court charges that could lead to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It seems ironic to me that contempt of court would be a crime, since any institution that would protect the perpetrators of child abuse and sexual assault while refusing to protect the victims -- whether that institution is a court or a college or a church -- is worthy of nothing but the utmost contempt.
Meanwhile, Penn State will be facing "unprecedented" penalties from the NCAA that will be announced tomorrow morning at a 9 AM (eastern) news conference in Indianapolis. And the criminal investigations continue, with former president Graham Spanier facing a possible indictment for his part in the cover-up.
I've had a lot to say about Penn State, but it's been hard to find the words. People who say that the school shouldn't be penalized seem to miss the point. The harshest of penalties are necessary to send a strong message to the leaders of other institutions that this will not be allowed to happen again.
This includes holding people criminally responsible where that is warranted. And we need to start treating Catholic bishops and cardinals who cover up child abuse the same way: arrest them, put them on trial, convict them, and send them to jail.
We certainly don't need to be using the time and resources of the courts to punish people who refuse to simply stay silent and take the abuse that they've been subjected to.
There is something sickening and evil about a society that doesn't take the simplest steps to protect children from harm. You would think and hope that when it comes to child abuse, adults would have the moral compass to simply do what is right of their own accord.
But sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case with a significant number of people and events continue to show that this isn't a problem that's limited to Penn State. So if some people need to be motivated by the fear of criminal charges and jail rather than their own sense of right and wrong, so be it.