Even suspicion of sex abuse must be reported, Florida experts say in wake of Penn State scandal

By Jane Musgrave and Ana M. Valdes

As federal officials this week continue to investigate whether Penn State University failed to report incidents of alleged sexual abuse on campus as mandated by federal law, many child advocates in Florida are hailing a state statute that requires professionals such as school personnel, to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement.

But the law, which specifies teachers, doctors, child care workers and other professionals must report abuse, has let to few penalties for those who don't follow it in Palm Beach County, according to records from the State Attorney's Office.

Only two people have been charged for failing to report abuse since 1999, while 37 have been prosecuted for falsely reporting abuse, records show.

Statewide, the Florida Department of Children and Families doesn't keep track of cases where people were penalized for failing to report abuse, "but we are not aware of great numbers of prosecutions," DCF spokesman Joe Follick said.

"Obviously, (the law) is not a heavy-handed effort by the state to penalize anyone who might accidentally not have the judgment to report (abuse), but I think it is an indication of how seriously the Florida legislature and Floridians understand the responsibility of everyone to make sure that children are safe," Follick said.

Some of the law's supporters, however, agree that regardless of few prosecutions for potential violators, Florida Statute 39.205 holds many professionals accountable for keeping children safe. And had such a state law been in force in Pennsylvania -- something state officials there now are considering -- it could have averted crimes and brought offenders to justice sooner, Florida expertsay.

Former prosecutor Scott Cupp, who ran the Crimes Against Children Unit in the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, said such a law could could been used to charge all the Penn State officials who knew about former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's alleged sex abuse of boys.

While federal law ultimately was brought to bear on Sandusky, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services specifies that primary responsibility for child welfare services rests with the states.

"McQueary, McQueary's father, Paterno, Spanier, Curley," Cupp said, ticking off the names of the high-level Penn State officials who were alerted, according to a grand jury report that accused Sandusky of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.

Since the release of the report, Penn State's head football coach Joe Paterno was criticized for not doing more to stop the alleged abuse. He was particularly scolded for how he handled an alleged 2002 incident at the university's football complex, in which then-graduate assistant and current assistant coach Mike McQueary told Paterno that he saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers.

Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified university President Graham Spanier. Paterno and Spanier were fired Wednesday, and Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury and failing to report the incident to authorities.

Although Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, Pennsylvania's police commissioner called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in "moral responsibility."

Cupp, who often spoke to local health care workers and educators about their responsibilities under Florida law, said he would always specify they should not just report abuse to a superior, but call the Department of Children and Familes' Child Abuse Hotline.

"You both call it in," he said. "What's the worst that could happen? We spent two dimes."

In addition, he said, using a teacher as an example, there's no way of knowing what's going on behind the scenes. "For all you know, the assistance principal and the perp are drinking buddies."

Lake Worth attorney Betty Resch, who also led the Crimes Against Children unit in the 1990s, agreed that Paterno had a legal obligation to call police when told Sandusky had been seen having sex with a young boy in a university shower.

"I think he did the right thing by going to his superiors," she said. "But he should have followed up. It should have been so disturbing to him that he should have followed up, to want to find out what was happening and how the school was handling it."

In Florida, all residents, not just "professionally mandated reporters" such as teachers and hospital workers -- are required to report any suspicion of abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families' Florida Abuse Hotline, said department spokesperson Joe Follick. (The hotline number is 800-962-2873.)

In fiscal year 2010-2011, the hotline received 313,307 calls, according to DCF records. The slightest suspicion warrants a call, even if the reporter did not hear about the alleged abuse directly from the victim, Follick said. "It can be anyone who has knowledge or suspicion of this," he said. "You can say, 'well that creates more work,' but we would always rather err on the side of having too many calls come in than not enough."

A lawyer for Schultz, the ousted Penn State vice president, said he will seek to have the reporting charge dismissed because the mandated reporting rules only apply to those who come into direct contact with children.

On the heels of the Penn State sex scandal, legislators in Pennsylvania have said they would introduce legislation to strengthen mandatory reporting laws in child abuse cases. State Rep. Kevin Boyle says he will introduce a bill that would require mandated reporters to notify police themselves rather than pass their information on to superiors at work.

"It is clear that a loophole exists in our law," Boyle told The Associated Press. "My legislation would close that loophole, by requiring those who are aware of the abuse to report it to law enforcement authorities, rather than simply following an in-house chain of command."

For Cupp, the former Palm Beach County prosecutor, Florida's law offers a safety net for young victims of abuse by specifically identifying mandatory reporters. "The statute in Florida accepts, anticipates and encourages redundant reporting," Cupp said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/even-suspicion-of-sex-abuse-must-be-reported-1963465.html?page=2

Police: Fugitive who sexually abused foster children arrested

Blog authros note:
What is with these fosters who are so vile? Why didn't someone at CPS or whoever licensed them do a thorough check on these people? They couldn't have really checked into these people because this seems like something too weird to have just started when this man was 40. It makes us sick to think that CPS's failures are why so many children suffer such horrendous abuse simply due to CPS negligence.
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by Naxiely Lopez

McALLEN — A combined effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of a man wanted in connection with the sexual assault of three children who were under his care for more than a year.

Investigators believe Jose Luis Cazares, 40, abused three foster children — all under the age of 10 — while they lived with him and his wife, Belinda, from January 2008 to April 2009, court documents showed. The children were placed in foster care because their mother was deported to Honduras.

Police learned about the alleged abuse only after a second foster family took the children in.

A woman who claimed to be the victims’ half-sister went to police in May and told them the children had made an outcry, records showed. Police did not reveal the woman’s identity.

Investigators took the victims to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Edinburg in June, where they were interviewed separately by professionals. There, the children detailed their lives with the Cazares.

One girl told staff at the center Cazares would take her to his room, where he would sexually assault her or use sex toys to do so, records showed.

The girl told police she pleaded with Cazares to stop, but he wouldn’t.

If she told, he would slap her in the mouth, the child said.

The abuse happened “every day in a while after school,” a probable cause affidavit quotes her saying.

A second girl told staff Cazares would buy something for them if they engaged in sex with him and his wife.

That child detailed an incident during Halloween in which he took her costume off and assaulted her.

A third victim, a boy, did not make an outcry, police said. But his sisters told staff they saw Cazares sexually abusing him.

The children began showing signs of abuse shortly after the second foster family began caring for them in April 2009, the half-sister told police.

The family reached out to Child Protective Services at the time to alert them about the assault, but the family was never contacted by anyone, records showed. They reached out again in 2010 to the children’s physician, but again no one followed up.

By the time police were involved, Cazares and his wife had already relocated.

That’s when the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force got involved. The team comprises officers from various law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Hidalgo and Starr County sheriff’s offices; and police departments in McAllen, Mission, San Juan and Weslaco.

Officers tracked Cazares down in Prairie Gillette, Wyo., using documentation from Child Protective Services, police said. Investigators contacted the Gillette police and they assisted in questioning the pair.

Both denied the allegations, investigators said.

Gillette police also assisted in interviewing a fourth female minor who was living with them in Wyoming, police said.

The girl apparently had a child at a young age, which sparked investigators’ interest.

The fourth victim initially told police her baby’s father was a boy at school, but she eventually admitted Cazares raped her when she was living with him in McAllen, police said.

That girl told police she was at home taking care of the three foster children when Cazares ordered them to their rooms and raped her on the couch by holding her down.

On Tuesday, investigators received information that Cazares was once again in the area and was working at Hayashi Hibachi, records showed. Police arrested him there about 4:45 p.m.

Investigators continued working on filing charges against Cazares’ wife, Belinda.

A McAllen Municipal judge charged Jose Luis Cazares with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child — a first-degree felony — sexual assault and prohibited sexual conduct, both second-degree felonies. His bond was set at $550,000.

If convicted, he could face up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.

Source http://www.themonitor.com/news/fugitive-56493-mcallen-abused.html

Lawsuit involving foster child, DSS workers settled - SD

by Scott Waltman

A lawsuit alleging that officials should have known they were placing a girl in a potentially unsafe Aberdeen foster home has been settled without a trial.

Terms of the agreement cannot be disclosed, according to court paperwork.

The case was filed by a woman appointed to represent the girl against Northeastern Mental Health, two state Department of Social Services workers, the foster parents and another foster child. Documents concerning the settlement were sealed to protect the victim, according to case paperwork.

The Department of Social Services' Child Protection Services was responsible for care of the girl when Northeast Mental Health placed her with the Steve and Stephanie Schuman family of Aberdeen in December 2007, according to the lawsuit. The girl stayed with the foster family until March 2008 and turned 9 during that time.

A 17-year-old male "with a propensity to sexually act out" — one of the defendants — had previously been placed in the foster home. The lawsuit claims that the older boy sexually abused the girl during the time they lived in the same home. The defendants should have known the boy was a threat to the girl and failed to properly address the issue, according to the lawsuit.

Department of Social Services employees Amy Reyes and Laura Woolverton, who worked on the girl's case, were listed as defendants.

Agreements settle the case with the Schumans, Northeastern Mental Health, Reyes and Woolverton. The other foster child is not mentioned in the settlement.

Previously, a $25,000 proposed settlement from Northeast Mental Health and the Schumans had been rejected.

Source http://www.aberdeennews.com/news/aan-lawsuit-involving-foster-child-dss-workers-settled-20111110,0,7424685.story

ABA Practice & Policy Brief on Psychotropic Medication and Children in Foster Care

Click this link to read an informative pdf file:

http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/PsychMed.authcheckdam.pdf

Children in Foster Care Higher Report Higher Rates of Sexual Abuse

Article provided by New York Injury Accident Attorney - The Orlow Firm

A carefree childhood should not be considered a luxury. Children should not have to live their life in fear of their caregivers, which is unfortunately what sometimes occurs when children are placed in foster care.

Generally, studies find that children do best when they are raised by their natural parents, but this ideal arrangement is not possible when neglected or abused children are removed from their homes and enter the foster care system. Unfortunately for these already mistreated children, foster care often perpetuates their dreadful treatment ― as recent studies have found a higher prevalence of sexual abuse when children reside in foster care.

A Baltimore study concluded that children in foster care suffered four times higher rates of sexual abuse than the general population. Another study, conducted in Indiana, found three times more physical abuse and twice the rate of sexual abuse in foster homes when compared with the general population. On further examination of the higher rates of abuse in foster care, it was discovered that often times it is the children themselves that are abusing each other.

Unreported Abuse

Even though child abuse is now discussed more openly than in the past, with more child victims and adults who were abused as children coming forward, there is still a large number of victims who never report these crimes. Child abuse is a hidden and deeply rooted problem. Children often suffer quietly, allowing abusers to continue to victimize other children with impunity.

Children and adults are often hesitant to report sexual assaults that occur during their childhood. The reluctance to disclose abuse may be caused by the shame an older child might feel. Also, many children are terrified the abuser will hurt them if they disclose the abuse. Moreover, a child might also fear they will lose the love of someone special or be forced to leave their family or move to a different foster home.

Problems with Delayed Sexual Abuse Reporting

If you were a victim of sexual abuse as a child, you have the right to bring a civil lawsuit against the person who committed the abuse and anyone who could have prevented the abuse. But you only have a certain amount of time to bring a lawsuit. In New York, victims have five years to bring a sexual abuse claim. If you were abused as a child, you can bring a lawsuit until the age of 23 (the five year limitations period begins when you turn 18).

Recent legislation seeks to change the limitations period. According to the proposed changes, the five year limitations period would start at the age of 23 instead of 18. This would allow a victim until the age of 28 to file a sexual abuse lawsuit. Passage, however, of this legislation, is very problematic.

If you were abused as a child, you need to consult with an experienced attorney. Discussing past abuse is sensitive and an attorney will be able to help you by advising you as to your rights and options.

Source http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2011/Sep/378791.html