A Child Advocate's Blog

Original article found here Church Battles Efforts to Ease Sex Abuse Suits By Laurie Goodstein and Erik Eckholm Published: June 14, 2012 Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia says statutes of limitations exist for “sound legal reasons.” While the first criminal trial of a Roman Catholic church official accused of covering up child sexual abuse has drawn national attention to Philadelphia, the church has been quietly engaged in equally consequential battles over abuse, not in courtrooms but in state legislatures around the country. The fights concern proposals to loosen statutes of limitations, which impose deadlines on when victims can bring civil suits or prosecutors can press charges. These time limits, set state by state, have held down the number of criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against all kinds of people accused of child abuse — not just clergy members, but also teachers, youth counselors and family members accused of incest. Victims and ...

Group asks about 2007 abuse claim against McGee The Boston Globe By Peter Schworm Globe Staff / May 9, 2012 Original article here A leading children’s advocacy group Tuesday called on the new acting director of the state’s gambling commission to disclose the terms of a child sexual abuse settlement, joining critics who have demanded a closer look at the allegations. The Massachusetts Citizens for Children said the gambling commission should press Carl Stanley McGee to provide details of the confidential civil settlement he reached with the teenage boy who accused him of sexual assault in 2007.

Cape Cod Times By George Brennan,  gbrennan@capecodonline.com May 09, 2012 Original article here Members of the five-person Massachusetts Gaming  Commission  respond  to a reporter's question during  a news  conference  in  Boston  in March. On  May 1, the commission voted unanimously  to hire  Stan McGee as interim executive director. -The Associated Press BOSTON — Advocates for child sex abuse victims are criticizing a Massachusetts Gaming Commission decision to hire Stan McGee as interim executive director without fully vetting allegations of a 2007 assault. McGee, 43, was accused of, but never officially charged with, sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a Florida resort in 2007. He reached a confidential agreement to settle a lawsuit with the boy's family in 2011. At a press conference held in the conference room at Massachusetts Citizens for Children, also known as MassKids, Executive Direct...

MCC Executive Director Jetta Bernier and Board Member Carmen Durso Appear on NECN program to discuss Stanley McGee WATCH VIDEO (NECN) - It's the latest controversy to brew in the Bay State, but it's roots go back to 2008. That's when Stanley McGee was accused of assaulting a then 15-year-old boy in the steam room of a Florida resort. Earlier in 2012, McGee was hired to be the executive director of the Mass. Gaming Commission. Commission Chair Steve Crosby said the commission felt comfortable hiring McGee because Florida prosecutors determined there was no evidence to corroborate the sexual assault allegation. That answer isn't good enough for these Broadside guests: Attorney Carmen Durso represents child sex abuse victims, and Jetta Bernier advocated for child protection as director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children. Watch the video for more.

April 13, 2012 — Massachusetts Citizens for Children, also known as Mass Kids, a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for the welfare of children, announced that it recently received an $80,000 grant from the Ms. Foundation for Women to fund a campaign that aims to end child sexual abuse. Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) is the lead agency for the Enough Abuse Campaign, an effort that helps communities build local coalitions to prevent child sexual abuse and provides tools and training to educate parents, youth, and a wide range of professionals about prevention strategies. MCC Executive Director Jetta Bernier said, “This latest grant will help the campaign move closer to its goal, that by 2015 every city and town in Massachusetts will be actively engaged in preventing child sexual abuse in their homes and communities." The campaign, which launched in 2002, operates in Gloucester/Cape Ann, Orange/Athol, Newton/Waltham, Greater Springfield, Lowell, and in several w...

The March 30 th  Letter writer Paul Shannon (“Voice of reason muffled over child abuse bill”) wrongly depicted support for repeal of the Statute of Limitations in cases of child sexual abuse as “madness” and its supporters as operating under “mob mentality.”  Under the guise of supporting “evidence-based” policies and opposing hysteria around sex offenders, Mr. Shannon concocts a false and fear-mongering scenario in which repeal, he says, would result in police taking a person accused of a 40-year-old child sex crime into custody “without any significant corroborating evidence.”  The fact is that repeal of the criminal Statute of Limitations would have no retroactive impact on past crimes. After the bill’s passage, only future victims would be able to file charges against their abusers without having to do so before an arbitrary time clock ran out. Readers should know that Mr. Shannon’s interest in opposing SOL repeal stems from his long history of defending child sex...

published: April 1, 2012 in the Warren Reporter Legislators, social service organizations, municipal officials and educators convened in Newton on Friday to begin a local effort to combat child sexual assault. Sussex County nonprofit agency Project Self-Sufficiency has been chosen, along with only two other nonprofit organizations in the state of New Jersey, to take part in a ground-breaking effort to end child sexual abuse in partnership with Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey. The agency will be joined by PEI Kids, located in Mercer County, and Wynona’s House, headquartered in Newark, as the first organizations in New Jersey to replicate the Enough Abuse Campaign throughout their communities. The initiative aims to educate teens and adults about the nature and scope of child sexual abuse, and provide the tools necessary to protect children. For example, studies continue to show that many parents believe the major risk of child sexual abuse involves strangers, when in fact, up to ...