“Erin’s Law” Will Protect Children From Sexual Abuse

Sens. Rebekah Warren and John Proos announced today they will be introducing legislation in the Michigan Senate to help prevent the sexual abuse of children. The bill would be called “Erin’s Law” and is named after Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor from Illinois, whose advocacy led to the passage of a similar law in her home state. The measure would allow school boards to adopt and implement policies addressing child sexual abuse and would create a new Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, made up of legislators, state officials and experts.  READ MORE HERE

To Learn More About Erin’s Law, please visit: www.erinmerryn.net

Erin’s Law was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn February 14, 2011.
Erin’s law was signed by Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri on July 14,2011.
Erin’s Law was introduced at a press conference in Syracuse, New York at a press conference October 25, 2011.
A total of 8 states are introducing Erin’s Law in 2012. With 2 states already having passed it. Erin’s mission is to see Erin’s law passed in every state and she won’t stop until that mission is accomplished. Erin Merryn has appeared on Oprah talking about Erin’s Law in October 2010. Erin Merryn spoke at the United States Department of Education on Erin’s Law at their national conference August, 2011.
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Illinois Erin’s law language: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2843&GAID=10&DocTypeID=SB&SessionID=76&GA=96

Missouri Erin’s Law http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&
BillID=4066479

How to Report Suspected Child Maltreatment

Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect. Reporting abuse or neglect can protect a child and get help for a family—it may even save a child’s life. In some States, any person who suspects child abuse or neglect is required to report. To see how your State addresses this issue, read the Information Gateway publication, Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect.

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VISIT OUR “REPORT ABUSE” PAGE FOR RESOURCES & PHONE NUMBERS

When a little boy reportedly fell off the deck of a house in Lincoln County in July 2009 and hit his head, his mother and her boyfriend were drunk, according to a report by a state child-protection worker. There was no food in the filthy house, but there were pill bottles, beer cans and needles lying around, and blood on the child’s bed.

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Suspect in Extreme Child Abuse Case Sentenced to 15 Years

Victim was kept locked in a bathroom for months

SCOTTSDALE – A man who kept his 14-year-old daughter locked in a bathroom and deprived her of food as a form of punishment has been sentenced by a judge. Bass begged the judge for leniency, but ended up getting the maximum penalty. Scott Bass was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime probation after pleading guilty to kidnapping and child abuse.  READ MORE HERE

COLORADO—– A Colorado Springs children’s photographer was arrested for sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl, and making child porn.Glen Owen Godec, 46, had been under investigation for five months before being arrested. He was known to take professional photographs of middle school students and students of Jillian’s School of Dance.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two men filed suit Tuesday against Syracuse University and head basketball coach Jim Boeheim for allegedly ignoring years of sexual abuse they say they suffered as children at the hands of an assistant coach. The suit comes a month after the men’s allegations against Bernie Fine were broadcast on television. Boeheim, a Hall of Fame coach, initially spoke out in his assistant’s defense, although he later voiced support for Fine’s eventual firing.

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JEFFERSON, Ohio — An Ohio father has been charged with giving his children a potentially addictive pain medicine so he could submit their urine for his drug tests. Police said Lawrence E. Kirk Jr., 30, Conneaut, Ohio, had to submit to a urine test before his prescription for Oxycodone could be renewed in order to assure he was not using illegal drugs.

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Babysitter SLIT THROAT Of 4-Year-Old Baby – Sent Photo Of Mutilated Body To Baby’s Mother

A babysitter has been accused of slitting the throat of a four-year-old boy and sending a photo of his mutilated body to his mother to prove that he had killed the boy. Terry Joe ‘TJ’ Volner took a series of photos after allegedly killing the boy, including one showing the dead boy’s chin propped up by a stick. Prosecutors said the 22-year-old man took the gruesome ‘trophy’ photos to prove to his mother Tina Miller, that he had killed the Dusty Guenther, the only son of Gina Guenther who Volner knew very well.  READ MORE HERE

Angela Goss even refused to take the toddler to hospital for treatment and instead went to a methadoneclinic rather than miss her appointment. The toddler was eventually taken to a hospital by her grandmother – while Goss passed out in a car outside. Police in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, said Goss had injured her daughter by dragging her across the floor after she wet herself and the floor while using a bathroom.  READ MORE HERE

Corey D. Gaston, a child rape suspect who got away twice. Gaston was featured in a Free Press story in August. He is charged in the 2007 rape of a 10-year-old Detroit girl who was kidnapped from her bedroom while she slept. Police got a lucky break in the case: The attacker dropped his cell phone at the scene, leading to Gaston’s arrest. At his arraignment, Gaston was released on bond and fled the state. He was picked up in Georgia days later and brought back to Detroit.  READ MORE HERE

As we watch the story of the sexual abuse scandals unfold at Penn State and now Syracuse, the first response for many was shock and concern for the boys who lives were so profoundly affected. In speaking with many parents, the next response was “could this happen to my kid, and would I know if it did?” It is a mistake to assume they would tell us, if something like this happened to our kids. Most children who suffer this kind of abuse never tell their parents. If the child is very young they may stay silent simply because they just don’t understand what has happened to them. It is also common that the victim may assume that if something this awful happened to them, they somehow must have deserved it. Of course no child ever “deserves” this treatment.

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READ MORE ON DREAMCATCHERS CHILD SEX ABUSE PAGE

A Hamden woman and her boyfriend were arrested last week on child abuse charges after the woman’s two-year-old son was hospitalized in September with what police said could have been life-threatening injuries. On Sept. 28, police were called to the couple’s home at 42 Warner St., Apt. 89 on the report of a sick child, police spokesman Capt. Ronald Smith said.   READ MORE HERE