~PAUL MONES~
Children’s Rights Advocate
Sexual Abuse Attorney in the U.S.

Dreamcatchers for Abused Children is proud to present their newest advisor, Children’s Rights Advocate and Sexual Abuse Attorney, Paul Mones. Since 1980 Paul Mones has focused his legal practice and expert consulting on criminal and civil matters related to children’s rights including child sexual abuse, patricide and matricide, general teenage homicide, the mental health treatment of children and adolescents and domestic violence.

The primary focus of his civil work has been on litigation against institutions in which children are sexually abused. These efforts included law suits against the Boy Scouts of America, the Catholic Church and other youth-serving organizations throughout the United States. In 2007, in a Long Island, New York case, he was part of a trial team that won one of the largest individual jury verdicts-11.4 million dollars-against the Catholic Church on behalf of victims of sexual abuse.

The primary focus of his criminal work is on patricide (the killing of a father) and matricide (the killing of a mother) cases. He is credited with pioneering the battered child syndrome as it concerns teenagers that kill their abusive parents. His book, When A Child Kills: Abused Children Who Kill Their Parents (1991) is considered a landmark book in the field.

Paul Mones began his child advocacy career in West Virginia in 1980 where he was the executive director of Juvenile Advocates Inc. During his years in West Virginia, Mr. Mones vigorously litigated against institutions which mistreated children and teenagers and in the process, he gave a voice to a population which had been largely neglected by the justice system. During three short years, he successfully argued seven cases before the West Virginia Supreme Court which resulted in decisions that fundamentally altered the way teenagers were treated by the legal system in the state.

Paul also lectures nationally on youth  issues to numerous professional organizations such as the American Bar Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Psychological Association, National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. He has also done professional training for numerous state child abuse groups, law enforcement organizations and the United States Army.

Paul is also a prolific author. In addition to When a Child Kills, and numerous articles for newspapers and professional journals, he is the author of Stalking Justice, a true crime book which chronicled the first U.S. serial murder-rape case solved by DNA fingerprinting. In 2002 he contributed a chapter entitled Talking to Your Children About Terrorism in the landmark book, Fearless by Gavin de Becker.

Paul is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Law School and is a member of the bar in California and Oregon. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

EMAIL: paulmoneslaw@gmail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.paulmones.com/
BLOG:  http://www.paulmones.com/blog/
PHONE:  (503) 225-1054