* Editor’s note – This article is the first in a series on child sexual abuse. Additional articles in the series will also run Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.

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If the Washington County Health Department were to find that one in three people under the age of 18 had the flu, they’d say they had an epidemic on their hands. But there’s one epidemic raging across the state and nation that has no vaccination to take care of it. Statistics show that one in three girls and one in four boys are sexually abused by the time they turn 18. That figure far exceeds the standard used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to determine medical epidemics. It’s an issue gaining national attention recently, with the conviction a week ago of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was found guilty of 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. Sandusky gained access to children through his charity, grooming them before the abuse began. His adopted son has said he was also abused, although he was not part of the trial.  READ MORE HERE