Oct 17, 2005

It's time to take our Circle of Trust campaign to Washington! Find out if your member of Congress is sponsoring the CARE Act... and what you can do right now to fight for children. CLICK HERE.

Oct 17, 2005

Last week we reported on a New Mexico prosecutor who allowed a predatory pedophile to walk free under very strange circumstances (see Newswire, Oct. 11). The next chapter in that story was written yesterday, when the Farmington, Daily-Times published an editorial on the plea bargain. It's highly unusual for newspapers to direct harsh scrutiny at prosecutors. Yet for every sweetheart sentence handed down publicly by a judge, there are hundreds of behind the scenes sweetheart plea bargains made by prosecutors that never get reported. While the Daily-Times appeared to be sparing their local District Attorney the brunt of direct criticism, its editorial is now part of the public record: "This was a news story the justice system tried to keep hushed up because it feared an uproar by the local community," writes the paper. "We only hope such a reaction will occur to dissuade the court system from ever acting so irresponsibly in the future." So do we.

Oct 17, 2005

Nick Hornby PROTECT fundraiser! Get the details HERE.

Oct 13, 2005

An independent panel created to monitor the reform of New Jersey's child protection system has issued a damning report on the State's progress. The panel was put in place to evaluate the court-ordered reform efforts as the result of a class action lawsuit on behalf of foster children. According to the New York Times, the panel found that New Jersey's child welfare agency is failing to implement changes in 14 areas, including providing access to health care for children in its custody. "Of 909 children placed with foster families from April to June of this year, only 260 or 29 percent of those who should have received medical exams did so," the report said. In the wake of the report, lawyers for the foster children asked the court to take over New Jersey's child welfare agency to force reform. "The state is unable to do the job the children need without a major course correction that just hasn't come," said Susan Lambiase of Children's Rights. A judge has given the State 10 days to work out an agreement with the panel.

Oct 12, 2005

Franklin County Judge Carol Van Horn restored a little of our faith in the court system recently, when she told prosecutors they could forget their plea bargain for a predator. According to the Hagerstown, Maryland Herald-Mail, Van Horn took offense at a bargain prosecutors made to an Oklahoma man who was charged with numerous sex crimes against the child, during a time when she was 5-13. New tenants of a mobile home in Washington Township found a document in their water bed, "listing sexual positions and devices, along with the girl's name." The man's wife is accused of participating in the abuse, and authorities say the two later abandond the girl in Oklahoma. Prosecutors offered the defendant a 7-20 year sentence, but the judge rejected it. "All of the charges are again open for resolution," said Van Horn.

Oct 11, 2005

Despite some good reporting, the mystery behind a recent sweetheart sentence in San Juan County, New Mexico is still shrouded in fog. According to an article in the Farmington, N.M. Daily-Times, Rolan Edward McRee just walked away from 30 charges of child rape and abuse with probation, thanks to a weak or compromised prosecutor, a bad judge, some sex offender therapists and a creative lawyer. McRee was charged with sexually assaulting his daughter from the ages of 7 to 13, and prosecutors originally charged him with 15 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and other charges, which could have put him away for life (McRee admitted his crimes in writing). McRee told the court, "My family has really been troopers. They have really stayed with me through this project. They supported me in my counseling. My marriage has recovered immensely. They all stepped forward and forgave me."

The public servants in the DA's office were apparently troopers who stepped forward for McRee too. Deputy District Attorney Lisa Kuykendall dropped 26 charges, offering McRee three years of "supervised probation," "family counseling," and the chance to have his criminal record "wiped clean," with no registering as a sex offender. Then things began to get really strange at the courthouse. According to the paper, Judge William Birdsall took himself off the case for undisclosed personal reasons, about two months after the plea bargain. "Virtually every other judge in San Juan County followed suit," the paper reports, "leaving the case to be reassigned to Judge [Tim] Garcia," who normally presides over cases in another county. Kuykendall finally hit the jackpot with Judge Garcia. "You are a lucky man, Mr. McRee," said the judge, blessing the sweetheart sentence. "It appears that because of your initiative, you have been able to save a family, despite the serious nature of the charges."

Oct 10, 2005

Newswire contributor Roland Murphy has found hopeful news for kids from Leflore County, Mississippi. Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi has established a multidisciplinary team to respond to allegations of child abuse. The team coordinates efforts to conduct child-friendly forensic interviews, ensure swift and successful prosecution and also to make sure victims' needs are represented in the courts. One of a network of such programs in northern Mississippi, representatives of two police departments, the county sheriff's office, a mental health agency, the prosecutor's office and the department of human services comprise the Leflore County team. Among the protocols the nonprofit is using is the model developed by CornerHouse of Minneapolis, Minnesota. CornerHouse works in conjunction with the National Child Protection Training Center, a program affiliated with the National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse. One of PROTECT's goals is to improve the quality of child abuse investigations and support victims in the process, and we commend Leflore County and others like it for their efforts.

Oct 07, 2005

The new PROTECT benefit CD from Fat Wreck Chords and Punkvoter hasn't been officially released yet, but it's shipped to stores and reviewers. Yesterday, MTV News was one of the first to plug it. The word on the street is that this album--which contains music from 26 bands and 15 previously unreleased tracks--will be a hot one! You can get your own preview, right here.

Oct 06, 2005

Kim Talman, PROTECT's New York Chairperson, was featured in the Long Island Suffolk Life Newspapers yesterday, after raising questions about a proposed local ordinance on sex offenders. The ordinance would ban certain sex offenders from living near parks and schools and create new guidelines for screening town employees who work around children. "I love the fact that you're addressing the situation," Talman said, "but I don't think you're addressing it correctly.... It's just a feel good effort." Talman found a receptive audience last week, when she addressed the Huntington Town Council. She subsequently met with leaders to discuss ways of improving the measure. Talman was especially critcal of the proposed background checks, which would stop far short of real safety by only checking the sex offender registry. "The sex offender registry is an honor system," said Talman, who encouraged officials to do the background checks but warned that the town has a legal obligation to do them properly. Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, worked with the town board on the proposal and took issue with some of Talman's remarks. "We know that the law isn't going to stop them from abusing children, but it will reduce the number of victims," Ahearn said. [Link]

Oct 02, 2005

Thanks to Justice for Children for alerting us to good news on the family courts front. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges have published guidance for judges on "parental alienation syndrome," the junk science theory by the late Richard Gardner often used in custody and child abuse cases to give credence to claims of false allegations. The Council's publication is "Navigating Custody and Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge's Guide," [link] and it says:

"Richard Gardner's theory positing the existence of "parental alienation syndrome" or "PAS" has been discredited by the scientific community. Testimony that a party to a custody case suffers from the syndrome should therefore be ruled inadmissible both under the standard established in Daubert and the stricter Frye standard."

For more on PAS in the courts from Justice for Children, click here, or visit the Leadership Council's website, here.