Abuse Of Children

A separate Family Court, authorized in the General Assembly this year, should make a big difference for families who find themselves caught up in the judicial system. From custody cases to families with children in trouble with the law, the current justice system is characterized by long delays and the distinct signal that other cases take priority over family matters. That move is one of several actions taken by the legislature this year that will have a tangible effect on the lives of children in Maryland.

Maryland's Court of Special Appeals has overturned a Carroll County man's conviction for the sexual abuse of children. The XTC man's 145-year prison term was one of the longest abuse sentences in state history.The state's second-highest court ruled Thursday that the trial judge should not have allowed a doctor to testify that most children don't lie about such abuse.The man -- whose name is being withheld to protect the privacy of his victims -- was convicted in July 1994 of molesting nine children, two of them his own, over a five-year period.

Fancies of the fashion world are often dismissed by the general public. The latest wacky get-ups from the runways of New York, Paris and Milan are greeted by just plain folks with derisive hoots or profound puzzlement over who in their right mind would want to wear such stuff. The newest concept from the couture capitals also appears worthy of laughter, except that response might downplay an idea more disturbing than those fashion designers tend to serve up.Yes, it's hot, it's to die for, it's -- the baby doll look for grown women!

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago should be commended for their plan to establish an independent, mostly lay board to investigate future charges of sexual abuse of children by Chicago priests. The board will act independently, but the cardinal will have final say over any step it suggests.While relatively few priests have committed such offenses, the issue has long been a troublesome one for the church, and especially for victims and their families. Out of naivete or fear of disclosure, or a combination of the two, church officials tended to sweep charges under the rug by transferring the accused priests to other parishes.

BOSTON - In what church officials here labeled "a response of repentance," the Boston archdiocese released a set of rules yesterday to protect children from clerical sexual abuse. The document - a year in the making - outlines protocol to create "safe environments" intended to prevent child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests. The report, whose recommendations take effect July 1, also outlines procedures to report and investigate allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy. Acknowledging the toll of a crisis that began in the Boston archdiocese more than 18 months ago, Bishop Richard G. Lennon said yesterday that he hoped the new policies will "rebuild trust and bring healing within the Catholic community of Boston."

Score one for the women.After seeing their domestic violence bill gutted by a House committee, members of the women's legislative caucus took their case to the entire House of Delegates yesterday and won preliminary approval for a modest measure that would give greater protection to victims of domestic abuse.The caucus, which includes 36 delegates, made the move after the Judiciary Committee last week all but killed the bill, which had been the women's top priority this legislative session.

If any city children have been abused at a boarding school in Kenya, the school's directors in Baltimore say, they can find no evidence of it. Questions concerning the Baraka School, which enrolls about 40 middle school boys from Baltimore considered at risk for failure, were raised this week at a city school board meeting when activist Tyrone Powers demanded a response to 19 directives. No. 18: "Fully disclose the status of the investigation into the alleged physical abuse of children in the Baraka School project."

Over the last several weeks, our daily news has been dominated with very disturbing information about allegations of abuse of children by the former assistant football coach at Penn State University. I, like many, have been horrified, disturbed, and greatly troubled by the victimization of children at the hands of an adult, who, in a position of power, allegedly took advantage of young helpless children and allegedly engaged in abhorrent acts of abuse which are not only unconscionable and egregious but sick and wrong.

A lawyer for John Merzbacher, the former Baltimore Catholic school teacher serving four life terms for child rape and sexual abuse, argued in a federal appeals court filing Thursday that his imprisoned client must be offered a plea deal, despite his convictions, or be released immediately. The claims refer to a U.S. District Court opinion handed down in 2010, saying that Merzbacher's constitutional rights were violated when his defense attorneys neglected to tell him about a 10-year plea offer before his 1995 trial on charges he attacked a Catholic Community middle school girl nearly two decades earlier.

CINCINNATI -- A former songwriter for "Captain Kangaroo" told jurors in the Robert Mapplethorpe obscenity trial yesterday that the photographer's sexually explicit works should not be displayed in museums because they promote sadomasochism and sexual abuse of children.Mass media analyst Judith Reisman was permitted to testify in the case against the Contemporary Arts Center and director Dennis Barrie over the objections of defense attorneys, who challenged her ability to evaluate either art or obscenity.