Child Abuse

Republican senators sent strong signals Tuesday that they intend to put up a fight over a bill that would ban smoking in a vehicle occupied by a child under 8 -- a proposal some GOP lawmakers see as an intrusion into people's private space. The legislation, sponsored by Montgomery County Democratic Sen. Jennie Forehand, won 7-4 approval last week from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, but the bill ran into skeptical questioning as it made its first appearance on the Senate floor for the adoption of amendments.

Children need protection from adults who sexually abuse them, and adults should report abuse when they suspect it ("A better way to help kids," Feb. 6). It should be as simple as that. But although Maryland law requires everyone to report suspected cases of abuse - not just educators, health practitioners and social workers - unlike 47 other states, there is no penalty for failure to meet this important obligation. Those of us on the front lines in investigating child abuse cases see a need for significant penalties for failing to report child abuse.

When children are abused, the human costs are high, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : Children who were physically, sexually or psychologically abused are more likely to have poorer health, social and emotional difficulties and lower economic productivity. But the abuse also substantially impacts the nation's health care, education, criminal justice and welfare systems - the costs from abuse and neglect are approximately $124 million just from one year's worth of cases over the abused lifetimes, the CDC says in a new report.

Maryland First Lady Catherine Curran O'Malley announced Monday that Baltimore City, Talbot and Worcester counties have been selected for a new statewide initiative to prevent child sexual abuse by training adults. The Family Tree, a Baltimore non-profit, was granted $25,000 in private funding to replicate the Enough Abuse Campaign, which originated in Massachusetts. The Family Tree will provide free training to child advocacy organizations in the three communities. The program emphasizes educating adults to recognize abused children, to communicate with children about appropriate interactions with adults, and to advocate for victims.

When Timothy Scott Sherman shot and killed his mother and adoptive father while they slept, the case disturbed the normally quiet life in the small Harford County hamlet of Hickory. A quarter-century later, another family murder has rocked the county, in neighboring Bel Air. In that case, Robert C. Richardson III has confessed to killing his father, according to authorities. The state's attorney for Harford County, Joseph I. Cassilly, a gruff no-nonsense lawman, prosecuted the 1987 Sherman case in the beginning of his career and now takes the lead on the Richardson case, which has once again cast a pall over his community.

The mother of a slain Columbia 3-year-old has been indicted on charges of child abuse and related counts stemming from what Howard County police allege was abuse of Elijah Izale LaJeuness that took place five months before his death. Joaquinia Marie LaJeuness, 28, of the 5900 block of Stevens Forest Road was arrested in Meridian, Mich., and returned Saturday to Howard County, where she has been jailed in lieu of $25,000 bond, county police said. Elijah was 2 years old when the county Department of Social Services received a report on Nov. 3, 2010, that the boy had facial marks and bruising.

Child abuse demands that we choose sides. The victim demands that we speak up and take action; the perpetrator demands that we remain silent. Do-nothing bystanders collude with the abuser, enabling him to continue devouring children. That's what is alleged at Penn State. Football trumped the lives of children. Sexual predators will always plague us, out there scanning for prey. The tragedy is that many were victimized as children. They were not protected, no one recognized the traumatic aftereffects, and they had no treatment.

Thomas Leroy Griffin, formerly of Hagerstown and Rosedale, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday to charges he sexually abused a child to produce child pornography. Griffin, 32, began committing the abuses against his victim when she was 5 or 6 years old, according to the plea agreement, engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the child in order to produce visual depictions on at least five occasions. The victim's mother discovered a videotape documenting the abuse last December.

Various commentators, including Susan Reimer and Jon Stewart, have compared the child abuse scandal at Penn State to the scandals involving young boys in the Roman Catholic church. The connection is valid if you view both institutions as being more concerned about avoiding scandal than protecting victims of abuse. But a true comparison would be if Penn State, Florida State, UCLA, Boston College, Arizona State and a dozen other colleges across the country all reported child abuse cases over the same 20-30 year period, involving multiple "coaches" whose acts were covered up. "Fr. Sandusky" would not have been fired and booted off campus.

Sexually perverted adults are found in all walks of life, not merely college football programs. That the recent Penn State tragedy occurred around a sport with a reputation for machismo and tough men is a coincidence. This sort of criminal behavior has taken place in religious institutions, service organizations like the Boy Scouts, community recreation programs, public schools, and even in families. It has been suggested in the press that those who were aware of this behavior and did not stop it immediately or report it to the police used poor judgment.