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Why Aren't
These Guys in Jail?
An initial
response of many people who see the video, A Time to Protect God's
Children, is to ask whether the offenders on the video are in jail.
It seems apparent by their dress and the setting that the interviews
were not conducted in prison. However, most people hope that, in this
case, "looks are deceiving."
As caring adults
committed to preventing child sexual abuse, it is important for us to
realize that child molesters rarely do any substantial jail time. In
one 1996 study, 30 men who molested their own children or other
children that they knew, were extensively interviewed in an effort to
discover why men step across sexual boundaries to molest children.[i]
One characteristic of those interviewed in this study was that they
were known offenders-that is, they were already in the legal system.
The facts about
the legal consequences of the charges brought against these men
demonstrate the kind of legal consequences faced by most offenders.
One-third (33 percent) of the convicted offenders spent no time or
less than one week in jail. Thirty-seven (37) percent were sentenced
to a term of one week to six months. And, the remaining thirty (30)
percent were sentenced to one to 10 years. In fact, the longest
amount of time that any of these offenders spent in jail was five years.
As responsible
adults become more and more aware of the nature and scope of this
problem, they have trouble understanding why child molesters are
roaming free in our neighborhoods and organizations. It goes against
the sensibilities of caring adults. However, more often than not,
offenders spend little or no time in jail. Many plead guilty to
lesser offenses to make sure that they are not convicted of any
offense serious enough to get them on the sex offender registry.
There are lots of
reasons why offenders do not spend a substantial amount of time in
jail. For example, children's disclosures are often met with
disbelief. People would rather believe that a child is lying than to
confront the reality that someone they know, trust, and like is
capable of this kind of offense.
It is also
important to remember that these offenders are master manipulators.
They groom the child, the parents, and the community. Therefore, even
if the child is believed, the offender often suffers minimal
consequences for his or her behavior.
In the name of
protecting the abused children and the community, the offender may be
allowed to resign from his or her job, and may even be given a
positive job reference. In some cases, the offender is able to talk a
parent into agreeing not to report the incident if the offender
agrees to "get help." The parent actually believes that the
child is being protected from further trauma if the parents don't
report the incident to the police or to child protection services.
Parents are afraid that the legal process will cause more damage to
the child than not reporting, and they think the best way to protect
their child is to work out some sort of agreement with the offender.
An agreement to
keep quiet in return for the offender getting therapy seems like a
good solution to some adults. These adults convince themselves that
they have taken action to protect their own child and other children
with the least amount of public scrutiny and the least amount of
continuing trauma to the child and family.
Even when law
enforcement is involved in the case, parents may refuse to allow the
child to testify against the offender. Many people have difficulty
understanding how that could happen &ldots; until they realize what
it means for a child to be a witness.
For example, an
8-year-old victim will be required to testify in a courtroom designed
for adults and presided over by a person sitting at a big desk in a
black robe. The only person in the courtroom that the child knows
well is the offender. Attorneys will exclude the child's parents and
other supporters of the child from the courtroom during the child's
testimony by putting them on a witness list.
The child must
testify in front of strangers about what happened. He or she will be
subjected to confusing questions by someone who is trying to make it
seem as if the child is "making it all up" and is confused
about what really happened.
Children also
often have mixed feelings about the offender, and defense counsel can
use those feelings to undermine the testimony of the child. When
faced with the reality of having their child testify in open court,
many parents are willing to negotiate a deal with the offender-a deal
that protects their child from the trauma of testifying.
We could argue
endlessly about the validity of the reasons given for the fact that
most molesters do not spend much time in jail; however, if our goal
is to keep children safe, then the important thing to remember is
that offenders are probably not going to jail. This reality affects
our strategies and tactics for keeping children safe. Therefore,
adults must do what it takes to prevent child sexual abuse from happening.
Adults must learn
the warning signs that alert them to the possibility that an adult in
their community is a possible risk of harm to children. Adults must
learn to create environments where there is no opportunity for child
sexual abuse to occur.
Tougher
prosecution of child molesters who get caught is not the answer to
keeping children safe. To keep children safe, we must be willing to
monitor our own behavior and that of others who work with children,
and to intervene when we have concerns about any adult who is
interacting with children. |
