Jenna Quinn is a hero, and her courage is changing the lives of children in Texas.
Sexually abused by her basketball coach, Jenna remembers all too well the fear and shame that kept her silent. From age 12 to age 14, Jenna suffered through progressive violation of her trust and physical boundaries, followed by two more years of sexual abuse. The once outgoing, popular teenager became withdrawn and troubled, coping by overeating and experimenting with self-harm.
The room was already electric when Vice President Joe Biden stepped onto the Oscars stage Sunday night and gave an impassioned speech about reducing sexual assault on college campuses. He then introduced Lady Gaga, who performed a rousing rendition of "Til It Happens to You," the Oscar-nominated song she and Diane Warren wrote about sexual assault on college campuses for the Kirby Dick documentary "The Hunting Ground."
And then it happened: A group of about 50 women and men entered the stage flanking Gaga at a white piano. With messages of "We believe you," "It's on us" and "Unbreakable" written on their exposed arms, survivors of sexual assault joined the songstress. They locked hands and rose them in triumph.
Ms. Harrison, 25, who lives in Danvers, is a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of her former coach when she was a young teenager. She said she’d be lying if she didn’t still think about the traumatic experiences she overcame. A decade later, therapy remains a means of coping and is still integral in her path to recovery, she said.
“I truly feel blessed,” she said. “I look at my life sometimes and say, ‘Wow. That could have gone real bad, real fast.’ ”
It was a huge moment for the more than 2 million adult victims in Georgia who report being sexually abused during their childhood. The bill essentially cleared the way for them to have their day in civil court by opening a two-year retroactive window for claims of abuse at any age, no matter how long ago the abuse happened.
The law allows victims who were shut out in the past by Georgia’s short statute of limitations to file claims between July 1, 2015, and July 1, 2017. It also gives victims up to two years from the time their abuse is disclosed and documented by medical or psychological evidence in which to sue their accused attackers.
You would think that would make Justin Conway, 38, a satisified man. He’d finally stood up to the karate coach who he said sexually abused him beginning at age 13 and then fought hard to see “The Hidden Predator” Bill signed into law.
The line differentiating a close, personal relationship between an adult and a child and one that is paving the way for potential abuse can be razor thin.
At first, they can look the same; a special bond between the two. The child will confide with the adult, share secrets and talk about their feelings. The adult is someone to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, is a mentor and a source of comfort.
But there’s a reason for the similarities: It’s called “grooming,” a slow-evolving process in which an adult predator can gain the trust and comfort of a child they target for abuse by taking advantage of certain vulnerabilities.
ST. MARYS, Ga. -- Some Camden County residents are outraged that a local karate instructor was allowed to participate in a St. Marys Mardi Gras parade with students over the weekend.
They're upset because seven former students allege in a lawsuit that the instructor molested them when they were children. Two years ago, the District Attorney looking into allegations of child sexual abuse found probable cause but said the statute of limitations had expired.
That karate instructor, Craig Peeples, has not been charged with a crime and he has no restrictions to stay away from children. The association that hosted the parade says he was allowed to participate.
The movement to eliminate and revive expired statutes of limitations (SOLs) for child sex abuse made significant progress in 2015. It also inspired a new and related SOL reform movement for all rape victims, young and old, as the SOLs became a major factor in the dozens of out-of-statute allegations against Bill Cosby, as I discuss here. Finally, there is a decided trend in SOL reform that needs to be stemmed and reversed before our children will be safe: legislators’ willingness to let institutions off the hook.
The SOL reform movement is also increasingly global. There is a growing global movement to extend or eliminate the SOLs in many countries, and particularly in Australia, where the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has conducted searching inquiries into many arenas of abuse, from churches to schools to sports.
"On behalf of an entire community, I want to express sincere and absolute sorrow to the victims of Mr. James and their families. Sons were sent here to chase their dreams and should have left Swift Current with the best memories of their lives."
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