Law Blog

Few people object to the existence of government agencies charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect, nor do they oppose giving these agencies the power to remove children from abusive environments, at least as a last resort.

However, this post from the Wall Street Journal Law Blog shows what can happen when the legitimate mission of state Child Protective Services agencies can become sidetracked by puritanical hysteria.

According to the post, parents took innocent pictures of their children in the bathtub. When they went to a local Wal-Mart to have the pictures printed, an employee decided that these pictures constituted child pornography, and turned them over to the police.

The parents were arrested, and their daughters were taken away from them for over a year. During that time, they were required to register as sex offenders. The couple spent $75,000 in legal fees, and the mother was suspended from her job. According to recent interviews with the parents, it took a long time before they were comfortable taking any pictures of their children again, regardless of the setting.

In the end, they were cleared of all wrongdoing, the charges were dropped, and their children were returned after a year living away from their parents.

All sane people recognize that sexual exploitation of children is one of the most evil and disgusting things that human beings are capable of. I don’t know exactly how pervasive the problem is, but one instance of it is one too many. I also don’t know what has happened to our society that people would consider innocent pictures of children, the type which the vast majority of parents take, could be construed as child pornography by any person capable of obtaining employment (even if it is a job at Wal-Mart’s photo department) as child pornography.

Furthermore, this case used up limited resources that could have been used to investigate and prosecute actual instances of child sexual abuse. An argument could be made that, because of the actions of this employee, and the decision of the police and CPS to pursue this frivolous investigation for so long, real cases of abuse went unpunished, and children suffered as a result.

According to recent LegalMatch statistics from the last 12 months, reports of child abuse continue to be common. In most of the cases, the alleged abuser was a parent or someone else who had a confidential relationship with the child, such as a teacher or coach. This demonstrates the need for a robust system that protects children from abuse, and that any frivolous allegations should be dismissed, after being sufficiently investigated, lest real cases of child abuse go unpunished.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting what appears to be a sad case of religious conflict within a family ending with one of the worst possible outcomes. A 17-year-old girl, who, along with her parents, is a native of Sri Lanka, has fled her home in Ohio, and ended up in Florida. She claimed that her father threatened to kill her because she converted from Islam to Christianity.  She is now in a Florida court, which is trying to decide whether or not to return her to her family.

This case raises quite a few interesting legal issues, not the least of which being whether a Florida court even has the jurisdiction to rule on the parental rights of a family in Ohio.

However, it also raises other legal and practical issues: there does not appear to be much evidence supporting this girl’s claims. On the other hand, the allegations are extremely serious. What weight should be given to such allegations? In cases such as this, should there be some sort of sliding scale that decreases the standard of proof as the severity of the harm alleged increases? This may make logical sense, but raises many practical issues, as well.

This girl is 17 years old, meaning she will be 18 in less than a year, at which point she’ll be legally able to sever any relationship she has with her parents. Whatever the merits of her allegations (again, there does not appear to be any concrete evidence supporting them at this point), it is clear that her relationship with her parents is less than perfect. Would anybody’s interests be served if she were forced to return to her family, when she could legally move out in a matter of months? Given what we currently know about the facts of this case (not much, at this point), it seems that, whatever her reasons, she will probably choose to leave her family when she is legally free to do so.

On the other hand, if her testimony lacks any credibility, and she cannot articulate any other reasons that a court should terminate her parents’ custody over her, a court might reasonably conclude that this is simply a case of teenage angst taken to extremes.

If this girl is telling the truth, the sad fact is that her story would not be a new one, though the particular facts are unique. According to LegalMatch case data, the majority of recent cases with issues of child abuse involved alleged abuse by a parent or stepparent. While we don’t know if this girl’s allegations are true, if they do turn out to be true, it wouldn’t be the first nor the last time, unfortunately.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting what appears to be a sad case of religious conflict within a family ending with one of the worst possible outcomes. A 17-year-old girl, who, along with her parents, is a native of Sri Lanka, has fled her home in Ohio, and ended up in Florida. She claimed that her father threatened to kill her because she converted from Islam to Christianity.  She is now in a Florida court, which is trying to decide whether or not to return her to her family.

This case raises quite a few interesting legal issues, not the least of which being whether a Florida court even has the jurisdiction to rule on the parental rights of a family in Ohio.

However, it also raises other legal and practical issues: there does not appear to be much evidence supporting this girl’s claims. On the other hand, the allegations are extremely serious. What weight should be given to such allegations? In cases such as this, should there be some sort of sliding scale that decreases the standard of proof as the severity of the harm alleged increases? This may make logical sense, but raises many practical issues, as well.

This girl is 17 years old, meaning she will be 18 in less than a year, at which point she’ll be legally able to sever any relationship she has with her parents. Whatever the merits of her allegations (again, there does not appear to be any concrete evidence supporting them at this point), it is clear that her relationship with her parents is less than perfect. Would anybody’s interests be served if she were forced to return to her family, when she could legally move out in a matter of months? Given what we currently know about the facts of this case (not much, at this point), it seems that, whatever her reasons, she will probably choose to leave her family when she is legally free to do so.

On the other hand, if her testimony lacks any credibility, and she cannot articulate any other reasons that a court should terminate her parents’ custody over her, a court might reasonably conclude that this is simply a case of teenage angst taken to extremes.

If this girl is telling the truth, the sad fact is that her story would not be a new one, though the particular facts are unique. According to LegalMatch case data, the majority of recent cases with issues of child abuse involved alleged abuse by a parent or stepparent. While we don’t know if this girl’s allegations are true, if they do turn out to be true, it wouldn’t be the first nor the last time, unfortunately.

Recently, a 10-year old boy named Seth Ireland died.  He was, allegedly, beaten to death by his mother’s boyfriend. The death occurred near Fresno, California, an area hard hit by unemployment and a down market economy. Increased financial stresses, are translating to increased incidents of child abuse.[1]  But, how do we protect our children?  We protect them through increased awareness and via support for those families going through hard economic times.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S.D.H.H.S.), during fiscal year 2007, an estimated 794,000 children were victims of child abuse or 10.6 children for every 1,000 children in the population nationally.[2]  Not surprisingly, during the past five years, over 3,500 customers have consulted LegalMatch in an effort to find an experienced personal injury attorney to help them bring suit against a child abuser.

Child abuse ranges from physical neglect (59%), physical abuse (10.8%), sexual abuse (7.6%), and psychological abuse (4.2%), to being medically neglected and multiple categories of neglect.[3]  While the majority of children abused were under age 11 (75%), 25% of children were age 11 to 17 and there was a near equal split of gender.  Slightly more female children (52%) were abused than male children (48%).[4]

But, just who are these perpetrators of child abuse? 

The majority of perpetrators of child abuse, according to U.S.D.H.H.S. were parents, step-parents or adopted parents, accounting for 86.5% of all child abusers.  While this may sound surprising, LegalMatch.com data bears this out (see Figure below) with about 62% of perpetrators reported as being “in the family.” 

The majority of family members reported are the biological parents; abusers are fathers and mother alike. This is no different than national data.[5]  Unlike national data, LegalMatch customers also report a high percentage of family friends or acquaintances (17%) being responsible for child abuse.   This is echoed in the story about Seth Ireland.  Despite movies like “Doubt,” priests/pastors, doctors and other professionals count among the smallest category of child abusers; but they still do count.  Moreover, there is no socio-economic level immune to child abuse.[6]

Makeup of Perpetrators of Child Abuse on LegalMatch.com

Victims of child abuse suffer life-long consequences from being substantially more likely to become abusers of drugs or alcohol than non-abused children, to suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder to becoming perpetrators themselves.[7]  It takes considerable courage and a heavy emotional toll for the child-victim or the parent or guardian of the child to report abuse.  But, count on the toll being much heavier for all concerned if the abuse continues unspoken and unreported.  

To report child abuse, contact your state Department of Child Protective Services. LegalMatch can also help you find an experienced personal injury lawyer to assist you in bringing a private lawsuit against the individual being charged.  Or, if you, yourself, are being accused of child abuse, LegalMatch can help you find a seasoned criminal defense attorney to help. 

Related Links:

• Child Welfare Information Gateway
• Child Help National Abuse Hotline

[2] U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Dept. of Children’s Services, Child Maltreatment 2007

[3] U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Dept. of Children’s Services, Child Maltreatment 2007

[4] U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Dept. of Children Services, Child Maltreatment

[5] U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Service, Dept. of Children Services, Child Maltreatment 2007

[6] Child Help National Abuse Hotline

[7] Child Help National Abuse Hotline

Currently, all U.S. states have some type of “safe haven” law.  These laws allow parents or guardians to leave their children in the care of the state by dropping them at a local hospital or police station without fear of criminal prosecution (so long as there has been no abuse).  Nebraska is the only state to adopt a safe haven law without specifying an age limit, and over the three months since the law took effect, 18 young children and teens have been deposited at these facilities.

Safe haven laws were originally enacted to prevent infanticide and to protect very young children, and Nebraska’s law is clearly having unintended effects.  So far, most criticism of the law has focused on how it supposedly allows parents to shirk their responsibilities and how older children will be irreparably damaged by abandonment.  While older children and teens will certainly suffer from being abandoned, and the law should definitely not be used by parents as a “scare tactic,” to control unruly teens, I wonder if society’s outrage is misplaced . . .

In response to public outcry over the law, Governor Dave Heineman and Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood have announced plans to amend the law, and will probably set the age limit at three days old.  Yet, until all of Nebraska’s parents provide safe, loving homes, or the government provides adequate social services for children and teens at risk, children who might be abandoned under the safe haven law may be worse off after it’s amended.

I think that the vast majority of parents would only abandon their children if they saw no other way to properly care for them.  According to Voices for Children, 15% of children in Nebraska were living in poverty and 36% lived in homes considered “low income.”  Parents who simply lack the money or other resources to care for their children should not be condemned for giving up custody for the state.  And parents who recognize that they are abusive toward their children – whatever age they may be – should have an easy way to get their kids to safety.

In 2006, authorities substantiated 3,065 cases of abuse and neglect involving 4,501 Nebraska children, and 17 Nebraska children died as a result of child abuse or homicide.  Hopefully, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and other social service agencies will be able to fill some of the gaps that caused parents to abandon their children in the first place.  If you or a family you know in needs help, please contact the Boys Town National Hotline at 1-800-448-3000, Childhelp USA at 1-800-4-A-CHILD, or visit the Human Services of Nebraska or The Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.