Protect our children from predators
What does it benefit our children if we encourage them to speak up when they’ve been sexually and emotionally harmed by a predator when the justice system only slaps offender’s wrists with a plea bargain?
One glaring example of this happened last week when former prosecutor Andrew Jones — who knows the law and had a duty to uphold it and himself with integrity —admitted to sexually abusing a minor and walked away with zero time served.
The fact that his attorney had the words “sexual offender conditions” removed from the final plea deal is gut-wrenching when you understand the repercussions his young victim faces.
Is the consolation prize that the sexual predator’s reputation in the community is soiled? That’s hardly consoling to the children, teenagers and adult survivors who feel that they aren’t worth a shred of justice, when they know that someone who violated them in the vilest way can venture into another community and start the miserable cycle all over again.
From the time I was two until I was 15, my step-grandfather molested me. Little did I know that he was molesting my little sister Janie until she was brave enough to share with me her horror. We weren’t the only ones. There were three more victims and one of them died way too young because she couldn’t cope.
After my tormentor spent a measly 90 days in prison back in the ’80s, I felt like I wasn’t valuable enough to fight for, worth a shred of justice. As a result, the repercussions of sexual abuse coupled with a failed system made me feel worthless, angry and bitter. Admittedly, I’m one of the fortunate who eventually found God’s restorative love and a capacity to forgive, not for the predator’s benefit, but for mine.
While I worked in full-time ministry, women from different congregations and spiritual backgrounds began to seek me out, and I quickly realized most of them shared a common thread: poor self-worth that stemmed from childhood sexual abuse.
These kinds of soul scars which breed selfdoubt have the ability to stunt personal growth when all we want is to be OK, to be valuable.
The scars don’t magically heal no matter how much we try to conceal them. We pull them from our pasts into our marriages, our bedrooms, even our parenting.
While raising our children, my sister and I were severely overprotective because we were looking for predators in the faces of our children’s friends’ parents, their coaches, their teachers.
This abuse has to stop. Right here. Right. Now.
We have to make the justice system wake up and take responsibility for the brave children and young adults who lift their voices and say “help me.” Their voices are precious and they should be valued. They have the power to save others if their predators are punished to the fullest extent of the law.
The solution here is to have sexual predators locked away from children. Period. Sure, reform them, help them, save their souls, but don’t allow them the temptation of hurting another child or young adult.
It’s up to us to reach out to our local representatives. It’s up to us to change legislation. It’s up to us to save our children.
Will you be a voice for these children? Then please reach out to your local representative and make some noise to ensure our kids’ futures are healthy and whole.