VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT NEED STRONG ADVOCATES – SUPPORT FROM THE U.S. SENATE IS AS HIGH AS IT GETS.
April 15, 2014
Summary: Too many children have fallen victim to sexual abuse as a result of inaction at the state and school district level. Cursory background checks and passing the trash provide sexual predators’ repeated and constant access to our kids, often identifying the predator after they carry out child sexual assault. U.S. Congress has taken notice; last year, a bill that would require most schools to carry out routine background checks was unanimously passed in the House of Representatives; this year, the bill has strong bipartisan endorsement. Passing this bill in the Senate will be a landmark event – one that will significantly harden the posture against sexual predators.
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
– Frederick Douglass
Imagine this scenario; you are living in a small town with one main high school – a school your children would eventually attend. Now, that one high school in your town has a teacher known to be a sexual predator. Imagine lastly that instead of a couple of phone calls to get this teacher removed from the school, it takes 13 years to bring this predator to justice – but it’s too late at this point; the teacher has carried out abuses on 60 victims.
This is precisely the scenario that Terri Miller, the President of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, & Exploitation (S.E.S.A.M.E.) bore witness to in her small town of Pahrump, Nevada. How is it, that in Pahrump – a city with a population of just 36,000 people and one main high school – that it took 13 years to bring this teacher to justice? Clearly, the inaction and/or incompetence by the school district’s leadership to supervise their teachers played a significant role in the sheer volume of victims. It’s possible that Pahrump was the result of their failure to conduct a background check. So many children could have been spared the lifelong struggles that victims are forced to undertake after the abuse.
This line of thinking is exactly what compelled Miller to continue her fight against these predators. S.E.S.A.M.E. is a leading national voice in preventing sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse by teachers and school staff. Specifically, they focus on:
- Increasing public awareness of educator sexual abuse
- Fostering recovery for survivors
- Encouraging victims to report their offenders
- Supports implementation of anti-abuse policies in child-centric establishments
- Promotes annual sexual abuse training in schools
We at Estey & Bomberger think our children need more champions of child safety and institutional accountability like S.E.S.A.M.E., because the statistics behind child sexual abuses are harrowing. A child is abused every 10 seconds, nationwide. Just within the classrooms this year, there have been 122 educators arrested for sexual misconduct – that is more than one per day….that number is completely unacceptable.
Enter Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who introduced S.1596 (Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act) last year. The bill, specifically targeting sexual predators lurking in our children’s schools, could have a drastic effect that could deal survivors of child sexual abuse a decisive victory against their offenders. The measures in the bill will ensure that all schools that receive federal funding must:
- Require thorough criminal background checks for all school employees, including searches in the states’ criminal registry, child abuse and neglect registries and databases, fingerprints, and National Sex Offender registry.
- Require background checks to be periodically updated.
- Local Educational Agencies (schools, districts etc.) can share the results of a background check conducted on an individual with other school districts, and will be posted on websites.
- Prohibits school districts from knowingly transferring (or facilitating the transfer) of a school employee if suspected of sexual misconduct.
- Prohibit the employment of any individual convicted of a felony related to child sexual abuse.
It would seem that this bill is in the clear; last year, an identical bill was passed unanimously in the House of Representatives. There are high hopes that this bill will be passed in the Senate; the bill has bipartisan support – the bill is co-sponsored by both Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV), and has encountered only minor opposition in the rest of the Senate. If passed, this bill would be a landmark victory for our survivors; it requires nearly all public schools conduct comprehensive and systematic background checks on all employees. The bill would severely limit a predator teacher’s ability to have access to children in the first place; even in the event one may slip through the cracks, it prevents a school from “passing the trash” – the practice of transferring such predator teachers to another school district.
It’s about time that the highest levels of government are taking a strong stance against predator teachers. The culture of accountability must be firmly established to set the tone against sexual predators; this legislation goes a long way in doing that. It is not perfect; schools that receive no federal funding assistance (such as private religious schools) are not bound to this law if enacted. Considering the large demographic of child sexual abuse cases in places such as Catholic schools, this bill doesn’t solve all of the problems. Yet, if this bill is passed, it sets the stage for private institutions to follow suit. Please, encourage your senators to vote yes for S.1596; let’s protect our children, and ensure schools employ proper hiring methods for their employees. If you would like to contact your Senators to voice your support, here is their contact information.
CALIFORNIA:
Barbara Boxer (D): (202) 224-3553
Dianne Feinstein (D): (202) 224-3841
*Remaining state senators contact information are below the Sources*
Sources:
U.S. Senate Bill 1596: Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act
Toomey touts bill aimed at protecting students from sexual predators
Toomey’s bill would fight sexual abuse in schools
U.S. House Resolution 2083: Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act
Senate should act now to stop sexual predators in our schools
Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, & Exploitation: Homepage
United States Senate: Senators of the 113th Congress
ALABAMA:
Jeff Sessions (R): (202) 224-4124
Richard Shelby (R): (202) 224-5744
ALASKA
Mark Begich (D): (202) 224-3004
Lisa Murkowski (R): (202) 224-6665
ARIZONA
Jeff Flake (R): (202) 224-4521
John McCain (R): (202) 224-2235
ARKANSAS
John Boozman (R): (202) 224-4843
Mark Pryor (D): (202) 224-2353
COLORADO
Mike Bennett (D): (202) 224-5852
Mark Udall (D): (202) 224-5941
CONNECTICUT
Richard Blumenthal (D): (202) 224-2823
Christopher Murphy (D): (202) 224-4041
DELAWARE
Thomas Carper (D): (202) 224-2441
Christopher Coons (D): (202) 224-5042
FLORIDA
Bill Nelson (D): (202) 224-5274
Marco Rubio (R): (202) 224-3041
GEORGIA
Saxby Chambliss (R): (202) 224-3521
Johnny Isakson (R): (202) 224-3643
HAWAI’I
Mazie Hirono (D): (202) 224-6361
Brian Schatz (D): (202) 224-3934
IDAHO
Mike Crapo (R): (202) 224-6142
James Risch (R): (202) 224-275
ILLINOIS
Richard Durbin (D): (202) 224-2152
Mark Kirk (R): (202) 224-2854
INDIANA
Daniel Coats (R): (202) 224-5623
Joe Donnelly (D): (202) 224-4814
IOWA
Chuck Grassley (R): (202) 224-3744
Tom Harkin (D): (202) 224-3254
KANSAS
Jerry Moran (R): (202) 224-6521
Pat Roberts (R): (202) 224-4774
KENTUCKY
Mitch McConnell (R): (202) 224-2541 *Bill co-sponsor
Rand Paul (R): (202) 224-4343
LOUISIANA
Mary Landrieu (D): (202) 224-5824
David Vitter (R): (202) 224-4623
MAINE
Susan Collins (R): (202) 224-2523
Angus King, Jr. (I): (202) 224-5344
MARYLAND
Benjamin Cardin (D): (202) 224-4524
Barbara Mikulski (D): (202) 224-4654
MASSACHUSETTS
Edward Markey (D): (202) 224-2742
Elizabeth Warren (D): (202) 224-4543
MICHIGAN
Carl Levin (D): (202) 224-6221
Debbie Stabenow (D): (202) 224-4822
MINNESOTA
Al Franken (D): (202) 224-5641
Amy Klobuchar (D): (202) 224-3244
MISSISSIPPI
Thad Cochran (R): (202) 224-5054
Roger Wicker (R): (202) 224-6253
MISSOURI
Roy Blunt (R): (202) 224-5721
Claire McCaskill (D): (202) 224-6154
MONTANA
Jon Tester (D): (202) 224-2644
John Walsh (D): (202) 224-2651
NEBRASKA
Deb Fischer (R): (202) 224-6551
Mike Johanns (R): (202) 224-4224
NEVADA
Dean Heller (R): (202) 224-6244
Harry Reid (D): (202) 224-3542
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Kelly Ayotte (R): (202) 224-3324
Jeanne Shaheen (D): (202) 224-2841
NEW JERSEY
Cory Booker (D): (202) 224-3224
Robert Menendez (D): (202) 224-4744
NEW MEXICO
Martin Heinrich (D): (202) 224-5521
Tom Udall (D): (202) 224-6621
NEW YORK
Kirsten Gillibrand (D): (202) 224-4451
Charles Schumer (D): (202) 224-6542
NORTH CAROLINA
Richard Burr (R): (202) 224-3154
Kay Hagan (D): (202) 224-6342
NORTH DAKOTA
Heidi Heitkamp (D): (202) 224-2043
John Hoeven (R): (202) 224-2551
OHIO
Sherrod Brown (D): (202) 224-2315
Rob Portman (R): (202) 224-3353
OKLAHOMA
Tom Coburn (R): (202) 224-5754
James Inhofe (R): (202) 224-4721
OREGON
Jeff Merkley (D): (202) 224-3753
Ron Wyden (D): (202) 224-5244
PENNSYLVANIA
Robert Casey, Jr. (D): (202) 224-6324
Patrick Toomey (R): (202) 224-4254 *Bill author
RHODE ISLAND
Jack Reed (D): (202) 224-4642
Sheldon Whitehouse (D): (202) 224-2921
SOUTH CAROLINA
Lindsey Graham (R): (202) 224-5972
Tim Scott (R): (202) 224-6121
SOUTH DAKOTA
Tim Johnson (D): (202) 224-5842
John Thune (R): (202) 224-2321
TENNESSEE
Lamar Alexander (R): (202) 224-4944
Bob Corker (R): (202) 224-3344
TEXAS
John Cornyn (R): (202) 224-2934
Ted Cruz (R): (202) 224-5922
UTAH
Orrin Hatch (R): (202) 224-5251
Mike Lee (R): (202) 224-5444
VERMONT
Patrick Leahy (D): (202) 224-4242
Bernard Sanders (I): (202) 224-5141
VIRGINIA
Tim Kaine (D): (202) 224-4024
Mark Warner (D): (202) 224-2023
WASHINGTON
Maria Cantwell (D): (202) 224-3441
Patty Murray (D): (202) 224-2621
WEST VIRGINIA
Joe Manchin, III (D): (202) 224-3954 *Bill co-author
John Rockefeller, IV (D): (202) 224-6472
WISCONSIN
Tammy Baldwin (D): (202) 224-5653
Ron Johnson (R): (202) 224-5323
WYOMING
John Barrasso (R): (202) 224-6441
Mike Enzi (R): (202) 224-3424