This whole thing sickens me and I'm afraid this is just the tip of the iceberg. Think about it. The profession and hobby (unpaid) of coaching children from elementary to even college age, has to be a magnet for sexual predators.
It's one way these
sick bastards (say those words like Adam Sandler for full effect
) can easily gain access to young people. Easy access to naked young people. Easy way to worm their way into unhealthy dependent relationships with those who have some sort of parental void. Easy way to find ways to be along with young people since most people trust these predators. Sometimes the parents/guardians don't even realize their children are alone with them. I wonder how often they think they kids are practicing or with other kids along with the coach.
Now I'm not saying there's a large percentage of pedophiles in the coaching world, but that this world is huge when you consider it runs from volunteers coaching elementary school age children all the way to college. Many who coach young people have a special love for young people. For most it's a healthy love, but for others it crosses over to their sexual desires, need to control and in some cases dominate and abuse.
Hopefully all of us here who are part of the Boneyard community are like me in that it blows my mind that there are people who would even think about taking advantage of a young person. It's so selfish and so evil, that anyone who is caught and convicted should never be let back into the general population.
Sorry to go on again about this topic. I wish it would just go away, but I think it's just going to get worse before it gets better. Hopefully all this attention in the news will help people to be more vigilant for these predators and flush more of them out. It's sad by doing so, the victims have to relive what happened to them, plus the social unease it causes them once those around them know what happened to them. The one silver lining for them is in the eyes of many they are the strong ones and heroes for stepping up and outing these monsters. For those who weren't victims but witnesses or those receiving reports of abuse who chose to brush it under the rug, I have no sympathy whatsoever. With that said, I'm not judging those victims who couldn't and can't bring themselves to reporting what happened to them. I have to admit I'm conflicted about this aspect of the issue. On one hand how can I expect someone to have to relive their pain and the outcome of coming forward. On the other hand, it is the silence of the victims that allows these predators to rack up victim after victim. What could be done to fix this?
Maybe there has been a push for more education on this with parents and maybe even children. It's a slippery slope when you have, say, the public schools warn kids about pedophile predictors, but maybe the problem is big enough to add that to one of their programs if it's not already being discussed. They could send an information package to the parents to inform them on both what they need to know plus sign a waver for those kids who they don't want to be present for that discussion. The problem with having a waver, is kids who are being abused by a parent or guardian could end up being prevented from getting this education. I believe a large percentage of this type of abuse takes place with family members. Also more training in this area for teachers from elementary school through high school. And along with the education some vehicle, may it be anonymous or not, for victims and witnesses to report what had happened. If it's anonymous, further follow-up should be handled internally first with some sort of investigation. Bringing anonymous reports to the police can ruin a person's life who is falsely accused. It's purpose would be to discretely investigate if there is something happening and once facts are disclosed then take it to the authorities. Even when it's not anonymous, false accusations usually ruin or at least have a huge negative impact on the accused.
So how young do you start this type of education and reporting process? IMO, education, awareness and vehicles for reporting will go a long way.
I bet it's a little tougher to get away with this sort of stuff now than it was 10 years ago. After this cycle of news stories ends, I'm sure it will be yet even tougher. Since these are crimes against victims who are often unable to protect themselves, it would seem there is a dire need for more protective measures that should be implemented on a national scale.
