July 19, 2008
Editorial, NY TIMES
Help for Victimized Children

Of the some 1.5 million children who will run away from home this year, tens of thousands will spend time working for sexual predators and selling their bodies on the streets. According to one federal estimate, the average age of a child first used as a prostitute is between 11 and 14, but victims as young as 9 are not uncommon. Many of the sexually exploited runaways have been neglected or abandoned by families that will never report them as missing.

These battered children would have a much better chance to build normal lives if the country stopped treating them as criminals and began to see them as the victims that they clearly are.

States need to stop reflexively charging children as young as 13 with prostitution and locking them up. And Congress must rework the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act to make sure that states and localities provide sexually exploited children born in this country with the same protections and services that are routinely granted to international victims.

Some states are beginning to wake up to the problem of child prostitution. New York’s State Legislature passed a farsighted bill under which children arrested for prostitution would be presumed to be victims of sexual trafficking and given protection and social services — except in cases where the child is a repeat offender or has failed to comply with previous court orders.

The bill provides for counseling services, short-term safe houses and long-term housing that would be run by nonprofit agencies that work with sexually exploited children. By some estimates, this could cost about $25 million a year. But that’s a small price to pay for saving some of New York’s most vulnerable children. Some of the money could be redirected from elsewhere in the state’s bloated juvenile justice system. Gov. David Paterson should sign this bill.

The California Legislature has recently passed a more modest bill that would create a pilot program for helping sexually exploited children. This bill, too, deserves to become law. But California still needs a more ambitious plan for helping exploited children.

A study released earlier this year by The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at the Emory University School of Law exposes the full sweep of this problem. Nearly all states allow children of just about any age to be prosecuted for prostitution — even though children are too young to consent to sex with adults.

By charging children with crimes, the report notes, the system compounds the harm done to them and deepens feelings of guilt and worthlessness that inevitably haunt victims of sexual exploitation.

The real crimes in these cases are committed by the adults who push children into selling their bodies and the adults who knowingly patronize them. The country needs to invest in proven outreach, treatment and education for these children — their only hope for viable lives.

Date: 04/02/2008
Office: Bruno
Title: NEW YORK STATE SENATE PASSES "CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT OF 2008"

FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, April 2, 2008
www.senate.state.ny.us

NEW YORK STATE SENATE PASSES "CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND
EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT OF 2008"

The New York State Senate today passed a comprehensive plan, sponsored by Senator Dale Volker (R-C-I, Depew), that would enact aggressive measures to protect children from the dangers posed by Internet predators, child pornography and child sexual abuse.

The "Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Act of 2008" (S.6747) is based upon recommendations made in a report released by the Senate Majority Task Force on Critical Choices entitled, "Protecting Children in the Internet Age."

"Sexual predators, by their very nature, are very good at manipulation which is evident in their extensive use of the Internet," said Senator Volker. "As wonderful as advances in technology are for society, they also make it easier for dangerous predators to get access to victims by new means, including the Internet. This legislation includes a wide array of aggressive measures that will help protect our children and communities from dangerous online predators and will build on the Senate's long history of making sure these heinous criminals are caught and punished for their crimes."

"The Internet is a wonderful tool that has transformed and improved the lives of millions, but sexual predators have also made it a potentially dangerous weapon that can be used to victimize innocent children," said Senator Marty Golden, Chairman of the Senate Majority Task Force on Critical Choices. "By taking these sensible, aggressive steps we can better protect our kids, provide parents with greater peace of mind, and crack down on pornographers and predators that use computer technology to harm and exploit young children."

The report highlights the strong link between child pornography possessors and individuals who sexually victimize children. In fact, a recent study found that fifty-five percent of those arrested for child pornography possession have sexually abused or tried to sexually abuse children. Because of this strong correlation – and because the conviction rate for child pornography possession is nearly 100 percent – the report emphasizes the importance of cracking down on child pornography as a critical part of any overall strategy to keep children safe from sexual offenses.

This comprehensive legislation will:
*Toughen penalties for promoting child prostitution;
* Increase penalties for producing child pornography;
* Provide enhanced penalties where a sex crime against a child has been committed using a computer or computer service;
* Increase the penalty for persons who permit their premises to be used for child prostitution;
* Allow the admission of business records into evidence in child pornography grand jury proceedings via affidavit;
* Allow a "non-judicial" subpoena to be issued by a district attorney or the Attorney General for child pornography via the internet; and
* Require local social services districts, when possible, to establish safe houses for sexually abused children.

The bill comes amid a dramatic expansion of networking and video sharing sites such as MySpace.com and YouTube.com, which present additional challenges to parents seeking to monitor their children's activities on the Internet.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed Attorney General Cuomo's e-STOP initiative (Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act) that requires sex offenders to register their online identifiers and updates Megan's Law for the Internet age (S.6875-A, Senator Skelos). The Senate also passed legislation (S.1921-A), sponsored by Senator Robach, to increase criminal penalties for using a computer to commit a sex crime against a child.

"While no one can deny the fact that the Internet has improved many aspects of our lives, it is also a tool which has been utilized by dangerous predators to harm our children," said Senator Vincent Leibell (R-C-I, Patterson). "This critical legislation will hopefully address the exploitation of children in this new technological age."

"The Internet has become an integral part of our children's lives. More and more they are using it to do their homework and socialize with friends. Unfortunately, the Internet has also become the primary vehicle used by pedophile predators to target children," said Senator Maltese, a former Assistant District Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau in Queens County. "We need to ensure that our laws keep pace with technology in order to keep our children safe and provide parents with peace of mind. This bill is a comprehensive approach to helping prevent crimes against children and punishing those who prey upon them."

"With the advent of the Internet, there are now so many more ways our children can be exploited," said Senator Saland (R-C-I, Poughkeepsie). "The reforms in this bill will help the law catch up to technology. And I am very pleased this legislation included a bill I passed last year to require convicted sex offenders to register their Internet related information. Law enforcement must be given the tools necessary to apprehend predators who victimize children and this omnibus bill does just that."

"The Internet has become a playground for sexual predators," said Senator Dean Skelos (R, Rockville Centre). "This legislation builds upon the e-STOP initiative we passed last month to help prevent dangerous sex offenders from hiding behind a veil of anonymity and preying upon our children online. The Internet is a wonderful tool, but unfortunately in some cases, it has become one more way for dangerous predators to prey on our children. These commonsense solutions will help further protect our children and communities."

"I am proud to serve as a member of the Senate Majority Task Force on Critical Choices which has made recommendations aimed at protecting our most vulnerable and innocent victims, our children, from the evils of child pornography and Internet predators," said Senator Joseph Robach (R-C-I-WF, Rochester). "Sexual crimes against are children are the most heinous in our community and we must act quickly to address these crimes that occur using modern computer technology. I encourage my colleagues in the Assembly to take swift action to pass this legislation."

"The Internet has provided sexual predators with a worldwide forum where like-minded pedophiles have formed online communities which openly discuss and provide mutual support for their perverted philosophies and activities in anonymity," Senator Cathy Young (R-C-I, Olean). "With increased accessibility and real time communication, this community of predators have become more aggressive and explicit in their exploitation of children."

The bill was sent to the Assembly.

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Legislator Rath seeks to stop the exploitation of children via the Internet

The Age of Criminalizing Children
Victoria Hardy, American Chronicle
LINK
March 13, 2008
Sometimes I´m pretty sure I´ve unknowingly fallen into an alternate universe and more and more, I know I am a stranger in a strange land. It´s hard to pinpoint exactly when this odd change occurred in our society and when it became acceptable to arrest and handcuff young children, but in this brave new world we are living, it seems to be approaching the norm. I wonder where common sense has gone and I ache for the children growing up under these over-the-top rules that have become so popular these days.

I remember when I was in school, misbehaving children received a visit to the principal´s office, detention, in-house or off grounds suspension, but now schools have police or "safety" officers on the grounds, quick to view our kids as hardened criminals. I´ve seen a few headlines of late about children being handcuffed in school and I wondered how often these "isolated" events happen and shockingly, with very little effort, I found case after case. I´m not talking about children who are threatening other students or bringing guns or knives to school, I have been dismayed to learn that simple and typical childhood behaviors are now introducing children to the criminal justice system.

Two 4-year-old boys were removed from a preschool class and handcuffed by the school safety officer for refusing to take a nap. The boys said the officer told them "You know what happens when you don't go to sleep in there? . . . When you go to jail, you're not going to have no fun, no TV, no toys." The parents of the boys are suing the city. New York Post

A 6-year-old girl was arrested on charges of disruption of a school function, battery on school employees (a felony), and resisting arrest for throwing a temper tantrum in class. The child was taken to the county jail, fingerprinted and had a mug shot taken. The chief of police stated, "Those are the normal procedures for anyone who is arrested." The battered school employee was left with a red mark.

A 5-year-old boy with speech problems and asthma was handcuffed by a school safety officer for throwing a temper tantrum in class. School officials refused to turn the child over to his baby sitter who had rushed to the scene and sent the boy to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. WCBSTV

The parents of an 11-year-old disabled boy filed notice of claim as a preclude to a lawsuit that their child´s civil rights were violated by a school security guard who handcuffed him on the playground. The boy, who has a rare genetic disorder and has learning issues, had picked up a small stone to add to his collection of "lucky rocks", when his aide told him to put it down. The boy was then thrown to the ground and handcuffed behind his back, dislodging his feeding tube. After the incident, the principal suspended the child for a day for "aggressive behavior toward himself and staff members." FOX News

An 11-year-old boy spent 72 hours in a juvenile jail for accidentally shooting another student with a slingshot made of a stretchy balloon, a milk cap and rubber bands. The sixth grader was arrested on second-degree felony charges of shooting or throwing a deadly missile. The boy claimed he shot a plastic pellet into his locker and it ricocheted hitting a classmate, leaving a small welt on injured child´s chest. Information Liberation

And if we can stand anymore, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on battery charges for throwing a piece of a broken pencil at children who were calling him names, the intended target ducked and the pencil piece hit another child in the back of the head. TC Palm A 12-year-old boy was arrested and charged with disruption of an educational institution for stomping in a puddle and spraying his classmates. Court TV

A 13-year-old girl was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and the making of graffiti for writing the word "okay" on her school desk. WCBSTV And a 12-year-old autistic boy was arrested and charged with a felony for grabbing a teacher´s arm. FOX Gulf Coast

I feel compelled to ask, have we all gone insane? When did normal childhood antics become criminal behavior? Have our teachers, principals, school boards, safety officers, administrators and policy makers become so numb, blind and fearful that they can no longer differentiate life threatening events, from simple childish pranks and behaviors? Or is it deeper that that? Are we knowingly training our children to live in a police state where any minor misstep may lead to imprisonment?

I don´t know how to stress enough, these are children, have we forgotten how we felt when we were young? These children are being traumatized and molded, these things don´t "just happen" and these "isolated" events are not so isolated. When I hear weekly of yet another "lockdown" in schools across the country or hear of the "training" going on in schools where armed adults enter terrifying and traumatizing young minds, I wonder when schools became prisons. Whether or not we want to see it, this is not happenstance, this breaking down of our children is devised, planned and has a definitive ending point and as parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, it´s time we opened our eyes.

It is required that we send our children into these government education systems and I suspect home schooling will soon no longer be an option for most, as California recently declared that parents who teach their own kids must possess teaching credentials. A judge in the case summed up what we are facing when he stated, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare." SF Gate And here most of us believed the primary purpose of education was to teach our children so they could grow strong and become free, successful and independent minded adults. It has become clear that the ones who create the laws and the ones who follow them, have distinctly different agendas.

We must wake up, folks and realize that the cozy, loving, idealistic view we have of school does not exist. We´re turning our children over to institutions that have a far different view of how kids should be treated, than we do. Most of the cases above happened in New York and Florida, but don´t for a second think that this view of children as criminals is not growing and spreading, because that is exactly what diseases are known to do. I understand there are difficult kids who need to be dealt with sternly, but when we, as a society, approve of 6-year-olds being arrested and booked or 5-year-olds being sent for psychiatric evaluations over temper tantrums, we have collectively gone insane and there´s not a pill in this world that can cure us.

PUBLIC ENEMY NO.1
By DENISE BUFFA, NY POST

March 10, 2008 -- The parents of two Bronx preschoolers are suing the city, charging that their kids were tossed out of class - and handcuffed by a school-safety officer - for refusing to take a nap.

Lawyer Scott Agulnick said Jaden Diaz and Christopher Brito - both then 4 and students at CS 211, The Bilingual School - told their parents that a substitute teacher took them and another boy to an empty classroom on Nov. 17, 2006, and left them there alone.

Soon, the lawyer said, the school-safety officer entered the room, cuffed the boys' wrists - and further terrified them by telling they that they would never see their parents again.

"I wasn't shot, but my hands were tied," Christopher, now 5, recalled, according to his mother, Vasso Brito, a 34- year-old office worker - who says the little guy is now scared of police officers.

Brito, who's trying to transfer Christopher to another public school, said she was "shocked" to learn of what she considers to have been an absolute abuse of authority.

"Right now, I feel (there are) monsters in school," she said. "I'm still perturbed. As I'm talking to you, I'm shaking."

Jaden, now 6, remembers that a man who was dressed like a cop walked in, sat at a big desk - "like the one the judge is on" - and threatened them.

"He was police," Jaden said. "He said, 'You know what happens when you don't go to sleep in there? . . . 'When you go to jail, you're not going to have no fun, no TV, no toys."

Jaden - who asked his dad to move far enough away from him so as not to be able to hear his account of what happened-whispered to a reporter that he got a "little scared" when he saw the handcuffs attached to the safety officer's "costume."

He insisted that he was not handcuffed - though his mom, Sasha Diaz, said he confided in her that he was.

"It took me about a day to get it out of him. He didn't want to tell me . . . I don't know if he thought it was his fault," said Diaz, 27, an assistant teacher who now finds herself suddenly struggling to pay for her only child to attend Catholic school.

The families are seeking unspecified damages, said Agulnick, adding: "Failure to comply with nap time is hardly an offense that warrants being handcuffed, or threatened, for that matter. Nothing would've warranted that."

The city Department of Education and the NYPD, which oversees school-safety officers, did not return requests for comment.

The boys' claims recall two other recent cases. In one, a mentally challenged 10-year-old Brooklyn girl said a school-safety officer handcuffed her outside school. In the other, a 5-year-old Queens boy said a school-safety officer snapped the cuffs on him inside his school.

denise.buffa@nypost.com

From Betsy Combier: Now that we are talking, why not stop exploiting minority and special needs children who attend our nation's public schools? Read the story of "T":
T Wins at His Impartial Hearing After the NYC Board of Education Denies Him a Free and Appropriate Public Education

and, the story of the special needs kids' 'lock-up' at Booker T. Washington:
NYC Booker T. Washington Principal Dr. Elana Elster and her AP Bertha Mcgee (or McGhee) Racially Discriminate Among Their Students and Practice Disability Harassment