Two stories have broken in the past day about molestations of children by adults they know and trust. It’s stories like these that leave us scratching our heads. What can we do? What should we have seen?
Members of a church in Acworth are reeling from the tale of molestation at a recent church lock-in. A trusted volunteer for the youth program is accused of molesting two boys at his home during an overnight gathering. Was there anything about Cesar Pastrana that would have made parents uneasy? Probably not, and his background check was clean.
Yesterday, a Swim Coach for the Atlanta parks department was fired and the commissioner of city parks was suspended after a 4-year-old girl told her mother that the swim coach touched her inappropriately and then told her to keep it a secret. Could her parents have known that this might happen? Probably not.
Fortunately, these children stepped forward, through the pain and the fear and the guilt, and they told a trusted adult. Now there are two fewer molesters on the street. Most of the time, the victims will stay silent. Their silence is “bought” through bribes, threats and lies. They feel isolated and they feel like they have nowhere to turn.
Kudos for the parents in these stories who have obviously done something right. What they’ve done is gritted their teeth and come clean with their children about the fact that molestation exists. That’s the first, most difficult, but best, step to take if you want to keep your children safe. It may not prevent the molestation from occurring; but it will certainly prevent it from happening more than once; and it will give your child the strength to talk with you about it. If your child doesn’t know what molestation is, then you can be assured that your child won’t let you know if it happens.
There are great organizations out there that provide a wealth of information to parents about opening this dialogue. Start today, visit Stop It Now, and take that first step.
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