MICHAEL R. BLOOD of the Associated Press reports that sinister allegations of abuse by at least two teachers in a Los Angeles school have forced awkward discussions as parents warn youngsters that people they trust — pastors, teachers, even relatives — might do things that could hurt them.
It was a grim reminder of risks faced by kids, even within the safety of school walls.
Sergio Vasquez, 30, said he talked with his daughter for 45 minutes after she watched a news report about the disturbing cases that prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District to replace every employee at Miramonte Elementary School, located in a poor neighborhood about 8 miles from downtown.
"We told her her body is private and nobody has the right to touch her," said Vasquez, as he stood outside an elementary school near downtown. "No teacher should put his hands on you and tell you `Oh how beautiful you are.'"
On Wednesday, investigators revealed they seized 200 additional inappropriate photographs of children allegedly taken by teacher Mark Berndt, who is accused of blindfolding and gagging students and having some eat cookies iced with his semen. A second teacher, Martin Springer, faces three lewdness charges for allegedly fondling a second-grader.
Both teachers have been fired.
"A big challenge is parents will often emphasize `stranger danger' when talking with children, but we know the biggest risk to kids is from people they trust," said Thomas Lyon, a professor of law and psychology at the University of Southern California, who has researched child witnesses and abuse and worked as an attorney on child-abuse cases.
Young children don't need a scientific anatomy lesson, he said. They need to know "if they feel weird, if they touch them in a certain place, how important it is for them to tell a parent."
He added: "You have to emphasize to your child that you will not get angry with them for anything they've done. Otherwise, the child will say, `Why should I tell?'"
Talking with our children early on about sexual abuse or inappropriate touch is one key to trying to prevent sexual abuse. Stranger danger programs do not address these issues. Schools need to begin to introduce “sexual abuse” prevention programs to their students, teachers and parents.
Dr. Sue
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