How Many More Children are Going to be Sexually Abused before Society Breaks the Code of Silence?

For years, we have read or heard about all the young boys that have been raped or sexually abused by the clergy and how the Church has repeatedly protected those in positions of power and failed to expose those crimes or take steps to stop them. After the priest abuse scandal broke, you would think that adults or society would make sure that any witnessed or suspected sexual abuse on a child would be reported to the proper law officials. Unfortunately, that still does not appear to be the case.

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about Earl Bradley, a Philadelphia and Delaware pediatrician who, in April 2010, was indicted on over 500 charges of child molestation. According to court documents, the indictment included allegations that Bradley had forced children, some as young as 3 months old, to engage in oral sex and intercourse. As with many other sexual predators, the first report against Bradley was made back in 1994, and it wasn’t until years later, and many victims later, that his ability to sexually abuse another child was finally stopped.

Just this week, former Penn State player and assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, was indicted on 40 counts of alleged sexual abuse crimes against young boys that occurred over the span of more than ten years. The first alleged recorded incident of sexual abuse dates back to 1994. According to prosecutors, Penn State had multiple opportunities to stop Sandusky’s alleged abuse.

Sadly, child sexual abuse is far more common than people think. Even though we are hearing more and more about repeated cases of sexual abuse on minors, there still continues to be this “silence” that allows child sexual molesters to continue to hurt innocent children for years before something is finally done about it. Victims of rape or sexual assault may get over the physical pain of being violated, but are often left with the emotional scars, such as feelings of no self-worth, denial, crying spells, paranoia, helplessness, loneliness, shame, anxiety, nightmares, insomnia or inability to sleep, flashbacks, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), numbness, withdraw, depression, fear of relationships or intimacy, or promiscuity. Many victims of sexual abuse turn to drugs or alcohol to help dull the pain that is constantly haunting and tormenting them.

Here at the Beasley Firm, our experienced Pennsylvania sexual assault attorneys have been helping victims of rape or sexual abuse with documented results. Our sexual abuse teams consist of lawyers, doctors, and nurses, one of whom is a certified rape counselor and sexual abuse crisis nurse. Our medical and legal teams have actually witnessed and treated the physical and emotional scars left on a victim after a rape or sexual abuse. If you or a loved one has been sexually abused, please feel free to call us for a strictly confidential and free consultation. If no one spoke up and helped you then, we will speak up and help you now. No one deserves to be sexually abused and then forced to live with the pain in silence.