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f Portland, Oregon Prosecutor praises 14-year-old for taking action when
she saw a little girl being abusedNovember 12, 2009, 9:36PM Nichelle McKinney, 14, was worried about the little girl she saw sitting on a man’s
lap in the Avalon Theatre because she thought the man was touching her inappropriately. Despite fearing that adults might
not believe her, she insisted on telling someone. That led to the eventual arrest and conviction of the man. The police and
the prosecutor praised McKinney for saving the little girl from an abusive father. Fourteen-year-old
Nichelle McKinney couldn't believe her eyes.
She and a friend had just stepped into the darkened Avalon
Theatre in Southeast Portland on Feb. 14 when she saw a man in the back row touching a 6-year-old girl who was on his lap.
"I thought I was imagining things," said McKinney. "That's why I sat so close to him."
McKinney and her friend, 14, sat in front of the man, and she kept turning back to see what was happening.
McKinney knew something was wrong. The man had the girl's shirt pulled up and was rubbing her chest. Her
friend, 14 year old Jackson-Justice texted her grandma. When they didn't hear back, McKinney tapped the shoulder
of a woman sitting in front of her and told her she saw a man molesting a young girl.That set
into motion a call to 9-1-1, an arrest, an investigation and -- this week -- a 15-year prison sentence for the man, a child
molester who police say could have gone undetected for years if not for McKinney's persistence. Investigators also credit
Christine Bemrose, the 34-year-old woman who happened to be sitting in front of McKinney, and Jackson-Justice for helping
catch a predator.
"This is a case where the public really stood up for what is right," said Nathan
Vasquez, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.
Police who responded to
the scene learned the man was the little girl's biological father. He had been molesting her behind closed doors, on the
occasional weekends he had custody.
Once the father was arrested, the girl was whisked into protective
custody. She told investigators that her dad sexually touched her while giving her baths and that it hurt, according to court
documents. A physical examination confirmed the abuse.
The dad initially denied he had done anything out of line.
A few days after the girl was interviewed, Portland police detectives questioned him again, and he confessed.
The
Oregonian is not naming the man because his daughter shares his last name. The newspaper generally does not identify sexual
assault victims.
The man, 30, pleaded no contest in Multnomah County Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse
and attempted unlawful sexual penetration and was sentenced Tuesday.
A
"haunting look"
Seconds after McKinney tapped Bemrose's shoulder, Bemrose
turned around to confront the man.
"I said, 'Dude, you're really creeping me out!'" said
Bemrose, who was at the theater with her daughter, then 11.
The man didn't reply. Bemrose thought that was
odd, so she repeated herself. Still no response.
Bemrose, who has a lot of experience with children as a speech
pathologist for Portland Public Schools, walked back a few rows and watched the man from the aisle. He wasn't rubbing
the girl's nipples any longer, as McKinney told her, but he was trying to coax her onto his lap. The girl was hitting
his arm, in a halfhearted effort to get him to stop.
"She just gave me this very haunting look," Bemrose
said. "She was a child that was not having a good time, a child that was not in a good place."
Bemrose
found the manager, who called 9-1-1. McKinney heard the man tell the girl that if she told anyone what happened, he'd
call her a liar.
Bemrose said she doesn't believe the man knew police were on the way. She thinks he only
knew he was being watched, and so he was trying to pretend nothing was wrong. The man waited in line to get change to play
games in the Wunderland arcade adjoining the theater at Southeast 35th Avenue and Belmont Street. It was Saturday, and the
place was teeming with children.
As they waited for police, the manager, Bemrose, McKinney, Jackson-Justice and
Jackson-Justice's aunt watched the man. If he had left, Bemrose said, she was prepared to get a license plate.
Bemrose and McKinney heard the man scold the girl, telling her that he'd spent a lot of money and she'd ruined his
Valentine's Day.
Confronted by Portland Detectives John Russell and William Crockett, the man claimed his
daughter had a stomachache and was sitting on his lap for comfort.
Police didn't buy the story. A video camera
trained on the audience showed the man inappropriately touching his daughter.
Public
abuse rare
Russell said the Multnomah County Child Abuse Team received 1,090 reports of child
abuse in the past year. He said abuse almost always happens in private, not in a public place such as a movie theater with
a group of strangers willing to leap into action.
The man, who had no criminal history, has two other children
by a different mother. Investigators don't believe he abused his other children.
The man told authorities
that he is being treated for bipolar and attention-deficit disorders. He was unemployed at the time of his arrest. He said
he has an 11th-grade education.
The man will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
McKinney, the 14-year-old who reported the man, said it was hard to do.
"I kind of thought people
weren't going to believe me," said McKinney, now a freshman at Benson Polytechnic High School. But she had to try.
"I was just thinking of that little girl," she said.
Bemrose said McKinney and Jackson-Justice,
a freshman at De LaSalle North Catholic High School, did what was right.
"The thing that made me the most
proud was that these two girls were really persistent in trying to get somebody's attention," Bemrose said.
"Luckily," she added with a laugh, "they ran into someone who was sort of bossy and pushy and really willing
to get involved."
-- Aimee Green
Young Victims Of Abuse RememberedPOSTED: Saturday, July 18, 2009 UPDATED:
10:22 pm EDT July 18, 2009
Visitors gathered at Metropolitan Park on Saturday
to see a beautiful flag display with powerful meaning. Each flag represented a child who died from child abuse.
Last
year, 1,530 children died from child abuse or neglect; 146 of those children lived in Florida. There was one flag for each
child who died.
"The first thought was it is so lovely to see all these flags, but when you see the reason that
they're here, it's very heartbreaking," said Martha Braddock.
Saturday at Metropolitan Park, visitors remembered
the children, and learned how to make sure kids like them don't suffer the same fate. Members of the National Exchange
Club put the symbols up and held the event. The purpose wasn't just to remember those children lost, but to raise money
for child abuse prevention. Proceeds went to the Exchange Club's programs that educate parents on how to take care of
their kids.
Among the children remembered was 22-month-old Kyla Hall. The toddler died last year. The medical
examiner said she was hit in the chest so hard that her little heart ripped right open. What happened to Kyla was
the focus of a Channel 4 investigation. Kyla was returned to her father, although she had been severely abused as
an infant. He is now charged with her murder. Stories like Kyla's drew people to the healing field on Saturday,
in hopes that money raised would help stop children from being abused.
Tom Boyd told Channel 4's Vic Micolucci he
believed education was key. He said, "We think that all we need to do is change the diapers and get out of that stage
and everything will be home free, and that isn't exactly how that goes."
If you would like to find out how
you can help the Exchange Club prevent child abuse, you can call Amanda at the club at 904-353-3585.
April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
NC County courthouse shoe display will mark incidents of child abuse
By
Steve Herring
Published in News on March 24, 2009 1:46 PM
The county courthouse atrium next month will be adorned with hundreds of children's shoes to draw
attention to child abuse in the county and state and the public's support is being sought to help make that happen.
Each of the 417 pairs of shoes will represent one of the 417 abused/neglected children in the county
last year. In addition, 50 to 60 black pairs of shoes
will represent the number of child abuse deaths across North Carolina last year. April
is Child Abuse Month and commissioners last week were asked for permission to place the shoes in the courthouse and to support
other events associated with the observance. The displays are part of education and outreach
activities for the month, said Stoney Blevins, program administrator, Wayne County Adult and Children's Services. The public is being asked to donate shoes that can be added to the display, Blevins said. Shoes in good condition will be given to needy children, Blevins told commissioners. "The
main thing is that it is an awareness campaign," Blevins said. "Child abuse and neglect prevention happens in the
community. We respond to it. The community is the first line of defense and we are the second." Commissioners
also were asked about allowing a Child Abuse Month flag to be flown at the courthouse. The
board approved a resolution proclaiming April as Child Abuse Month in the county and County Manager Lee Smith said he would
look into the logistics of the other requests. The activities are being planned by a committee
made up of members of Family Court, Guardian ad Litem program and the Children's Collaborative, Blevins said. A public event will be held April 28 at 9 a.m. at the courthouse. Commissioner Steve Keen will speak. The program will focus on substance abuse, Blevins said. "Drug abuse
is the most prevalent cause of child abuse and neglect not only in Wayne County, but across the state," he said. During the past fiscal year that ended June 30, the county Department of Social Services received and responded
to 1,600 calls concerning neglect or abuse. About 20 to 25 percent of those calls were substantiated, Blevins said. Currently, 65 families are being served through an in-home program. In each case, the children are safe, he
said. When that is not the case, children might be placed in foster care. There are 99
children in the county under foster care at the moment including 49 who "have been cleared for adoption," he said.
Of that number, 39 children already are in their pre-adoptive places while the family
is awaiting on the necessary paperwork to be completed to finalize the adoption. Already this year, 31 children have been
adopted. For more information about child abuse or neglect or on the adoption program,
contact Blevins at 731-1099.
Michigan
March 24, 2009 - 5:05 PM Child
Abuse Prevention Month was officially launched at the capitol Tuesday. Members from the Children's
Trust Fund, or CTF and supporters planted a colorful pinwheel garden during the event, a national symbol
of child abuse and neglect prevention. Members from CTF hope it'll draw awareness to their
cause. "It's important to start getting it out where it is comfortable to talk about it, and
people understand that we can do something about it," Interim Executive Director at CTF, Paul Shaheen said. "We
as a community collectively need to make sure this doesn't happen to our children," said Emily Wachsberger, Council
Grants Coordinator and Monitor at CTF. Last year, more than 29
thousand children were abused or neglected in Michigan alone. In
the past 27 years, CTF has generated more than $60 million to support prevention programs.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/enhancedpunishmentforparentswhomurder
Above is a very important link for a bill soon to be in front of Wisconsin legislators for enhanced punishment
for children murdered by the child's parent Please view this petition and if in agreement sign it and pass it on.
Together we can help the children.
Do this in Memory of Baby Aaron
Important information on the Collins case
New license plates
spotlight child abuse Published
February 5, 2009 ANGLETON — The colorful handprint on Janet Parker’s license
plate is a reminder of children who face neglect and abuse, and that even while on the road there are things that can be done
to help them.
Parker’s goal is to be there for children however she can. She is a 21-year board member of
Brazoria County Child Protective Services, current chairwoman of the Region VI Child Protective Services board and longtime
member of the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards.
She’s among the first in Texas to receive the Texas
Council and Texas Department of Transportation “Stop Child Abuse” license plate. About 200 plates have been issued
statewide so far in 2009, the first year they’ve been available.
“These license plates show that we’re
not alone in the prevention of child abuse and neglect,” Parker said. “Every time you see one of these, it’s
a reminder that someone else is out there helping.”
Parker is one of many volunteers who assist local and
area youth services, giving their time, efforts and money to help pay for “extras” not budgeted for normal business,
Child Protective Services spokeswoman Gwen Carter said.
“In every community, there’s a group of citizens
who support our efforts to stop child abuse and neglect,” Carter said. “They are an important part of helping
us.”
The specialty plates cost $30 more than the price of regular annual registration, Brazoria County Tax
Assessor-Collector Ro’Vin Garrett said. Of that $30 payment, $18 goes to the child protective services department in
the county in which the plate is purchased.
Forms to purchase the plates are available at www.texasonline.state.tx.us
or at the tax assessor’s office, Garrett said.
The money helps pay for things like blue ribbons for Child
Abuse Prevention Month in April, teddy bears to make children feel less afraid when they’re forced from their homes
and other items to make their lives easier, Brazoria County Family and Protective Services Program Director Peggy Gartman
said.
“This is a difficult job, and it really means a lot to us to know there are people out there who support
what we do,” Gartman said. “It means a lot for our staff and for the children.”
The plates are
a way the general public can show that support and help pay for something that makes a difference, Carter said.
“It’s
an everyday reminder that it’s not just someone else’s issue, but a public issue,” she said. “It’s
everybody’s problem.”
John Lowman covers Brazoria County for The Facts. Contact him at
(979) 849-8581. |
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SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (January 26, 2009) – Johnny Rico, lead character in the hit movie Starship Troopers,
is suiting up once again to fight back against the evils of the galaxy. Hollywood actor Casper Van Dien has reprised the combat
savvy character for Childhelp to talk about fighting a different war -– the war against child abuse. Two
new public service announcements (PSAs) were filmed for Childhelp, one of the leading organizations dedicated to the prevention
and treatment of child abuse, and recently made their debut online. The
PSAs were put together by an all-star team including Academy Award-winning visual effects directors Robert Skotak and Dennis
Skotak, with the assistance of their brother Jeffrey Skotak, who is now also working in visual effects. Robert
and Dennis Skotak won Oscars for their visual effects work in the movies Terminator 2, Aliens,
and The Abyss. The filming was done by John Murlowski, who filmed Starship Troopers
3, and the editing by Kevin VanHook, who has worked on many blockbusters, including I, Robot
and Daredevil. “Everyone jumped
at the chance to come together and support such a great cause,” said Casper Van Dien. “Four children
die every day in this country because of child abuse and neglect, and we all need to do whatever we can to help children in
need.” The PSAs can be viewed on the Childhelp
website. About Childhelp In 2009, Childhelp commemorates 50 years of bringing the light of hope and healing into the
lives of countless child ren. CEO and Co-Founder Sara O’Meara, and President and Co-Founder Yvonne Fedderson started Childhelp in 1959,
establishing it as a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect, and
at-risk children. Childhelp’s approach focuses on advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD®,
operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Childhelp’s programs and services also include residential treatment services, children’s
advocacy centers, therapeutic foster care, group homes and child abuse prevention, education, and training. Childhelp also
created the Childhelp National Day of Hope®, held each April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month,
that mobilizes people across America to join the fight against child abuse. For
more information about Childhelp and to learn how to get involved in their 50th anniversary celebration, please
call (480) 922-8212 or visit www.childhelp.org.
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