The Other Side of Penn State

Posted by Sarah on December 2, 2011 at 2:03 pm Protect No Responses »

Dec 022011

I’m reposting the email I got from PROTECT today. You can go to their website and sign up to get their email directly.

Looking the Other Way

Americans are outraged that Penn State officials failed to report a suspected child predator. But what about public officials who know about child predators and look the other way?

PROTECT in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania State Rep. Dan Deasy announces the “Attorney General Mandated Reporter Law,” which will be part of Alicia’s Law in 2012. Behind him, L to R: Rep. Dan Frankel, Alicia Kozakiewicz, Former Congressman Patrick Murphy and Camille Cooper of PROTECT.

Today, PROTECT took our Child Rescue Emergency Campaign and our fight for sunlight and accountability to Pennsylvania.Our newest legislation, sponsored by Representatives Dan Deasy, Mike Sturla and Dan Frankel, and championed by former Congressman Patrick Murphy, will make the Attorney General of Pennsylvania a mandated reporter of child abuse and exploitation.

“Penn State covered up one alleged child predator,” says PROTECT’s Grier Weeks. “The State of Pennsylvania is covering up thousands. This law will force them to admit it and mandate that the Attorney General report the crimes to local law enforcement.”

No More Coverups

Law enforcement map showing traffickers of child rape videos and crime scene photos in the Pennsylvania region.

Since 2006, PROTECT has negotiated behind the scenes with politicians in Congress, the U.S. Justice Department and the States. We show them proof that they could rescue hundreds of thousands of children and we call for action.They always want to get away with the minimum. One senior official in the U.S. Justice Department begged us privately not to embarrass his administration by exposing the full truth, promising to do more.
When politicians cover up crimes like these, children are raped and childhoods are destroyed. That’s not rhetoric, it’s the truth. So, last month, we launched our Child Rescue Emergency campaign.

Pennsylvania officials don’t think they have an emergency now. But when they are forced to open up law enforcement databases and report the actual shocking number of child predators they are hiding, the tide will turn.

Are You With Us?

We are proud of our tough little band of staff and volunteers. But we cannot keep taking on and winning big fights like these without help.

Let’s just admit it. Even though there are millions of survivors of child abuse, millions of parents and millions of caring people, Americans still don’t fight for abused children the way they fight for all of their other “special interests.” It’s a disgrace.

If you value what we do, and you can support us financially, please help us keep the phones on. But even if you can’t, there are other ways to keep this fight going. Take action when we send action alerts. Join our Facebook community and help us make it 10 times bigger. Get your local government to pass a Child Rescue Emergency resolution. Spread the word every way you can.
And we’ll continue to be the only voice in the political arena fighting for child protection… and doing it in a bipartisan, successful way.

Corey Feldman Goes Public

Posted by Sarah on August 13, 2011 at 6:28 pm former child star, media No Responses »

Aug 132011

Corey Feldman talks about Pedophiles in Hollywood

On an ABC special episode on Underage and Famous this week, Corey Feldman shocked a lot of viewers by coming out and saying the biggest problem for kids in Hollywood is always will be Pedophiles.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

The reaction is also similar. People have come out on blogs calling Corey a has been seeking another minute of fame. They’re saying he must be trying to get another production greenlit. They say he should name names or STFU.
Are these the same 5 jaded people with nothing better to do?

I hope he doesn’t name anyone. For one thing, there’s more than one crooked person in the industry. If he names one, all focus turns to that person. People get complacent and forget about all the other perps. We need to come together and stand as one and fight the industry as a whole. Focusing on one story doesn’t help anyone. People should applaud Corey for coming forward and shedding light on the industry, not shun him and assume he’s got an alterior motive.

I stand with Corey. I support him and believe him. I hope more actors will stop thinking about maintaining the status quo and start speaking up for what’s right. The protection of the future generation is more important than an acting job

Stand up for victims of child abuse

Posted by Sarah on September 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm Bravehearts, hey dad sex scandal No Responses »

Sep 032010

National Child Protection Week

A study has just been released in Australia that says that just one third of Australians would call police if a child told them they were being sexually abused.

The results, released on Wednesday, showed that 48 per cent of people would not take action in clear-cut examples of child abuse for fear they might be wrong, while 42 per cent said they did not think it was their business. But most of the 22,000 people surveyed by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) believed child abuse was a serious issue.

Since March, when I went public with my own history of abuse, there has been literally thousand of blogs, forums and tweets discussing my case. So many people couldn’t believe that it had been allowed to happen. People are outraged. People all claim that they would have done something. However, if you were really put in that spot, would you have? This study shows, maybe not.

People have judged me for going public. A lot of people are upset by the “Trial by Media”. However, I wouldn’t have done it any differently if I had to do it over again. By going public, it has forced people to talk about it. It’s forced people to think about what they would do if confronted by the same situation. It made witnesses come forward and talk to the police about it. People who otherwise may have been too scared to speak, in case they heard the infamous, “You’ll never work in this country again” line. Unfortunately, TV in Australia is a tiny community. People are terrified of speaking out of school. It’s very easy to be blacklisted and never work again. I have no doubt that if this was not public that many people would still be denying knowledge of the situation because they’d be scared to talk about it.

I really hope that by speaking out, that parents are thinking very hard about whether to put their kids into acting or modeling. I hope that if they are in the biz, they’re watching their kids like hawks.

I hope that people will get the courage to speak up if they see abuse. If a kid tells you something is not right, go investigate it for yourself if you don’t believe them. Then go to the police. Then get your kid some help. Call Bravehearts or any other child advocacy group.

Don’t let happen to your kids what happened to me. Don’t be the 2/3rds of Australia that would just look the other way. Even if it’s not your kid. It’s your job to protect them. They came to you, they asked for your help. Do the right thing and get them the help they need.

Go to the Bravehearts website to learn more about Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual Assault.

Sarah Monahan