Why didn't they report this perv?
|
DHHS want's you to think that the solution to the child abuse problem is to report any suspicion of child maltreatment to the Child Abuse Hotline. Of course they can't help a child when they don't know about it, right? Take for example, the Reverent Bob Carlson from Bangor who sexually assaulted multiple children over many years. Apparently many knew about this disgusting pedophile, but not enough people came forward to report it to Child Protective Services.
A Maine State Police report released this week that suggests a number of people knew Bob Carlson sexually abused multiple children, but didn’t come forward to report it, has raised questions about a state law that requires a certain class of professionals to report suspected child abuse. |
So... Did anybody report? Who should have reported? Why didn't anybody report so that this monster could have been stopped? What about "Mandated Reporters" such as doctors, law enforcement officers or school teachers? Did any of them suspect anything? Did they even know they were supposed to report? The media hype surrounding this case even led to national experts weighing in on the issue.
Maine’s law that obligates professionals who have regular contact with children to report suspected child abuse and neglect has no provision that requires those so-called mandated reporters to receive training about their responsibilities.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/07/politics/expert-for-maines-child-abuse-reporting-law-to-be-effective-training-critical/?ref=relatedSidebar
The same question comes up often when the news media gets a hold of a child abuse case to exploit for their readers attention. It came up in the case of Ethan Henderson, an infant who died after he was violently thrown into a chair by his father.
Families members say Ethan's life might have been saved by a referral to the state Department of Health and Human Services and intervention by the department's child-protection workers.
http://www.pressherald.com/2012/07/03/collins-faunce-enters-not-guilty-pleas-at-arraignment/
Of Course DHHS didn't have anything to say about it either.
Gov. Paul LePage backs the Department of Health and Human Services' refusal to release information on how it handled a report of suspected child abuse at the Arundel home of Ethan Henderson, a 10-week-old baby who died, allegedly at his father's hands. |
And the experts weigh in...
The latest report from a state task force that analyzes children’s deaths and injuries says the failure of health care workers and other professionals to report suspected child abuse continues to be a major problem in Maine.
http://www.pressherald.com/2012/05/18/review-panel-finds-mainers-wary-to-report-signs-of-abuse_2012-05-18/
But as it turns out, somebody in this case did make a report...
The DHHS did receive a complaint that Ethan's 3-year-old half sister was "covered in bruises" and that he and his twin brother were sick and not getting medical attention, but it's not clear when that report was received.
http://www.pressherald.com/2012/05/18/review-panel-finds-mainers-wary-to-report-signs-of-abuse_2012-05-18/
Which brings us back to another viable possibility. Perhaps somebody did make an abuse report in the case of Reverend Bob Carlson and DHHS simply dropped the ball.
The world may never know.
The world may never know.
|