Holding every responsible party accountable for sexual abuse

“[J]ustice and closure.”

We use those words on a page of our website at the Los Angeles personal injury law firm of Taylor & Ring, employing them in the context of what must centrally happen in the aftermath of any sex-based crime.

Although closure for any crime victim is obviously of utmost importance, it can hardly be overemphasized for persons who have been sexually assaulted or otherwise abused.

As we note on our site, victims often deal with a wide range of post-crime traumas, and over a lengthy duration. Dealing effectively with such difficult stresses often requires a victim to be proactive in identifying and taking resolute legal action against every party whose conduct contributed to injury.

We have noted in past select posts that purposefully seeking justice — indeed, demanding it — can be life affirming for a victim of a sex crime.

And it can start with ensuring that all persons who played a role in the perpetration of a heinous act are spotlighted and brought to justice.

Many people commonly do not give much thought regarding sex crimes to any person other than the immediate perpetrator.

That mindset sometimes needs to be expanded. What if a child was raped in a public place where a property owner or manager failed in abysmal fashion to warn of known dangers, for example? What if crime-deterring tools such as surveillance cameras, targeted lighting and security doors were reasonably called for yet entirely absent?

We note an obvious point on a page of our website discussing property owners and sex crimes, namely, that “sexual assault does not occur in a vacuum.”

Often, myriad parties in addition to an immediate perpetrator — for example, a school district, employer or, as noted in this post, a property owner — contribute in material ways to a sex-related crime.

Justice and closure require that they be held accountable.