It’s a start. Would-be legislation in California is, well, would-be. That is, a bill is merely incipient and must clear multiple hurdles before it is deemed finally approved and can be enacted as law. A high-profile bill (SB 813, for short) focused upon the reporting window available for individuals to file legal claims regarding sex…
Behind the wheel, judgment and focus are everything. Unsurprisingly, and from a collective standpoint, teen drivers in California and nationally flatly lack those attributes. The numbers don’t lie. Here are a few things to ponder, which convey the type of driving-related statistical information that fills more mature drivers with trepidation, if not outright dread. Just…
To any person in California or elsewhere who might believe that criminal law authorities, advocacy groups, compassionate and knowledgeable attorneys and countless other people overstate the case of pedophile-related activity and child sexual abuse, we submit the case of Richard Huckle. Huckle was sentenced by a London court earlier this week to 22 life sentences…
A former student alleges that Desert Sands Unified School District knowingly employed a child predator and exposed countless students to him. Three lawsuits have already been filed against the school district, with two ongoing cases and one other having settled earlier this year. However, it’s expected that many more allegations will arise. The claims stem…
It’s a recurring and sometimes strident debate that often materializes across the country, including in California. Now a prominent businessman and legislator have rekindled the discussion in another state. That state is New York, with the subject being the statute of limitations applicable to child sex abuse cases. In New York, so-called SOLs greatly —…
“People with parasitic interests will see you as their prey.” So says Elijah Wood, who generally commands a bit of attention when he speaks. And the reason for that is obvious, given that Wood, now 35 years old, has already had a decades-long acting career on television and in movies. Most notably, of course, he…
Perpetrators of child sexual abuse often go to great lengths to work with or be near children in order to “groom” them for abuse. Employers, and especially religious and youth organizations, should implement proper screening, monitoring and reporting processes in order to protect children from sexual predators. Unfortunately, even when an organization has rules designed…
Is the sexual abuse of children by teachers in what a recent New York Times articles calls “the insular, privileged world of American prep schools” a singular or outsized problem as compared with what occurs in public schools? That’s debatable. And it certainly is being debated across the country these days in light of recurring…
We know that all our readers would fervently welcome the day when acts of child sexual abuse would simply cease to exist in California, nationally and across the rest of the world. The victimization of young people — from toddlers and adolescents to teens and beyond — by adult sexual perpetrators is a stark and…
In May 2016, the Los Angeles Unified School District agreed to pay $88 million to settle sexual misconduct claims filed on behalf of 30 students involving two elementary school teachers. The claims brought against the District state that although there were warnings and concerns regarding predatory behavior, administrators did nothing to penalize the teachers. Both…