Now, who in the hell would let their young child stay ALONE with someone like THIS?!?!?!?
This is my field. *snicker/rubs hands* In the state of Kansas, if you allow your children to come into harms way with prior knowledge that something bad MIGHT happen, you can be charged with a misdemeanor endangerment charge. So...if I let my precious kids go someplace without my supervision and they get hurt...responsibility can go straight back at me. I love this law. Sure, there are legal subtleties that may confound any number of contingencies but it forces parents to take a close look at how they are handling their children's affairs.
The sticky part is that there is no LEGAL proof on the books that Mr. Jackson ever did anything wrong. Sure, he's had a legal indictment and he's a nut in the eyes of the population...but there is some doubt. Whether he did anything or not, I think they eyes of the law should also examine whether the parents understood the level of supervision these kids would have while staying with the King of Pop. Call me overprotective, but my kids don't stay at the homes of other people unless I've had some time to check em out and I've not heard anything weird. I must be satisfied that they are as protective of my kids as I am. And if someone had a long history of questionable behavior with kids, they would not get the opportunity to supervise them. This is the standard that I'm held to professionally, it's the standard I hold for myself as a parent and gosh darn it, I hope folks raise their standards a bit. "Quit complaining about how dangerous the world is and PROTECT your kids."
"Their cries go unheeded and tears well up in pools, nowhere farther from the hand of God than in our homes and in our schools." -PRH speech to the Kansas Board of Education regarding violence and abuse prevention.
Folks spend so much time in litigation and building preventions in existing infrastructure of childcare systems, they don't take time to prevent at the home level. Sure there are situations where nothing can be done...but around here...I'll head home from a gig at 2 a.m. and there are still LOTS of kids under 18 runnin' around downtown. Some very young....10, 11 years old. And trust me...I know most of the predators in town. They know where the kids are too.
The police are overworked. No child left behind has the teachers unwillingly focused entirely on test scores. The school's are no longer allowed to provide enough structure and supervision to keep kids safe. The social workers don't have enough releases to communicate with each other due to HIPPA. Parents are the only ones who can help. Until we fully accept the accountability or parental responsibility, children will remain unsafe.
PRH
