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Paige Stroka

McLaughlin

English 12

18 March 2019

Child Abuse Laws are Not Strict Enough

The federal law defines child abuse as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a

parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or

failure to act, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm” (“Child Abuse”). Until the

1900’s, what people think of as child abuse was not considered illegal or even immoral; but as

time evolved, the modern view on child abuse has changed to see it as immoral. There are

multiple types of child abuse, some more harmful than others. Some types of child abuse are

physical, sexual, neglect, and psychological (“Child Abuse”). Even though the view on child

abuse has immensely changed, the punishments are not strict enough. In many instances,

children are placed back into the abusive home to face even worse punishments. In an effort to

stop child abuse, the abusers must face stricter punishments to protect the victims.

The study of child abuse in the United States began in 1962 because of C. Henry

Kempe’s paper “The Battered Child Syndrome” (“Child Abuse”). Kempe’s paper examined

evidence of unexplained head injuries and bone fractures in children. During Dr. Kempe’s

research, he established an institute that studies abuse called the Kempe Center for the

Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect. Because of his work, there is now a

mandatory reporting law in every state that requires certain individuals to notify child protective

services when child abuse is suspected (“Child Abuse”). People who are identified by the
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mandatory reporting law include educators, health care providers, child care providers, and law

enforcement officers; these people are considered mandated reporters because they must report

any suspected abuse. After an abuse report is made, child protective services must evaluate the

evidence and decide what to do next. If they find any evidence of abuse, they must take the child

to a medical examination and assign a case worker (“Child Abuse”).

The Jerry Sandusky case is a good example of how laws for child abuse do not protect

victims. It took many years for Sandusky to be arrested for abusing eight young male athletes

over a period of fifteen years. Sandusky originally began his charity The Second Mile in 1977 to

help troubled boys. The charity eventually grew into a non-profit organization that helped young

people work towards their dreams. The first known case of abuse occurred in 1998. Sandusky

was reported to authorities for showering with a young boy. He was investigated and let go,

promising not to shower with underage boys again (“Penn State Scandal Fast Facts”). From

1998-2008, Sandusky went on to abuse seven more boys. In 2008, he fell under investigation for

the third time for child sexual abuse.

Eventually, other key figures in the case were held responsible for Sandusky’s crimes and

their silence, but only after great public outcry (“Penn State Scandal”). The ex-president of Penn

State, Graham Spanier, was sentenced to four to twelve months in jail but he only had to serve

two months in jail. The rest were to be served on house arrest (“Jerry Sandusky Case”). The

ex-athletic director, Tim Curley, was sentenced to seven to twenty three months ,however, he

only served three months in jail. Ex-vice president of PSU ,Gary Schultz, was sentenced to six to

twenty-three months, but he only spent two months in jail. The judge on the Jerry Sandusky case

also criticized Joe Paterno who failed to alert child-welfare authorities or the police though he
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was never charged with a crime. Mike McQueary said he reported seeing Jerry Sandusky

molesting a boy in 2001, but Sandusky was not arrested until 2011 (“Sandusky Case”). Because

Jerry Sandusky was a public figure, it was harder to get people to believe the truth. Psychologist

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc said, “When someone is a very prominent and powerful figure, it is very

difficult for people to feel like they should say bad things about them” (“Child Abuse”).

In most cases, children are placed back into the home with parents who are abusers. For

example Tami Joy Huntsman and a seventeen year old boy lived together in Quincy, California

(“ Silva”).They were both held with charges of felony child abuse, torture, and mayhem with a

one million bond each. Until Tami Joy Huntsman was arrested, the five kids living with her

were not removed from the home because there was no evidence that those five kids were at risk

of being a child abuse victim. Eventually, severely abused nine year old girl was taken to a safe

environment and was treated for injuries. After further investigation, police got a lead on a

missing child case. The police located the bodies of a three year old and a six year old in a plastic

container in a storage unit in Redding (“Silva”)

Many child abuse cases go unreported but still affect the child as they grow up. As

written in her first-hand account, Angela Goodwin-Slater suffered verbal and emotional abuse at

the hands of her mother all throughout her childhood. When she was five she could not find one

of her shoes. Her mother yelled at her because she thought she had misplaced it on purpose so

she did not have to go to church (“Goodwin”).While they were on their way to church her

mother told her she was the devil and that there was nothing but evil in her. When Angela was in

fourth grade she started a new school and was being bullied for about five months. When she

told her mother about the bullying, her mother laid the blame on her. Goodwin-Slater says this is
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the time she began feeling inadequate. As a teenager, she was offered to train for the U.S.

swimming team for the 1988 olympics but her mother declined the offer because she did not

have time to waste on her daughter’s swimming. After everything that happened during her

childhood, Angela decided to go to therapy at the age of twenty and has been on and off

medication for the last twenty five years. She still struggles with self-esteem and believing she is

not the person her mother told her she was (“Goodwin”). This is just one example of how

significantly child abuse affects children for their entire lives.

As of now, child abuse is prosecuted as a crime in every state(“Child Abuse Laws”). The

crime is typically prosecuted as assault and battery or child endangerment. Child abuse can also

result in the termination of parental rights or incarceration. Although child abuse is considered a

crime, if it is not reported the abusers cannot be punished (“Child Abuse Laws”).

A lot of child abuse cases go without punishment due to a vague line of discipline or

abuse. It is hard to tell if someone is deliberately abusing their child or trying to discipline them.

In a lot of cases, the children are not removed from the home or are placed back into the home.

Also many cases go unreported because witnesses or victims are afraid to speak up. It is time to

adequately punish child abusers so that children can grow and thrive in a protective and

compassionate society. Speaking up and taking action are the only ways child abusers will face

their punishment.
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Works Cited

“Child Abuse.” ​Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection,​ Gale, 2017. ​Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,​ https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999343/OVIC?u=pl2127&sid=

OVIC&xid=b2c9fed3. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

“Child Abuse Laws.” ​Findlaw​, family.findlaw.com/child-abuse/child-abuse-laws.html.

Goldman, Jill. “The Definition of Child Abuse.” ​Child Abuse,​ edited by Jean Leverich,

Greenhaven Press, 2006, 22-28.

Goodwin-Slater, Angela. “Child Abuse: A Survivor's Story.” ​American Psychological

​ merican Psychological Association, Apr. 2013, https://www.apa.org/p

Association, A

i/about/newsletter/2013/04/child-abuse. Accessed 27 Feb. 2019.

“Jerry Sandusky Case: Three Ex-Penn State Officials Get Jail Terms.” ​NBC News,​ NBC

Universal, 2009, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jerry-sandusky-case-three-ex-penn-state-

officials-get-jail-n767676. Accessed 27 Feb. 2019.

“Penn State Scandal Fast Facts.” ​CNN.com​, Cable News Network, Inc., 2019,

www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/us/penn-state-scandal-fast-facts/index.html. Accessed 25 March

2019.

Silva, Daniella. “Two Children Found Dead in Storage Unit Died of Ongoing Physical Abuse.”

​ aniella Silva,17 Dec. 2015, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2

NBCNews, D

-children-found-dead-storage-unit-died-ongoing-physical-abuse-n482051. Accessed 25 Feb.

2019.
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