Ministers, Anti-drug Group Join Effort To Fight Child Exploitation
By Bobbi Mlynar
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Exploiting children will not be as easy as it once was, if a group of local ministers has its way.
About 20 ministers from diverse denominations have committed themselves to working against the sexual exploitation of children after Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman talked to the Lyon County Ministerial Alliance. Goodman went to the alliance to ask for help educating parents and the general public about a problem that has become increasingly widespread.
“Sometimes as a church, we forget that kids have to go out into a world that’s not kind,” said Chad Poland, pastor of the First Congregational Church. “Nothing good comes into Marc’s office. ... It hits close to home. We can’t just keep processing this. We have to do something about it.”
And, because its key purpose is keeping children safe, Emporians for Drug Awareness has joined the ministers in their effort.
Some members of LCMA have signed a resolution to call attention to the problem and to let the public know that they are available to help. The association is a group where “like-minded pastors can meet,” Poland said. As such, it is not formally adopting the project.
“We want to raise awareness of the issue to arouse people from their complacency,” Poland said.
EDA Director Mike Crouch concurred.
“People think, ‘This is Emporia, Kansas. It can’t happen here,” Crouch said. “People need to know it can and it does happen here.”
The men said that education will be a key component in the effort, and that parents and the community will need to become involved to achieve success.
Parents will need to learn more about ways that Internet chat rooms, cell phones and other factors can be used by adults to manipulate young people.
Alcohol and illegal drugs frequently are used as tools in sexual exploitation of children, Crouch said, because it impairs their judgment.
“It’s a whole world out there and there are people so adept at using it for their own purposes,” Poland added.
Crouch’s organization already had booked an Emporia appearance by one of the nation’s top experts in the field, Craig E. Hill, former deputy chief of police for Leawood.
Since November 2005, Hill has been national director of crime prevention training for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Kansas City. He is a co-founder and former president of the Lost Child Network and was appointed to the first Kansas Attorney General’s Task Force on Missing and Exploited Children. Hill received the Award of Valor for the recovery of two kidnapped children who had been missing for more than 2 1/2 years and most recently received the Award of Commendation from America’s Most Wanted for overseeing the investigation into the Alexandria Kemp homicide, which resulted in the arrest of a sexual predator.
Hill will make a presentation for adults at 7 p.m. April 16 at the First United Methodist Church, 823 Merchant St. The event is free and open to the public.
“An hour and a half out of their week can be so valuable to (parents’) children,” Crouch said of Hill’s presentation. “None of us know enough about this. We can all learn more.”
The following day, Hill will present 8 hours of training for area law officers. All will focus on keeping children safe from sexual exploitation.
“We want parents and adults to leave this event and go home and talk to their kids about how they can be safe,” Crouch said. “It can come into any of our homes.
“If they cannot talk with their parents, talk with school counselors, mentors, nurses.”
Additional resources are available through the YouthFriends program, which pairs responsible adults with youngsters for about an hour each week, and service agencies throughout the community. A list of those services is being compiled.
A survey will be conducted after Hill’s presentation to determine its effectiveness, Poland said. A packet of information will be available to complement the denominational resources families can get from their churches and youth groups.
The program will not be appropriate for children, the men said, and no child care will be provided.
“It’s something worth finding a baby sitter for,” Poland said.
sandyestabrook (anonymous) says...
I feel you are leaving out a very important aspect of the sexual abuse of children, that being incest. Recent statistics show up to 50% of child sexual abuse victims are abused by family members. All sexual abuse should be treated equally and justly under Kansas laws. Right now it is not as incest carries a level 5 penalty. AREA -Alliance to Recognize and End Abuse is a statewide coalition of professional and lay citizens who believe that abuse of any kind is wrong but the abuse of children is intolerable. We further believe that perpetrators of child abuse should be held fully accountable for their crimes and are actively working to change the state statutes regarding incest. SB233 is currently being sent to an interim committee. www.area-ks.net
March 26, 2007 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )