Child abuse issues in the news

Outrageously Light Sentence

I am sickened by the light sentence of James Moss, the 6-foot-2, 270 pound father who ripped his 10-year-old son’s clothes off, beat him with a spatula, held his hands over two kitchen stove burners, (producing 2nd and 3rd degree burns) punched him in the face, threw him in the oven, yelled “I’m going to [...]

A Model Centralized Child Abuse Intake Center

Iowa’s new centralized child abuse intake center is a model every state should consider. Abuse tips are fed into one place, which enables standardized training and response scenarios. Because it removes reporting from the county level, I think it reduces the possibilities that a worker might know a family from their county and let their [...]

Alice Miller dies at 87

I am saddened to learn of the death of Alice Miller, a pioneer psychoanalyst in the field of child abuse. Fortunately for all of us, she ended her therapy practice in 1980, which helped a limited number of survivors, to write books which has touched millions. Though I have not read all of Ms. Miller’s [...]

Peter Townsend appearing at the NFL Superbowl

The NFL has hired the “Who” band to play during halftime. The controversy that is brewing is Peter Townsend having been “placed on Britain’s sex offenders register for five years after he admitted accessing child pornography online.” I understand someone not being guilty unless convicted. However I don’t believe we have all the facts. He [...]

Preventing and Reporting Child Abuse

I just read a story about child abuse titled “In child abuse cases, do what’s best for the child, experts say.“ What disturbed me was this paragraph: “Four days before the baby’s death, 21-year-old Patrick A. Naquin of Houma, was arrested after he allegedly fractured the skull of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in a fit [...]

Finally a Doctor’s Specialty in Child Abuse

The American Medical News reports that after nine years, the American Medical Board of Pediatrics is FINALLY offering a specialty in the treatment of child abuse. We as a society owe a debt to the late pediatrician and educator, Dr. Ray Helfer, who devoted his life to the developing methods of detecting child abuse, treating [...]