Two stories that made headlines Friday make manypeople wonder if America is going to a certain place in a handbag.Maryland Rabbi David A. Kaye, 56, was sentenced Friday to 6½ years inprison for attempting to have sex with someone posing as a 13-year-oldboy. The rabbi was convicted in September on federal charges ofenticement and traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexualconduct.
Kaye's case took on nationalprominence after he was seen on TV's "Dateline NBC" in a sting that wasconducted in conjunction with an Internet watchdog group calledPerverted Justice.
A member of Perverted Justice posing as a13-year-old boy met Kaye in an online chat room in 2005 and Kayesolicited sex acts. When Kaye drove to what he thought was the boy'shome in Virginia, Kaye was confronted by a TV reporter and camera crewand admitted he was there for "not something good."
During therabbi's sentencing, prosecutors provided documentation that proved itwasn't the first time Kaye had engaged in improper conduct with youths.
Kayewas a rabbi at a congregation in Potomac, Md., for 16 years and at thetime of the sting was vice president of a Jewish youth organizationcalled PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leaders and Values.
Whileany sex act with an underage person is legally and morally wrong,Kaye's crime seems much worse because of his status in the religiouscommunity. After all, if a youngster can't trust a person of the cloth,who can they trust?
On the same day Kaye was being put away,the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese, the nation's largest, wassettling 45 sex-abuse cases for a total of $60 million, according tothe Associated Press.
It was the largest payout yet by theArchdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from themolestation crisis that's plagued the church.
The claims settledFriday involve 22 priests and include allegations from two periods whenthe archdiocese had limited or no insurance against sexual abuse claims-- prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.
Friday's settlementwas the largest in California since 2004, when the Diocese of Orangeagreed to spend $100 million to settle 90 abuse claims. It was also thefourth-largest in the nation since the clergy abuse crisis erupted inthe Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, according to an Associated Pressreview of settlements.
According to AP, four dioceses -- Tucson,Ariz.; Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore., and Davenport, Iowa -- soughtbankruptcy protection from a flood of lawsuits.
Delaware County has had its share of turmoil involving abusive clergy.
Agrand jury convened by Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham in2002 to investigate clerical sexual abuse released its report inSeptember 2005, naming 63 priests who allegedly abused children as farback as the 1940s -- 43 of whom had connections with Delaware County.
A new law signed Wednesday by Gov. Ed Rendell will hopefully toughen penalties for pedophiles.
No matter how stiff the punishment, though, it can never equal theanguish the abuse victims must endure for the remainder of their lives.
And the fact the abuse came from people in positions of trust makes the crimes worse.
trauma
informed human
rights justice failed
institutions UN Convention
on Human Rights Rights of the
Child and a Bill of Rights for Australia future evidence resilience not
providing or representing a secular Australia autodidact
Hegemony: The authority, dominance, and influence of one group, nation, or society over another
group, nation, or society; typically through cultural, economic, or political means.
.
If you found this information to be of assistance please don't forget to donate so that we can
extend these resources to more survivors. These pages are focused on preserving survivor relevant information. Information is not provided as legal or professional
advice; it is provided as general information only and requires that you validate any information via
your own legal or other professional service providers.
