Child abuse poses a problem in area
More than 8,700 Utah children were victims of child abuse or neglect in the year 2000, and there are currently 66 convicted child sex offenders living in Cache Valley, according to the Utah Department of Corrections web site at http://www.cr.ex.
state.ut.us/community/sexoffenders/.
“It has been difficult to persuade people sometimes that there is a problem as serious as it is in Cache Valley,” said Deborah Ascione, senior lecturer in the College of Family Life.
“As a community, we don’t want to believe that people in our midst would do things like abuse children,” she said. “It has been a classic response to deny that this is really going on.”
Utah Code Ann.62A-4a-411 requires any person who has reason to believe a child has been abused or neglected to report it to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services or to law enforcement officials.
Failure to report is a Class B misdemeanor and is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, Ascione said.
“The law places responsibility on every individual in the state,” said Dr. James Davis, physician and director of the Student Health and Wellness Center. “The first thing students need to understand is that they are required by state law to report anything they suspect may be abusive, even if they can’t prove it.
“Students do have a duty to report, just as any citizen does,” he said.
The number of reported sex abuse cases in Logan has gone from fewer than 100 in 1990 to more than 560 cases in 1999, according to the Children’s Justice Center pamphlet.
There are 66 known sex offenders living in Cache Valley, one woman and 65 men, according to the Web site. And previous offenders often abuse again, Burnard said.
“One thing about perpetrators is they don’t do it just one time,” said Bill Burnard, director of the Children’s Justice Center. “I used to think that pedophiles are cured. But from what I’ve seen, they never really are.”
Davis, who worked in the Logan Regional Hospital emergency room for 16 years, said one in four children who are taken to the emergency room have injuries that were not accidents.
He said there are signs injuries were caused by abuse, not accident: Injuries of different ages or in the genital or buttocks area or injuries that don’t match the story.
“I get very concerned about things that don’t make sense,” he said. “As a doctor I have to be very suspicious.”
There are several support centers in Cache Valley for victims of child abuse.
The Children’s Justice Center in Logan started in 1999 and is one of 14 such centers in the state. It serves Cache, Rich and Box Elder counties.
Victims of abuse through age 17 are interviewed in the center in one of two interview rooms: One for young children and one for teenagers.
“It used to be that kids were interviewed in front of a patrol car with a hand-held mike,” Burnard said. “The kids would be passed around, which is almost as bad as the abuse.
“We entertain the kids when they’re here and follow-up to make sure they’re taken care of and get the services they need,” he said.
The center is 2,200 square feet, looks like a home and averages five to 10 interviews a week, Burnard said. In building it, their goal was to make it as child-friendly and least clinical as possible, he said.
The center helps victims of every kind of abuse. Often children will draw pictures, use Play Doh or act out what happened with stuffed animals, Burnard said.
“Pooh Bear has done some pretty bad things in our facility, and we’ve had some pretty dramatic pictures drawn,” he said. “Kids express things in different ways.”
In one to two months, the center will also be medically equipped to help sex abuse victims, Burnard said.
“The nearest sex abuse center is in Ogden,” Burnard said. “Soon we can take care of them here rather than sending them all the way to Ogden.”
The center, which is located at 1362 N. 400 West, recently purchased a colposcope, an instrument that takes magnified pictures of sex abuse victims.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to get it because it costs $25,000 to $30,000,” Burnard said. “It’s good evidence in court because a picture is worth a thousand words, and it’s good for nonverbal kids because they can’t tell their story.
“If there’s any chance of semen or other physical evidence, we’ll gather evidence and send it to Primary Children’s [Medical Center] for a second opinion,” he said.
When the center was first opening, its supporters had a hard time getting community support, Burnard said.
“We found out quickly that people didn’t think child abuse was a problem in Cache Valley,” he said. “They didn’t want to know about it.”
Now, the center receives most of its support from the community. It gives away a teddy bear and blanket to every child who is interviewed, Burnard said.
The bears are mostly supplied by the Christian Crusaders, a local motorcycle group that holds a race every year where each participant brings a teddy bear. Last year, the group donated about 400 bears, Burnard said.
The blankets come from local Relief Societies or charity, and a 12-year-old Millville resident recently sent her baby-sitting money to the center because she supports what they do, he said.
The center handled 211 cases last year and is continuing to handle more cases, Burnard said.
“I think we’ll probably top 211 this year the way things are going,” he said.
Another service available to victims in Cache Valley is the Child and Family Support Center which is located just north of the Children’s Justice Center at 380 W. 1400 North in Logan.
This center, which is open 24 hours a day, provides counseling and a nursery for victims and perpetrators of abuse.
The 24-hour hotline is open for any questions people may have.
“A lot of people call because they’ve had children act out and don’t know how to handle it,” said Kadi Seamons, the nursery coordinator. “Other people just need someone to talk to so they can vent or they ask how to report abuse.”
The nursery is for children age birth to 11 years old and is always open for a crisis situation. However, its main use is for respite care, a scheduled time when parents can drop their kids off for a break. It ranges from two to four hours depending on the situation, Seamons said.
This center is also where kids stay after they have been removed from their homes because of a report of abuse. The children stay in the center overnight or up to four weeks until they are placed in foster care or back into their homes, Seamons said.
The Child and Family Support Center also provides free therapy to abuse victims and various classes for parents and children.
Utah State University students who are interested in helping child abuse victims in Cache Valley can volunteer at either center.
The Friends Committee does fund raising for the Children’s Justice Center. People interested in helping can contact Regina Johnston at 792-4231.
Students who want to volunteer in the crisis nursery at the Child and Family Support Center can call 752-8880.
Anyone who suspects child abuse should report it to local law enforcement or can call the statewide child abuse hotline at 1-800-678-9399. Those interested in the services provided by the Child and Family Support Center can call their hotline at 752-8880.