Mandatory reporters who don't report child sex abuse.
June 8, 2008 - Seattle Public Schools this school year began requiring employees who work with children or supervise those who do to attend training on recognizing and reporting abuse.
Employees are still encouraged to report abuse to school or district administrators, but the policy now emphasizes that they have an independent obligation to notify police or Child Protective Services.
Adoption of the new training isn't due to the Broadview-Thomson case nor the Rainier Beach case, the school district says. And two principals involved in the Broadview-Thomson case won't face any formal discipline, but in the future, the district will investigate any employees who fail to report.
Prosecutors don't promise any such thing.
Ian Goodhew is the deputy chief of staff for the King County Prosecutor's Office.
Though prosecutors could make a case against school officials for not following the letter of the law, it's usually not in their best interests to do so, Goodhew said.-------------------------
Their best witnesses will be the person to whom the report was made, and calling that witness's professionalism or judgment into question by prosecuting him or her for failing to report in a timely manner could compromise the case against the abuser.
TT - That doesn't explain at all why those who fail to report aren't prosecuted after the abuser is convicted. We worry that there is an inherent conflict of interest in prosecuting educators who don't report because successful prosecution leaves the district liable to lawsuits for the wrongdoing.
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Those who do report suffer.
The mother of one of Hill's victims, for example, caught him touching her daughter inappropriately and reported it -- then faced harassment from many in the school community.TT - So do teachers who report.
We suspect that is one of the major reasons teachers or administrators don't report sexual abuse of students by educators or by others, including abuse by other students. The other factor? Unions who supply accused teachers with free attorneys. In a union "them vs. us" mentality, you choose your sides.
Guess who loses?
