MISSOURI
Hamilton and Griffin on Rights
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Last week, a Missouri prosecutor did something I’d never seen before. His courage prompted me to think about how district attorneys handle child sex abuse cases, especially involving influential institutions and oppressive cultures.
My conclusion: prosecutors deserve both praise and prodding. Too often, they seem to play it safe, pursue only the low hanging fruit and carefully avoid confronting powerful organizations. But increasingly, some of them seem to be acting with more creativity and vigor. They deserve recognition for doing so.
So first, the praise:
In Platte County Missouri, after two hours of police questioning, Darren L. Padden pled guilty to sexually assaulting a girl 200 and 300 times over a decade, starting when she was four.
Sadly but not surprisingly, almost 20 adults in the community publicly rallied to Padden’s side. Here’s the shocking part though: The local district attorney called them out by name.
Upset by such callousness, prosecutor Eric Zahnd sent out a new release. He blasted these irresponsible individuals for adding to the now 18 year old victim’s pain by writing letters or testifying on behalf of the admitted predator. And Zahnd named each one of them: a local school board member, a former bank president, a former county official, a female church elder, a male church trustee, a nurse and two ex-teachers and two ex-school district employees. (Their names are listed at the end of this blog.)
So again, kudos to prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd. Thanks to him, a serial predator is behind bars and a girl is no longer being assaulted. And thanks to him, many in northwest Missouri now know who sides with predators and against victims. Hopefully, others who are tempted to back a child molester – and hurt a victim – will think twice before minimizing horrific crimes, helping sick predators and hurting already-wounded victims.
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