WISCONSIN
Reedsburgh Times-Press
Jess Kaehny Guest columnist
After being charged with multiple sexual assaults of a teen girl, David Knoble, 48, a church music director in Reedsburg, shot himself Dec. 30. Partly due to the public nature of the case and his suicide, it will continue to affect the family and church members involved as well as the community for some time to come.
Unfortunately, child sexual abuse in our country and our community is all too common, despite often being hidden and unknown. According to Darkness to Light (www.d2l.org), a national organization working to end child sexual abuse, about 1 in 10 girls and boys will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday, and more than 90 percent are abused by someone they know.
Perpetrators often groom their victims and the victims’ families into believing they are someone they can trust. According to court documents in the case, the teen girl believed she was his girlfriend and he manipulated her into keeping his behavior secret.
The Reedsburg Times-Press reported they had a “sexual relationship,” but a 16- or 17-year-old girl cannot give consent. Sexual intercourse, even sexual contact, without consent isn’t sex or a “sexual relationship” – it’s sexual assault. According to the charges in the case, he took advantage of her just like he did the 13-year-old girl back in 2004, a crime for which he only needed to pay a $335 fine. These are the two girls we are aware of, but did he sexually abuse more teens?
As adults, it’s up to us to pay attention. It’s our responsibility to stop and prevent child sexual abuse. Just like the teen’s mom who followed up on a gut instinct that something was wrong from a text message, we need to ask questions and follow up when people cross boundaries with children.
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