LOUISVILLE (KY)
Courier Journal
November 19, 2020
By Jim Wayne
The astonishing news that the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office concealed at least 738,000 records dealing with child sexual abuses in the Explorer Scouts program should raise the collective ire of everyone in our community.
The cover-up by public servants of any information about the incidents is, in effect, a collusion in crimes against our most precious, innocent citizens — our children.
As a licensed clinical social worker who treats victims of childhood sexual abuse, I can attest to the serious, long-term psychological impact of this horrendous trauma. The pain that for years finds its way into every crevice of a person’s life is indescribable.
In 2008, following the devastating news of abuse of thousands of children by Catholic priests, I worked with the adult victims of these crimes to successfully sponsor legislation to tighten reporting requirements, raise age limits, stiffen penalties and extend the statute limitation on child sexual abuse cases in Kentucky. Since the passage of the law, the number of prosecutions has grown and the level of awareness about transparency in these cases has increased.
This awareness, evidently, never penetrated the walls of our city administrations or the Jefferson County attorney’s office.
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