enot06

Clergy, abuse, and jail time
2002

BOSTON — Despite the common perception that clergy who sexually assault children are almost never punished, more than 70 priests and ministers have been sent to prison for child molestation since 1985.

While this still represents a small percentage of the overall cases, the number of clergy put behind bars in recent years has been growing – as has the severity of the sentences.

Still, victims groups, prosecutors, and others say most cases of child abuse by clergy never get as far as a prosecutor's desk, with many settled quietly out of court. For instance, more than 70 settled cases during the 1990s have now been reported in the Archdiocese of Boston alone. Hundreds more have been reported settled in dioceses from Dallas to Santa Fe, N.M., to Bridgeport, Conn. Some put the cost at $1 billion or more<...>.

There are many reasons so few cases end in court – and fewer still in prison terms – say prosecutors and police investigators.

First, the legal standards for criminal cases are higher than for civil cases. Often, the criminal statute of limitations has run out for adults who were abused as children.

Second, the accused are often influential and well-liked in their communities, while the victims are often the most vulnerable – children from broken homes, for instance.

Third, churches have been reluctant to report clergy to police. Richard Cage, who has investigated pedophile cases for the police in Montgomery County, Md., for 25 years, says cases involving clergy are the most difficult.

"Our biggest challenge is when it involves the church," he says. "Denial is our biggest problem. Parents are reluctant to have their child interviewed. [And of] children that have been abused, at first 99 percent will deny it."

Перевод заключительного пассажа:

Почему так мало обвинительных заключений?
Есть много причин, по которым так мало случаев оказывается в суде, и еще меньше заканчиваются тюремными сроками, - говорят прокуроры и следователи.
Во-первых,  юридические стандарты для уголовных дел выше, чем для гражаданских.  Часто, срок давности прошел для взрослых, которые подверглись сексуальному насилию, когда были детьми.
Во-вторых, обвиняемые часто влиятельны и любимы в своих сообществах, в то время, как жертвы зачастую наиболее ранимы (например, дети из разрушенных семей).
В-третьих, церкви неохотно заявляли о священниках в полицию. Ричард Кейдж, который расследовал случаи педофилии для полиции графства Монтргомери, штат Мэриленд,  в течении 25 лет, говорит, что случаи,  которых замешаны священнослужители, являются саммыми сложными.
"Отказ от дачи показаний наше самая большая проблема. Родители неохотно соглашаются на то, чтобы их детей опрашивали. А из тех детей, которые подверглись домогателствам/насилию, 99% будут это отрицать".

Posted Mar. 31, 2014 
In 2014, Framingham Police said they caught Framingham fire inspector Todd Young soliciting a sexual favor from an Asian massage parlor on Union Avenue. Authorities said he went into the business in uniform and asked for free “body works” in exchange for not fining the business for a fire code violation.
Police, who were doing a stakeout, said they watched Young enter and leave 30 minutes later, and he admitted to receiving prostitution services.

Posted Jul. 22, 2015

FRAMINGHAM – Disturbed to know prostitution and human trafficking is going on in local "bodywork" shops, the Board of Health on Wednesday planned to set regulations to help police with a crackdown.

Framingham Detective Sgt. Tim O’Toole, who oversees the street crimes unit, told the board police know of about 10 bodywork establishments and spas in town.
“Going on inside the walls is prostitution and human trafficking in many of these, if not all of them,” O’Toole said. Asian females, mainly coming from New York, are being “moved in and out” of these businesses, treated like prisoners, he said.

Board member David Moore said he was startled at a past meeting to hear about the problem.
“I’m shocked as well,” said new member Laura Housman, who joined the board for her first meeting Wednesday.

Since so-called "bodywork" shops, unlike massage parlors, are unregulated, O’Toole said police could use the regulations as an enforcement tool.

“It’s difficult for us to infiltrate these establishments,” he said.

Board of Health staff has already drawn up draft regulations based on businesses in Arlington, and Chairman Mike Hugo said the board would hold a public hearing and vote in August.

By regulating "bodywork" businesses, the town would require practitioners to obtain permits once a year. Under the draft regulations, workers must fill out an application, submit a photo and pass criminal and sex offender background checks.

“I think this criteria should apply to both owners and practitioners,” Moore said.

The regulations would prohibit workers from dressing provocatively or the business from having anything exotic or provocative in its advertising, and ban blackout curtains in the waiting room.

The businesses could be open only between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., and must keep records of clients and show proof of liability insurance.

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Posted Dec. 3, 2015

FRAMINGHAM – Armed with new regulations, the town has shut down 10 so-called “bodywork” businesses and permitted one to legally remain open.

Chief of Community Health Marissa Garofano said detectives with the Police Department’s street crimes unit assisted inspectors in closing down Naomi Spa, 158 Union Ave. — which failed a pre-opening inspection — and several other establishments, including some that neglected to apply for a permit and ignored cease-and-desist orders.

Naomi Spa was the only “bodywork” business that submitted all the documents required under new regulations the board enacted to crack down on prostitution and sex trafficking.

Inspectors went into the establishment and made several observations, including dim lighting and staff dressed inappropriately, which violates the regulations, Garofano said.

“The police helped us shut them down,” she told the Board of Health Thursday. “They are currently closed.”