financial cost of child abuse, evangelist's child abuse charges
childadvocate
The financial cost of child abuse is ten times the financial cost of
obesity in Australia 11/18/08 Child abuse and neglect costs
Australians ten times more than obesity, a landmark report has found.
The report has also found that the number of cases of abuse in our
community may be five times higher than the official figures. The Cost
of Child Abuse in Australia, a joint research report by Access
Economics, Australian Childhood Foundation and Child Abuse Prevention
Research Australia at Monash University, is the first comprehensive
report of its kind in Australia. It found that the real cost of child
abuse to the Australian community in 2007 was $10.7 billion, and could
be as high as $30.1 billion, including the monetary value of the pain
and suffering that they experience. Professor Chris Goddard, Director
of Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia at Monash University said
this is the first comprehensive, national study of the costs of child
abuse and neglect in Australia....While there were 36,000
substantiated reports of child abuse and neglect in Australia in 2007,
the report estimates that there approximately 177,000 children abused
or neglected and this figure could be even higher. The report also
calculated that the cost to the community of the consequences of abuse
over the lifetime of children who were abused for the first time in
2007 is approximately $13.7 billion and could be as high as $38.7
billion, including the monetary value of the pain and suffering that
they experience. http://www.monash.edu.au/news/newsline/story/1373
Ark. seizes 21 more kids from evangelist's group 11/18/08 by
Associated Press - Little Rock, Ark.- State officials on Tuesday took
into protective custody 21 children associated with an evangelical
group whose founder faces federal child sex charges....Authorities
took three children into custody Tuesday at the courthouse in
Texarkana, 130 miles southwest of Little Rock. Police seized the other
18 children from two vans during a traffic stop....On Monday, a 14-
year-old girl taken by the state during the September raid testified
that Alamo molested her, counted a number of young girls as his wives,
and coached her and others to say they weren't touched improperly or
beaten.....Alamo, 74, is charged with two counts of transporting a
juvenile across state lines for sex, once in 2004 and again the
following year. The preacher, listed in court documents by his real
name, Bernie Lazar Hoffman, has pleaded not guilty to the federal
charges, each of which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in
prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He is in jail in Texarkana
awaiting trial, which is set to begin in February. Alamo has preached
that the Bible allows young girls to marry once they reach puberty but
has said he didn't adopt the practice....The 14-year-old girl, who
spent much of her time in Alamo's organization in Fort Smith,
testified that Alamo coached her and others to say they weren't
sexually molested or beaten, and said Alamo recorded interviews with
the girls to document the statements.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1286484,evangelist-kids-seized111808.article