Missing link
There shouldn’t have to be laws requiring people to do the right thing — especially when children’s safety is at risk. It ought to be automatic.
But as the Penn State child sex abuse scandal has demonstrated, the right thing sometimes takes a back seat to other considerations. In Penn State’s case, university officials, including legendary football coach Joe Paterno, failed to call police when they became aware of allegations that a former assistant coach had sexually assaulted young boys on campus. Apparently, school officials were more interested in protecting Penn State’s reputation than protecting children. Some of them have been fired for that ghastly choice — and rightly so.
The scandal has prompted nationwide demands for mandatory reporting of child sex abuse. And according to some Pennsylvania lawmakers, nobody knows more about child predators than state government officials. Surprisingly, however, what the state knows isn’t often shared with local officials — and doesn’t have to be.
That would change under legislation proposed by state Rep. Dan Deasy, D-Allegheny. At a press conference Friday, Deasy said he will introduce the “Pennsylvania Attorney General Mandated Reporter Law,” a missing link of sorts that would require the state’s top law enforcement official to refer leads on thousands of child abusers and child pornography traffickers to local law enforcement agencies. The measure further requires state officials to assist local agencies with investigation and prosecution.
“The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General knows the location of thousands of child sex predators, but local law enforcement do not,” Deasy said. “Our local police need access to the databases in order to protect their communities.” To that end, the measure also requires the state Department of Public Welfare to assist law enforcement in identifying all possible victims.
Lending assistance to the overall effort is former Bucks County Congressman Patrick Murphy, who joined Deasy at his Pittsburgh press conference. Murphy is a candidate for state attorney general. He also was the sponsor of a federal law, adopted in 2008, that requires the U.S. Justice Department to notify state and local Internet Crimes Against Children task forces in their area, rather than sitting on evidence.
Murphy lauded Deasy’s legislation, which he views as a logical extension of the federal law he sponsored. According to Murphy, the federal legislation has “led to the arrests of thousands of sexual predators,” an outcome he expects would be repeated in Pennsylvania should Deasy’s proposed mandatory reporting law go on the books.
“We must act with a sense of urgency to keep Pennsylvania kids safe,” Murphy said. To that end, we urge timely consideration of Deasy’s missing link.