After spending more than eight years researching several cases involving the pain and suffering experienced by children who are victims of sexual assaults, I’m compelled to share what I’ve learned with as many people as possible for as long as I can. Becoming familiar with and sharing the reality and details of these assaults is unsettling, yet necessary if we ever hope to reduce the sexual attacks on children.
One of the most striking discoveries for me has been the realization that it’s foolhardy to think we can tell what a typical child sex offender looks like and therefore take the necessary precautions to protect our children from what would be obvious danger. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most child molesters are adept at disguising themselves well beyond recognition of what they really are. These sophisticated disguises place them above suspicion both because of their physical appearance and their place in society.
A recent shocking revelation in Maine was the arrest and conviction of James Cameron, who held a powerful position as a top drug prosecutor in the Maine Attorney General’s office. He was found guilty of 13 counts of sending, receiving and possessing child pornography through the Internet. Besides the explicit images of child pornography, investigators found emails, chats and other evidence on Cameron’s four computers seized from his home.
I think back at how many times Mr. Cameron testified before my legislative committee and was always received as one of the most respected members of the Attorney General’s office. Talk about disguises.
Another unsuspecting perpetrator is Rob Mocarsky, who taught kindergarten in Jackman. He pleaded guilty to producing child pornography that depicted his kindergarten students in sexually explicit poses in the classroom. The children were made to pose similar to what you would see in adult magazines like Playboy, but sadly, these were 5 year-olds.
Mocarsky was a previous winner of the national Milken Family Foundation Award for Excellence in teaching, a highly prestigious national honor. What better credentials could a person have when applying for a teaching job? What better credentials for a disguise. On Nov. 8, 2011, Mocarsky was sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised released.
When she was 12 years old, a soon-to-be sexual abuse victim began hypnotism treatments to help her break the bad habit of biting her fingernails. The hypnotist was Aaron Patton, 37, of Jay, who once had minor film roles. In January 2011, he was found guilty on four counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and of unlawful sexual contact against the young girl.
The girl testified that Patton began abusing her about once a week, and after each time the girl said he would hypnotize her so that she would feel more relaxed and comfortable about their sexual encounters.
Then there was “John,” who was a local police officer in central Maine who molested his stepdaughter “Marie” for years, intensifying his attacks after he moved the family to a small town in the Midwest, where he became the town’s only police officer, a church deacon and a columnist for the local newspaper advising teens about their problems.
No one ever suspected that this “respected man” was a child molester and that his victim, who was always accessible, had to endure his secret assaults as a continual part of her daily routine, not to mention having to carry that burden with her the rest of her life.
“John” was finally charged, but since it was only “Marie’s” word against his, this prominent community leader was never convicted and he walked away a free man, to probably pursue other targets.
Studies show that most sex offenders prey on family members, friends or acquaintances. Unfortunately, most molesters are never caught and, of those who are identified, only a very few are ever prosecuted and incarcerated.
The following illustration explains the reality of successfully prosecuting child sex offenders:
Think of a large V-shaped design. The distance between the top two points of the V represents the large number of people who are sexually molesting children. alHa
Half way down the V, that distance represents a much lower number – those who are discovered to be molesting children. Down in the very bottom of the V, that distance represents the smallest number – those who are actually convicted of their crime. And, only a percentage of those convicted are incarcerated. So when comparing the large population of actual child sexual offenders to the number that are finally successfully prosecuted – the number is discouraging and alarming.
We can do our part by being more aware of our children and aggressively engaging the public, the media and our elected leaders in conversation demanding greater support for our legal system and law enforcement agencies in their fight to improve the system. We need to change the “V” to an “I.”
Bill Diamond of Windham served as District 12’s senator from 2004-2012, and is also a former Maine secretary of state.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
