Where's the Outrage?
A couple of days ago, former USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar, was sentenced up to 175 years in prison for his first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Absolutely horrible that these women...girls at the time... had to endure such abuse.
I ask you though—why haven't we heard more about it?
Sure the last couple of weeks, the trial and sentencing has been in the news. But this just didn't happen overnight. I was trying to look back on the internet when this was first exposed. I saw where the good doctor was released from his post at Michigan State University in 2016. I saw where Larry Nassar pled guilty in November, 2017.
I live in my little world most of the time, but I know if I heard about this it would have caught my attention.
This isn't the first time when a man in authority betrayed the trust of children. Unfortunately, it won't be the last. But these victims were the darlings of the 2012/2016 Summer Olympics. They lived in the publics eyes.
No one...no one saw what was happening?
Can you imagine what they went through? They were children...children!
Who was supposed to be protecting these children? When was the abuse first reported? Was it dismissed or was there an investigation?
Here's my outrage... Most times...even now, the claims of victims are simply dismissed.
When it comes to sexual abuse, people have a million excuses why they don't believe a victim. It makes it so hard for a victim to report the crime.
We need to change the way we handle accusations. I served on a jury last summer. It was about sexual abuse of a minor. The victim didn't report it until she was twenty. The abuse happened when she was eleven.
You wouldn't believe the excuses the other jurors had for not voting guilty.
On why the girl was kept away from any potential friends— the mother's boyfriend was trying to keep the girl from hanging out with the wrong kind of friends. On why the girl couldn't do any extracurricular activities—they probably couldn't afford it. On why the girl was forced to sleep in the same bed as the mother's boyfriend every night—A lot of kids sleep in their parents' bed. The girl was on a vendetta, falsely accusing the guy. Why did the girl wait so long to report it?
Why did they believe these reasons? I haven't the foggiest idea. None of these reasons were in any testimony. None of it. My fellow jurors came up with it all on their own. The biggest reason they gave, though, nobody wanted to convict an innocent man. (Just for the record, the jury was hung...I hung it).
There is a danger some woman could make a false claim...but each claim should be investigated.
But it is beyond my imagination how claims are ignored when a pattern emerges...at a place where stringent rules should be in place to protect the children under their care.
Someone failed miserably.
USA Gymnastics, the USOC and Michigan State University should be ashamed of themselves.
To the victims—give to them a voice. Listen to them. Hear them.
To these strong, invincible women who once were victims of this monster—you have my utmost respect and admiration! I'm so proud of your courage!
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