MD Choir Director Resigns in Sex Abuse Scandal
The director of the Catholic Church-affiliated Maryland State Boychoir, a redacted name from the sweeping Attorney General sex abuse report, has resigned. His name has since been revealed by The Baltimore Sun. Frank T. Cimino, Jr. was the minister of music at St. Thomas More Catholic Church when he allegedly sexually abused a choirboy in...
CONTINUE READING
Appeals Court Expands Definition of Sexual Abuse
The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision that a father’s religious-based homosexuality and transgender comments constituted sexual abuse. This ruling buries the age-old “sticks and stones” proverb. It also opens the door for further sex abuse claims, especially since the legislature abolished the statute of limitations in these claims. Facts About three...
CONTINUE READING
The Major Kinds of Sexual Abuse Torts
Negligence or a lack of care is the most common personal injury claim (tort). Examples include car crashes and slip-and-falls. Sexual abuse claims are intentional torts. There is a difference between intentional and negligence. In one famous case, a court ruled that a boy who pulled a chair from underneath an elderly woman, causing her...
CONTINUE READING
Jury: Donald Trump Sexually Abused Woman in Department Store
A jury ordered the former president to pay $5 million to E. Jean Carroll who, according to the court ruling, was sexually abused by Trump some 30 years ago. During the trial, Ms. Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine and who was well-known in Manhattan media circles, testified that the attack followed a...
CONTINUE READING
Help for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse in Baltimore
Sexual abuse is a terrible crime. It not only violates a person in a physical sense but also robs them of their innocence and dignity. There is help available for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse in Baltimore. This is especially heartbreaking when those in positions of morality, such as members of the Catholic Church, are...
CONTINUE READING
Like Churches, Maryland Schools Found to Harbor Sexual Abusers
A recent investigation shed light on the tendency of schools to quietly allow teachers accused of sexual abuse to transfer to other schools. Unsurprisingly, those teachers accused of sexual misconduct often repeat the same bad behavior at their new schools. This practice is repeated in schools across the United States, risking harm to millions of...
CONTINUE READING
Local Catholic High School Renames Auditorium
When Sister Francis Marie Yocum was a music teacher at The Catholic High School of Baltimore in the 1950s, she wrote the school song. But after her name appeared in the Attorney General’s sex abuse report, her name will no longer be on the school’s auditorium. In 2012, a 75-year-old woman reported that Yocum sexually...
CONTINUE READING
Common Physical Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Women
Exact numbers are difficult to pinpoint, but as many as 40% of American children experience some form of sexual abuse. In a significant number of cases, children experience ongoing abuse, often at the hands of a parent, caregiver, or adult in a position of authority. The betrayal of trust, not to mention the act itself,...
CONTINUE READING
Jehovah’s Witnesses Sex Abuse Exposed
After a four-year investigation, a Pennsylvania grand jury recently indicted nine men on charges connected to long-term sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witness church. Critics say church elders have treated child sexual abuse as a sin rather than a crime, carefully documenting cases in internal files, but not reporting allegations to authorities and sometimes letting...
CONTINUE READING
Sexual Abuse and the Five Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Responses
Sexual abuse survivors, as well as people who witness these activities, often develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Contrary to popular belief, PTSD is not a processing disorder that randomly affects some victims and leaves others untouched. Instead, PTSD is a stress-related brain injury. Extreme stress enlarges the amygdala and squeezes out the cerebral cortex. The...
CONTINUE READING