Regional Op-Ed | JoAnn Chartier: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

Regional Op-Ed | JoAnn Chartier: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

By: JoAnn Chartier, Cheshire, OR
Published: Jul 9, 2007 at 07:52

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publis...le_60822.shtml

A tragedy may be just a tickle away for you or a member of your family.
I know, because my son was arrested last year for tickling a 12-year-old
girl and pinching her bottom in that classic "gotcha" that guys think is
funny. His arrest last September, with additional flamboyant details in
three subsequent stories, made the front page of the local print newspaper.

The thing about "inappropriate touching" is that everybody has probably
done it: hugging, tickling, hand-holding, a welcome home or good-bye
kiss. So: don't touch any children, ever. The legal definitions used to
make felony arrests is broad; any body part touching any other body
part, or any skin-to-skin contact can be interpreted as inappropriate by
a police officer or district attorney.

Something else you need to know: don't ever accept a deal made by a
public defender that includes the words "no contest." My son made that
mistake in 1995, when he took the advice of the public defender to
accept a plea bargain after a 16-year-old accused him of misconduct. The
word "bargain" is important: you agree to pay something because you
can't afford to buy a legal defense to prove your innocence. "No
contest", by the way, is not an admission of guilt.

Finally, don't try to find out if anything is being done to help the
child. He or she will be taken from the family home and you may not have
any access or contact. No one at Child Protective Services will answer
letters or return calls. And, when it is all over, you are left deeply
in debt, socially stigmatized, emotionally exhausted and faced with
healing deep and unnecessary wounds.

This is the system at work, attempting to protect children. Too bad, so
sad, that a child can be manipulated by a vindictive woman (her threats
are part of the legal record), that a man can be tried by the press
before all the facts are in, that a judge's warning to a prosecutor that
there is no evidence could be ignored, and that, in the interests of
"justice" a family is nearly destroyed.

Wouldn't it be better, absent clear evidence of abuse, to initially
refer such accusations to a professional child/family therapist for an
evaluation before tagging someone with a felony arrest for tickling a child?

The good news? The system can and does work when reasonable people are
consulted: On June 28, 2007, a jury found my son, Mark Sellards, not
guilty.


CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...

On Jul 10, 9:56 pm, "0:-]" wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:41:37 -0700, fx wrote:

.....I don't know what Op-Ed means.....

Well, fx, it means Opposite the Editorial page, and is reserved in at
least one part of the page as letters to the editor and or opinion
pieces from the public.

Though you should have been able to tell this is an opinion not
claimed as facts.

Give me some more. You are getting weaker and weaker. 0:]

Is your Megalomania flaring up again Kane?


Regional Op-Ed | JoAnn Chartier: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

By: JoAnn Chartier, Cheshire, OR
Published: Jul 9, 2007 at 07:52

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publis...le_60822.shtml

A tragedy may be just a tickle away for you or a member of your family.
I know, because my son was arrested last year for tickling a 12-year-old
girl and pinching her bottom in that classic "gotcha" that guys think is
funny. His arrest last September, with additional flamboyant details in
three subsequent stories, made the front page of the local print newspaper.

The thing about "inappropriate touching" is that everybody has probably
done it: hugging, tickling, hand-holding, a welcome home or good-bye
kiss. So: don't touch any children, ever. The legal definitions used to
make felony arrests is broad; any body part touching any other body
part, or any skin-to-skin contact can be interpreted as inappropriate by
a police officer or district attorney.

Something else you need to know: don't ever accept a deal made by a
public defender that includes the words "no contest." My son made that
mistake in 1995, when he took the advice of the public defender to
accept a plea bargain after a 16-year-old accused him of misconduct. The
word "bargain" is important: you agree to pay something because you
can't afford to buy a legal defense to prove your innocence. "No
contest", by the way, is not an admission of guilt.

Finally, don't try to find out if anything is being done to help the
child. He or she will be taken from the family home and you may not have
any access or contact. No one at Child Protective Services will answer
letters or return calls. And, when it is all over, you are left deeply
in debt, socially stigmatized, emotionally exhausted and faced with
healing deep and unnecessary wounds.

This is the system at work, attempting to protect children. Too bad, so
sad, that a child can be manipulated by a vindictive woman (her threats
are part of the legal record), that a man can be tried by the press
before all the facts are in, that a judge's warning to a prosecutor that
there is no evidence could be ignored, and that, in the interests of
"justice" a family is nearly destroyed.

Wouldn't it be better, absent clear evidence of abuse, to initially
refer such accusations to a professional child/family therapist for an
evaluation before tagging someone with a felony arrest for tickling a child?

The good news? The system can and does work when reasonable people are
consulted: On June 28, 2007, a jury found my son, Mark Sellards, not
guilty.

CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION