MICHAEL JACKSON -- TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTER????

Information provided by Claire R. Reeves President and Founder of Mothers Against Sexual Abuse. Miss Reeves is a Nationaly recignized expert in Child Sexual Abuse and Author of ChildHood-It Should Not Hurt!

Michael Jackson is in hot water again, accused of multiple counts of sexual abuse against an under-aged boy. Jackson is being charged under criminal code 288a, the most serious charge possible for child sexual abuse. The 288a charge means lewd and lascivious acts with a child. Claire R. Reeves, president and founder of Mothers Against Sexual Abuse, (www.AgainstSexualAbuse.org) and author of Childhood-It Should Not Hurt supported passing this important legislation in the state of California. In view of the seriousness of the charge, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, in Santa Barbara, California, insulted the intelligence of the attendees at his press conference. On Wednesday, November 19, 2003 the District Attorney stated that Michael Jackson will be treated the same as any other generic, accused child molester. That is simply not true.

A child molester accused of multiple counts of sexual molestation against a child would be immediately arrested, not INVITED to turn himself in. He would not be invited to surrender his passport - it would be confiscated. And why havent the Social Service Agencies picked up Michael Jacksons children? It is not unreasonable to believe the children could be in danger of abuse. Michael Jacksons celebrity status will prevail, giving him special treatment. Waving his infant child over a hotel balcony barely raised a ripple. Any ordinary citizen would at least have been charged with child endangerment.

Michael Jackson, like any other citizen, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, the rate of recidivism for child molesters is 97% percent. The accusations against Michael Jackson ten years ago certainly did not prove his innocence. If Michael Jackson is actually prosecuted and found guilty, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It will send a poignant message to child rapists. No one is above the law!

Today a speaker on MSNBC referred to Jacksons alleged crime as a white collar crime." Child sexual abuse is not a white collar crime," it is criminal child sexual abuse of a child. What a terrible precedent to set in describing this heinous abuse of a child. It is impossible to minimize the effects of this abuse to the child victims. For many it is a life sentence of trying to heal and reclaim their lives.