Justice Denied author Marci Hamilton just sent me a couple of stories of interest in the recent cases involving abused children in the Orthodox Jewish communities of Brooklyn.

Channel 11 news did a powerful piece yesterday on the current state of the investigation, and spoke with Marci about it.

The video can be seen here.

Meanwhile, TIME Magazine published the results of a study in The Lancet, a British medical journal, which makes the sad conclusion that most abuse cases still go unreported.

Some of the reasons for this, however, include the desire to avoid subjecting children to the child welfare system designed to protect them.

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Marci Hamilton gives us an op-ed about the shocking statistics of child abuse and progress being made in her home state of Pennsylvania.

No one wants to think about child sex abuse if they don’t have to. I can think of a thousand things I wold rather think about. But once good people learn the truth about such abuse, it is impossible to put out of mind.

Experts indicate that 20% of boys and 25% of girls are sexually abused – with only 10% ever going to the authorities. The suffering of victims is extraordinary, and typically leads to addictions, lifelong difficulties with personal relationships, broken families, and suicide.

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Marci Hamilton points us to a great Op Ed in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:

Just imagine how tough it must be for an elected official in Harrisburg to stand up and shield sexual predators and church leaders and other authorities who covered up the abuse of children.

That must take guts - and unmitigated gall.

Yet, a Berks County lawmaker, Democratic State Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone, is proving that he’s just the man for this dirty job.

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Caltagirone has put himself squarely in opposition to legislation that would enable victims to sue their abusers beyond the statute of limitations.

As in California and Delaware, where the first of these types of statutes were enacted, the Harrisburg proposal seeks to root out the truth about assaults by clergy, teachers, youth-group leaders, and the like - predators who, but for this law change, could not be held to account for long-ago assaults. Read More >>

The Pope Is Heading for a Public Policy Clash for Which He Appears Unprepared

Marci Hamilton

It is highly unlikely that Vatican officials adequately have prepared Pope Benedict XVI this week for the American mood on clergy abuse. Those inside the Vatican have been quoted recently as saying the American response was “exaggerated” and the Pope might not even address the child sex abuse issues. When objections were raised, though, the official response became that he would advocate “healing and reconciliation.” Good luck.

Those advising the Pope seem to have grievously underestimated the energy of the grassroots movement that has grown with astonishing speed since the Boston Globe broke the story of institutional cover up of child abuse within the Boston Archdiocese.

Marci’s commentary on CNN.com

On the Constitutionality of the death penalty for child rape

Who do you think is the most active group in the United States opposing legislation to reform the laws of child sex abuse? The answer is: the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Opposition to reform of the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse is one of the top priorities for Catholic Conferences (the lobbyists for the bishops in each state) around the country.

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Marci Hamilton is chatting on WashingtonPost.com right now.

Texas authorities investigating allegations of abuse and the forced marriage of young teenagers to much older men have taken more than 400 children into custody from a remote ranch owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. authorities said Monday…. [more]

Marci Hamilton is a top expert on church-state relations, and has already written extensively about the FLDS.

Her new book Justice Denied, deals with statutes of limitations, and how we can assure that perpetrators of sexual abuse get prosecuted.

She is LIVE, chatting with visitors to the Washington Post.

Join the discussion HERE.

Check out Marci on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart here. She explains how religion gets all sorts of legal privileges that most people don’t know about.