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VIEWPOINT: Protecting children on hallowed ground

On July 25, Gov. Mark Sanford entered a room filled to capacity with child advocates, courageous victims and their families, and local government officials to sign H3199. On behalf of all children, a special thank you is extended to Richland Rep. James Smith, who spearheaded this initiative, and his colleagues Reps. Cobb-Hunter, Altman, Bailey, Richardson and Cotty. This significant piece of legislation includes members of the clergy, as well as Christian science practitioners and religious healers, as mandated reporters regarding child abuse and neglect. South Carolina joins 31 other states in ensuring that the safety and protection of our children is paramount in one our most sacred places, our churches. Sadly, this special moment went unnoticed by members of the print media, and certainly merits the public's attention.

Recent headlines about the abuses that have occurred within the Catholic Church have shocked and outraged the American public. However, the sexual exploitation of children by members of the clergy, church leaders, and volunteers is ever-present in all denominations, and crosses all boundaries of race, income, and social class.

As a society, we MUST understand that child molesters are out there; at present, there are more than 400,000 registered sex offenders in our country. As of March 2003, SLED figures indicate that there are approximately 6,500 convicted sex offenders registered in South Carolina. People who prey on our children are in our neighborhoods, our schools, and yes, in our churches. They can be found any place where our children are found. One of the most deceiving things about child molesters is that they don't always appear to be horrible people. More often than not, they are charming, likable individuals, posing as trustworthy, upstanding citizens.

Children who have been sexually exploited are often too afraid to tell of the horrors of their abuse. Often, their abusers have threatened them, and worse yet, many feel that they will not be believed. This silence speaks to the fact that less than 35 percent of these victims report these crimes to the police. The statistics are shocking. There's a one in five chance your daughter will be sexually victimized by age 18. For boys, it's one in 10.

Our data implicitly indicate that a child is more likely to be victimized by someone he or she knows and trusts than a complete stranger. Including members of the clergy as mandated reporters can, and will, provide another safety net for our children. Churches can no longer conduct internal inquiries when a child discloses abuse, and now are required to immediately provide this information to local law enforcement so that a thorough investigation can be conducted. It is time to expose child molesters for what they are -- and stop them from exposing their real selves to our children.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has been fighting child sexual exploitation for nearly 20 years. Since 1984, NCMEC has received 1.7 million calls for service. We've assisted law enforcement in handling more than 120,000 leads. We have trained 180,000 law enforcement and social service professionals. All of our efforts are designed to identify and stop the perpetrators of these horrible crimes. The passage of the clergy bill is an important and necessary step forward in realizing our goal.

Margaret C. Frierson is executive director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's South Carolina branch.