Sex Offender Ruling Harms Future Victims in Reporting Abuse and Rape, Therapist Says

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Sex Offender Ruling Harms Future Victims in Reporting Abuse and Rape, Therapist Says
Posted on: 09/23/2003

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling responsible for the return of sex offenders to California communities without probation supervision, registration expectations or outpatient therapy could discourage future victims from reporting child molestation and rape, says Rudy Flora, author of "How To Work With Sex Offenders," published by The Haworth Press, Inc.

"Most victims are children and adult women, and putting a time limit on sex crimes places public safety and the community more at risk," said Flora, a therapist and certified sex offender treatment provider in Virginia who specializes in the treatment of sex offenders.

Flora said the June 26, 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a California law permitting convictions after the statute of limitations has expired is a major setback for victims.

"Only 16 percent of victims report any kind of sexual assault, and a victim will sometimes wait years to tell someone," said Flora, who is also a licensed clinical social worker and an adjunct faculty member in Radford University's School of Social Work.

The Washington Post reported on June 27, 2003 that the Supreme Court's decision may call into question state and federal efforts to expand prosecution of sex offenders and one aspect of the U.S. government's crackdown on terrorism, the USA Patriot Act, enacted by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As with the California law, some provisions of the Patriot Act permitted prosecutions that would have been barred under the old federal statute of limitations, according to the Post article. Another law, the PROTECT Act, signed into law by President Bush in April, eliminated the statute of limitations on "virtually all federal child abduction and abuse cases," the Post article stated.

Flora said a sexual crime is a psychological violation that has long-term effects, and many children and adult women are threatened with harm, told they will be killed or that someone in their family will be hurt.

"I have worked with a number of child and adult victims who fear their offenders," said Flora. "Many keep the offense a secret for years. Parents are not always told. It takes a great deal of courage to report the crime to police, and many will suppress the incident and experience problems for years ranging from severe anxiety and depression, to panic attacks, fear of leaving the house, nightmares, psychiatric hospitalization to suicide."

Criminal justice, human service and mental health professionals will need to be even more alert, said Flora. He said members of law enforcement, child protection workers and therapists will need special skills in the arrest and detection of a sex offender, all topics covered in "How To Work With Sex Offenders."

Special skills are merited in treating a sex offender, according to Flora, who said offenders released without a therapy program would most likely re-offend.

"Sex offenders are extremely skillful at avoiding detection, and they will use any confusion displayed by system providers to their advantage," said Flora, a former probation officer who describes "How to Work With Sex Offenders" as a user-friendly manual that offers information about sex offenders in a format that is relevant to the needs of system professionals.

More information about sex offender treatment is available at Flora's Web site at http://www.floracounseling.com/.

Source: The Haworth Press Inc.