The Forensic Nurse

The sex scandal rocking the Penn State University this week is a clear illustration that mandatory reporting is a topic that needs greater education and awareness for both those in and outside of the medical profession.

 In case you are not familiar with the Penn State Sex Scandal story, Jerry Sandusky a former defensive football coach at PSU has been indicted on 40 counts ranging from child endangerment, to deviant sexual acts with a minor.

The crimes occured over a 15 year period and came to light to the univerisity over 12 years ago. Up until late last week, Mr. Sandusky was still allowed on the Penn State campus and had been seen on multiple occasions with children.

News broke over the weekend of a decades long sexual abuse story centering around former Penn State Football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.  Sandusky who worked under legendary coach Joe Paterno, who just this year won his 409th career football game as head coach in Division I football. 

The recent allegations, who Paterno admits he knew about 12 years ago will certainly leave a huge tarish on the legacy of a man who has been known for integrity and longevity for much of his life.

Authorities have laid out 40 counts of abuse, and 21 of them felony counts against Sandusky who is alledged to have sexual relations with at least eight boys over a fifteen year period starting in 1994. Sandusky resigned as coach at PSU 12 years ago after rumors first came to light in the Penn State inner circle.  

A grad assistant who was working in the Lash football building heard noises coming from a shower room and alledges that he witnessed Sandusky performing anal sodomy on a boy who he believes was around 10 years old at the time. He reported the incident to Joe Paterno the following day, who then met with his boss, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley to report what the grad assistant had told him. The Assistant was also called in to meet with the Athletic director and Senior Vice Prcsident at the school Gary Shultz.

Charges of purgery have also been brought against Tim Curley and Gary Shultz for lying to a grand jury and failing to properly report the incidents. Both have posted bail.

The story is still unfolding and more details are sure to emerge. Its unclear if coach Paterno will be forced to resign amid the scandal. He has been cleared of any legal issues, but the moral outrage and lack of follow up for a man who has been an emblem of College football for nearly six decades still remain. Perhaps even longer than the legend of his accomplishments on the field.

CNN posts news story about indian traditions of families willfully placing their own children into prostitution as a way to meet family financial obligations. 

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/tradition-forces-daughters-into-prostitution/?hpt=hp_c1

Thomas Warda is the defense attorney for Mickey Gotwalt, age 52, who was just convicted of molesting a girl who was 14 years old at the time. Mr. Gotwalt was the high school softball coach at Caro High School, earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

At the sentancing hearing Mr. Warda argued that his client “didn’t kill this girl,” according to a court transcript obtained by the Saginaw News. Warda was pleading for a more lenient sentancing for his client saying that he was not a pedophile, and implied that the victim would not suffer from any lasting psychological trauma.

Warda comment excerpts From court transcript: 

“I mean, this isn’t — I don’t think she’s gonna have psychological injury the rest of her life,” .   

“I mean, he’ll be in prison, but, you know, she’ll have forgotten all about this at some point.”

“I’m not blaming the victim, I’m just saying there are circumstances here, but nobody wanted to hear them.”

 Although conceding that the relationship was inappropriate. He went on to say that the teen fell in love with her coach and sent him hundreds of text messages. Gotwalt who was undergoing cancer treatment and Warda claimed was suffering from depression at the time.

Tuscola County Circuit Judge Patrick Joslyn was not swayed by the arguments and sentanced Gotwalt to seven years and two months to 15 years in prison. 

After sentancing, Warda said he stood by his remarks.

 A bold new ad campaign is hitting the airwaves. The US government is launching an ad campaign targeted against sexual violence and explotation of human trafficking.

Atlanta, Georgia is one of the main hubs for human sexual trafficking. Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson airport, the busiest in the entire world, sees many immigrants and international passengers come and go. But some, are here for a very different purpose than most. Often, not of their own choosing.

The new ad campaign sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security airs the ads in Mexico and Central America to warn people about the dangers of illegal passage to the United States.

 The theme titled “No Te Enganes”, or translated meaning “Don’t Be Fooled” tries to educate people about falling into a trap which may end in your loved one being subjected to the world of sexual slavery.  It offers a tipline to report suspicious behavior of suspected human trafficking:  1-888-3737-888.

To Date, the tip line has recieved well over 30,000 phone calls.

 Your government needs your help, and so do countless men, women, and minors who are victims of intimate partner violence.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is asking developers to submit ideas about applications to help prevent or assist victims of dating violence. Nearly 20% of women in college report experiencing sexual assualt while in college.

Judging criteria for submissions
Usefulness
Each entry will be rated for its ability to empower users for the prevention of youth dating violence and sexual assault with real-time direct connections, social media integration, safety/privacy, and access to reputable resources all considered.
Innovativeness
Each entry will be rated for the degree of new thinking and creativity it brings to applications focusing on the prevention of violence and abuse among young adults.
Usability
Each entry will be rated on its user-friendliness and interactive capabilities.
Potential Impact
Each entry will be rated on the strength of its potential to help college students and young adults prevent violence and assault from occurring

Check out challenge.gov for more information. Submit your ideas. Maybe save a life.

If you test positive for HIV, the sooner you take steps to protect your health, the better. Early medical treatment and a healthy lifestyle can help you stay well. Prompt medical care may delay the onset of AIDS and prevent some life-threatening conditions. There are a number of important steps you can take immediately to protect your health:

• See a licensed health care provider, even if you do not feel sick. Try to find a health care provider who has experience treating HIV. There are now many medications to treat HIV infection and help you maintain your health. It is never too early to start thinking about treatment possibilities.
• Have a TB (tuberculosis) test. You may be infected with TB and not know it. Undetected TB can cause serious illness, but it can be successfully treated if caught early.
• Smoking cigarettes, drinking too much alcohol, or using illegal drugs (such as methamphetamines) can weaken your immune system. There are programs available that can help you stop or reduce your use of these substances.
• Get screened for other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Undetected STDs can cause serious health problems. It is also important to practice safe-sex behaviors so you can avoid getting STDs.

There is much you can do to stay healthy. Learn all that you can about maintaining good health.

Not having (abstaining from) sex is the most effective way to avoid transmitting HIV to others. If you choose to have sex, use a latex condom to help protect your partner from HIV and other STDs. Studies have shown that latex condoms are very effective, though not 100%, in preventing HIV transmission when used correctly and consistently. If either partner is allergic to latex, plastic (polyurethane) condoms for either the male or female can be used.

children’s author K.P. Bath  was sentanced to six years in prison for possession of child pornography. The author has written books such as “The Secret of Castle Cant” and “Escape from Castle Cant”.

Authorities found Bath’s collection included images depicting sadistic conduct, rape, sodomy and bestiality.  Prosecutors were originally seeking more serious charges of distribution and transporting child pornography as well, but were later dropped as part of a plea agreement in exchange for the guilty plea.

A man who has been unofficially known as the “grim Sleeper” for the past twenty years has finally been arrested. The suspect, Lonnie David Franklin Jr., a 57 year old man from Los Angeles is alledged to have committed at least 11 unsolved murders dating back to 1985.

A judge has denied mr. Franklin bail. He will be arrained in a Los Angeles court in August 2010 on ten counts of murder and one count of attempted murder as of today.

The case has been very long and drawn out process spanning multiple decades. The break in the case finally came using DNA evidence. The DNA match was found using what is sometimes viewed a controverial tactic known as familial DNA Searching.

Everyone has their own unique DNA signature that specificly can be used to identify an individual, family members share enough common DNA markers to help identify family members as potential matches as well. 

In this case one of Mr. Franklins family has a previous unrelated conviction on a felony weapons charge. It has become standard procedure in many jurisdictions now to collect DNA samples on felony offenders.  Investigators were able to run a DNA sample found at a murder scene against the DNA database. a Partial hit was found on Mr. Franklins family member DNA sample.  Because it was only a partial match it ruled that individual out, but also was able to conclusively prove that a very close relative may have been involved in the murder, which drastically narrowed down the search.

The Grim Sleeper is suspected in at least 11 murders . He like most serial killers chose victims within his own ethnic profile, in this case targeting black women, some of which who worked as prostitutes. Prostitutes are often targets of serial killers because of the lower social profile. Friends and Families often don’t report the victim missing for longer periods of time allowing for more evidence to be lost during the critical hours after the murder.

Serveral years ago another arrest was made by police who claimed they had ballistic evidence for the murders, but that case did not lead to a conviction. Margaret Prescod, who founded the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders and worked with the families of victims in the case said that she is “cautiously optomistic” regarding this latest arrest.

Aerial footage was taken on Wednesday showing police searching cars in the garage of the suspect’s home in south Los Angeles.  The garage was not far from the corridor where the victims’ bodies were dumped.

The close proximity to the body dumping ground is another tell tale sign that the murderer may have personal and intimate knowledge of the area allowing him to elude detection for so many years. Serial killers often tend to be invisible to nearly everyone. Because they do not raise suspision they can lull people into trusting them, and allowing them to get victims to let their guard down, or be placed into vulnerable positions that they may not do with a person they feel uncomfortable with.

Every year over a million women and children become enslaved into a world of sexual slavery. This problem is not just a problem in developing countries of the world, but very much a problem here in the United States as well. By some estimates between 150,000 and 300,000 are sold for sex here in the US.

On January 25, 2010 actors Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher launched a new charity organization called DNA aimed at putting an end to the global sex trafficking trade.

For More information visit http://demiandashton.org/