When parents send their children to school, they are doing so with the expectation that their child will be safe and protected. The last thing that they expect, is that their child might be expected to sexual abuse. The terrifying reality is that child sex abuse in schools in Pasadena does happen, and when it does, parents and their children are left to deal with the aftermath alone. A compassionate and capable sex abuse attorney could help parents pursue justice for their children, and could fight to hold the responsible parties accountable.
What Should a Person Do if They Suspect Sexual Abuse?
If someone suspects that child sex abuse in schools in Pasadena is occurring, the options are to seek help from the police, to contact Child Protective Services in the state, and to contact an attorney. None of those are mutually exclusive and, of course, they should always contact the police if they know or suspect that a child is being abused.
That is the number one step they should always take regardless of whether the abuse is at a daycare, preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, or a church. The most important thing is to make sure the activity does not happen again. A person should act in a way that keeps the child away from the danger and should contact the police first and foremost.
Duty of Care Assumed by the Adults Supervising Children
When a person pays someone to watch their kids and they accept that arrangement, they have a duty to take care of the child standing in the shoes of the parents. They have a normal duty, that everyone has, to offer reasonable care to each other. But they have a particularly heightened duty with the child to keep them safe from danger.
That is true even with high school students. People might think they are little older. However, they have not fully developed and their reasoning is not as complex as an adult. So, it is still an obligation to watch them and keep them safe even if they are teenagers.
Responsibilities Adults at Private Schools Have vs Public Schools
In both public and private schools, there is the basic duty, which is that people have to treat each other with a normal care, to act reasonably, and to keep from harming someone else. But, being at a private school, one is taking on an additional sense of trust and expectation from the parents because that person is being paid to look after a child.
That is not to say that, in the public spirit, it is not equally as important for adults who are working in public schools and public entities to watch and care for the child. In those programs, the state is telling people, that their presence at school is mandatory. They also have a strong duty to make sure those kids are safe since they are mandating them to be in school. Regardless of whether someone is in a public or private institution, child sex abuse in schools in Pasadena is still unacceptable.
Difference Between Sexual Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse
One of the biggest differences between a sex abuse case and a child sex abuse case is the statute of limitations for a case to be brought. If there is sex abuse against a child, then the time limits are greatly expanded until the time at which they become adults. Whereas in a sex abuse case of an adult, the time limitations is different.
There is also a difference in the expectation of those responsible. When an adult is abused, unless they are in a circumstance in which they would expect to be safe, there is not necessarily anyone charged with oversight over them. With a child, if they are in a school, in a church program, or in boy scouts or girl scouts, there is a different expectation that the adults watching them will take care of them. However, that is not to say that, if someone is at work and is sexually abused, the property owners or the businesses are not also responsible for keeping people safe from hazards that they know or should know about. If an individual wants to know more about how duty/responsibility works when it comes to child sex abuse in schools in Pasadena, they should consult a knowledgeable attorney who could help.
