Recently, there was a news report of an infant that had allegedly been sexually assaulted by her own father. The assaults allegedly occurred soon after the infant was born and continued for some time. The suspect has been arrested and charged for the crimes. This troubled me so deeply because I know that there are many infants that endure this. Actually, I began to question how many repressed memories these children will have after enduring such terrible and traumatic events.
What does one say in response to such horrific crimes? How does one rationalize these types of abusive incidents? In my own mind, I have felt disgust and anger at the man for forcing himself on his own infant daughter. How can anyone do such a horrible thing to their own child, or to any child for that matter? How does one justify, in their own mind, what they are doing to the infant? I believe that the people that do this have mental disorders. I can find no other justification for it. There simply isn’t any justification. Granted, not all perpetrators may have a mental disorder. I certainly do not mean to use this as an excuse either. There is no excuse for what the perpetrators do to these children.
Another factor that confused me is how no one else was aware of the sexual assaults on this particular infant. I was shocked to learn that it had happened for quite some time before the father was caught. Apparently, he had video taped the sexual acts. He accidentally left his backpack at a bus stop. The bag contained, not only his identification, but also a video of the sexual assaults against the infant. I am perplexed. How is it that no one knew? I would imagine that there were physical signs on the infant. I also believe that the infant must have reacted in some way to the pain. I do not mean to place blame on anyone. I simply do not understand how it went unnoticed for so long. I am left to wonder how the child reacted when their perpetrator walked into the room? Did they cry? Did they behave in a manner that exhibited fear? I believe that these are possibilities.
There must be tougher laws against these perpetrators. Sometimes it seems as though they get merely a slap on the wrist, while their victims are affected for years. I recently wrote an article on repressed memories. What happens when these victims begin to grow and they have memories surrounding the assaults? I believe that they will have strong and powerful emotions to deal with and they may not even know why, until the repressed memories begin to surface. There must be tougher consequences for the perpetrators.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. I encourage my readers to begin thinking now on the possibility of their volunteering in some way during the month of April. If you suspect that an infant or child is being molested in any way, please consider filing an anonymous report with the professionals. It’s better to report suspected abuse and be wrong then to not report it and be right.
3 comments on Infant and Child Molestation
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Wow this makes me sick to my stomach to think about- but sad as it may be we really must think about it! Every single day a poor child gets their innocence taken from them from sick men/women! I don't truly understand how this could go on with a infant without seeing signs - but is does. Memories about terror do come back later in life and haunt victims! If I did ever come across a abused child I really wouldn't know what to do - inside run far and fast - but truthfully go to the authorities.
I don't understand either how it was missed. I would have thought that there were symptoms and/or reactions by the baby.
I have actually heard people admit to fantasizing about having sex with infants and very young children (pre-school) and they admitted to the fact that the thoughts of it, the visualization of the "acts", turns them on while masturbating or having sex with their partners...because "things have gone flat and stale" with their long-term partners so only fantasies help.
As far as your feelings about the repressed memories that molested infants and children have, some disagree on the existence of such memories because so little is remembered from one's infancy anyway. The children may grow and develop their own personalities, like any other child, without them or anyone ever knowing that those early life experiences ever played a role in their character development. But, others do believe there will be repressed memories, especially if the children reach their "memory retention" age, which can be a different age for each child. (I personally can recall certain events that took place when I was two years old, but there is evidence that memories begin earlier in some and later in others.)
I, too, wonder how no one notices things earlier and quicker than they do. Sexual assault leaves bruising, swelling, and sometimes tearing and bleeding. Is there no other person involved in the caring and watching of these children except for the abuser? Don't these children see doctors a little more often than what some of these time spans indicate?
Punishments for molesters is often way to lenient. However, many do believe that molesters ARE mentally disturbed...have a sickness...so they deserve to be treated and not just punished/treated as criminals. Some, if not most, actual molesters or just the fantasizers, may have been abused themselves, whether they are aware of it or not. They may be doing these things without any understanding as to why, but find they can not control themselves. They may be doing these things out of anger or guilt, they may actually take on another personality and do not even know what they do (or don't realize it until later). Because of these "disorders", the abusers are or have been victims themselves, so it is a very tricky thing to deal with when it comes to punishment vs. treatment. In any event, I still believe that these people need to be removed from society and "dealt with" in a realistically, suitable way. And, in the case of repeat offenders, it's only fair and right that these people be locked away somewhere that's fitting and the key be thrown away.