Academic

Catching up with developments among the FLDS in Texas, I found Guy Murray's roundup of mainstream media stories quite helpful. Also, Anderson Cooper's Blog has lots of interesting details from the hearing yesterday. The latest development is that "Sarah" -- the caller who prompted the raid with allegations of underage marriage -- may be a hoax. (Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services, still maintains that "Sarah" exists.)

So 416 children have been taken from their families by the State of Texas in a raid prompted by what may have been a fabricated telephone call. Last night, watching Larry King in the airport, I heard one of his guests proclaim that the veracity of the initial telephone call was irrelevant given the evidence of sexual abuse that the raid has allegedly uncovered in the FLDS community. And this caused me to wonder: what if someone made a similar call about my neighborhood? Or your neighborhood? Some statistics:

The statistics are shocking

• 1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before the age of 18.
• 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 18.
• 1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on the internet.
• Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur to children ages 17 and under.
• An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today.

       Even within the walls of their own homes, children are at risk for sexual abuse

• 30-40% of victims are abused by a family member.
• Another 50% are abused by someone outside of the family whom they know and trust.
• Approximately 40% are abused by older or larger children whom they know.
• Therefore, only 10% are abused by strangers.

Meisner defends the separation of children from their parents on the ground that abused children are more truthful in interviews about their treatment at home if a parent isn't present.  Based on the foregoing statistics, I would guess that Child Protective Services could use a similar strategy in almost any neighborhood and find evidence of abuse. So I am trying to sort out which is more troubling: evidence of childhood sexual abuse among the FLDS or the tactics of Texas Child Protective Services?