“[ A ] sexual abuser with multiple arrests but no conviction ( i . e ., deferred adjudication , dismissal , plea-downs ) must simply wait seven years and the criminal history cannot be reported by background check providers , under federal law . There is wisdom in allowing a bankruptcy , foreclosure or bad payment history to ‘ fall off ’ a credit report , thereby allowing a ‘ do-over ’; the same is not true for sexual abusers .”
Recidivism in sexual offenders is extremely high . According to a 2003 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics , “ sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their discharge from prison .” What ’ s more , though a statistical outlier , serial perpetrators might have as many as 400 victims over the course of their lives . Currently , sex offenders are able to take advantage of protections created by state and federal law to fly under the radar . For example , a sexual abuser with multiple arrests but no conviction ( i . e ., deferred adjudication , dismissal , plea-downs ) must simply wait seven years and the criminal history cannot be reported by background check providers , under federal law . There is wisdom in allowing a bankruptcy , foreclosure or bad payment history to ‘ fall off ’ a credit report , thereby allowing a ‘ do-over ’; the same is not true for sexual abusers . When it comes to protecting children from sexual abuse , the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior . This is especially clear given the incredibly high rates of recidivism documented among child sexual abusers . For this reason , when screening candidates for childserving roles , it is crucial that employers have access to all possible information relating to past abusive behavior in order to determine the likelihood of such behavior in the future . To understand past behavior , employers need access to all criminal records involving abuse or other violent crime , more information than is currently permitted by the FCRA . Criminal records , regardless of how old or whether an arrest led to conviction , are extremely pertinent in evaluating whether a candidate poses a risk of child sexual abuse . This is due in part to the unique challenges of criminal prosecution in child sexual abuse contexts : children might not fully disclose , victims are often young and cannot clearly communicate , and parents commonly refuse to prosecute ( particularly if the abuser is a family member ). These realities , coupled with the delay common in reporting sexual abuse , frequently impede prosecution . As a result , there are generally greater numbers of arrests as compared to convictions in cases involving sexual abuse . In addition , abusers are often allowed to plea down to offenses that do not clearly identify the underlying crime as having involved sexual behavior or children . Alternatively , crimes against children are often dismissed or deferred . As a result , child sexual abusers are not easily identified through records of convictions alone . Because of this reality , employers must have access to all available information about past behavior in order to make informed decisions about potential future risk to children — including criminal information not resulting in conviction .
SO , WHAT ’ S THE ANSWER ? This challenge to child protection must be addressed by the federal government . Where any clash of interests exists , the compelling state interest of child safety should win . Child sexual abuse is a pervasive problem that inflicts severe and long-lasting consequences on its victims . Protecting children from child sexual abuse has motivated sweeping legislation in the past , including mandatory reporting laws , sex offender registries , and extended or abolished statutes of limitation . These legislative initiatives illustrate that protecting children justifies the restriction or removal of longstanding rights and privileges . One straight-forward solution is to simply carve-out organizations providing services to children , youth or vulnerable populations — where limitations on reporting are concerned — perhaps limiting the carve-out to criminal behavior resulting in injury to a person . By doing so , ministries serving children and vulnerable populations could access all information necessary to make safer staffing decisions . Applicants with a past criminal history related to sexual abuse or injury to a person are still employable , but not in programs serving children or vulnerable populations . The existing limitations with respect to all other forms of employment remain in place . This suggested modification of federal law would override all currently existing state law , providing an important step in safeguarding children . In collaboration with child-serving ministries and denominations , the attorneys at MinistrySafe are actively working to amend federal law related to background checks provided to ministries serving children and vulnerable populations . Want to help ? Contact us at 833-737-SAFE ( 7233 ).
Georgia McKnight is a third-year law student at Duke University School of Law . She is the author of Children Should Win : The FCRA Amendment Necessary to Facilitate Child Protection , addressing the use of background checks in child-serving contexts , and has recently completed a rotation in the Duke Law Children ’ s Clinic , providing access to legal services and representation to lowincome families .
76 CHURCH EXECUTIVE • STOP CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE churchexecutive . com