Molester could have been stopped in 1985

Yes they do.

I was molested for the first time at the age of 4 or 5. I was in the living room with my family. Everyone went to the back of the house to look at the new paint in one of the bedrooms.. Well, everyone went except me and my uncle. We were sitting on the couch and as soon as he heard that everyone was at the other end of the house, he slipped his hand into my panties. This is my first memory..ever.

I didn't tell then. I was so young that I didn't know what the heck was going on but I remember looking him in the eye and thinking, "What? No one else does this."

The next time I remember was when he suggested that me and him go outside and bird watch with binoculars. As soon as we got around the corner of the house and out of view he pulled his penis out. He never said a word or did anything else beside flash himself.

When I was a bit older, I remember playing Nintendo and he volunteered to play as well. Several adults were right down the hall but as soon as he felt comfortable, he put his hands in my panties again. He stopped when he began to hear footsteps.

The last instance that occurred took place with adults around as well. We were out playing a game of basketball. He exposed himself again but this time there was another child present. That hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized I was not the only one he was targeting.

Shortly thereafter I heard of a distant relative who had turned in her abuser and that gave me the courage to do what I knew I needed to do. I wrote a note to my mother that simply said, "Uncle Alvin has been molesting me." and locked myself in the bathroom. Thank God my family was supportive because I have heard horror stories of parents that do not believe and turn against their children. Months later he was sentenced to 12 years in prison (and no, he didn't serve all 12 years) and I began years of therapy.

Today, he is out of prison and living in Griffin in a nice subdivision with a lot of families surrounding him. He is also attending Southern Crescent Technical College. I've seen an updated picture of his on the sex offender registry and I made me sick to see that he had spongebob stickers on his suspenders. There is no doubt in my mind that he is out there and he has his eye on someone else's children.

So, yes..they do make it in prison. They get out and they go about their lives trying to pretend nothing happened and they hope everyone around them keep their blinders on.

We should all be praising this young lady for her bravery in breaking the cycle instead of looking down our noses at her in pity. What a strong young lady. There is no telling how many kids she has saved by telling her story. The stigma behind this type of crime is the main reason victims suffer in silence and do not come forward. She deserves an award in my opinion.

Whomever was responsible for letting this case flounder over 20 years ago has a lot of lost innocence on their hands.

Child molestation cases need to be pursued more vigorously than most crimes are because the average pedophile has a trail of victims behind him (and sometimes her, although women typically work in partnership with a male perpetrator). This is a crime that changes lives and people need to start standing up and saying enough is enough.

There are people out there that will have sex with babies and toddlers! It happens more than any of us would think. There are pedophiles out there that will preform sexual intercourse with 3,4,5 year olds and broadcast it to their pedophile friends over live webcam. There are case studies in which pedophiles have molested newborns as soon as they were home from the hospital and alone with the child.

Everyone needs to open their eyes, get their fingers out of their ears and quit singing "la, la, la." It's happening whether you know it or not. How about stepping up to the plate without blinders on and help put an end to this.

Pedophiles inhabit all areas of society and they typically do not look like the man above. Studies have shown that the majority of them are educated, religious and clean cut. They have to be in order to get close to our children. They typically find work which allows them to be close to children such as teachers, coaches, or pediatricians. They also enter careers with put them in a position of implied trust, i.e law enforcement. They will volunteer for kid friendly activities such as a party clown or Santa Claus at Christmas time.

Pedophiles will jockey for alone time with children and often offer to babysit for overstretched parents. They will target single mothers with children who are in their age of attraction. They will typically keep a house that is kid friendly and stocked with snacks, toys and games in order to keep kids coming back. They will lavish attention onto children that seem attention starved. They provide potential victims with gifts and volunteer to take them to places such as amusement parks, skating rinks, etc. They will let them break rules without consequence. This is how they get in the good graces of our children and this is one reason children do not tell. They become our kid's buddies.

Remember this: Pedophiles often groom parents before ever focusing on a specific child because they must earn the parents trust before being allowed an opportunity alone with a child.

Also, we must understand that many pedophiles are targeting younger and younger children. Children who can not tell and who require a vigilant person to watch out for them.

We need to all get over the stigma attached to this subject and start being vocal about this issue. OUR KIDS NEED US TO BE!

I am so sorry you went through this and I hope this outcome gives you a bit of solace.

It changes you at your very core. I have found that the best therapy in the world is putting everything I have into fighting back. They are not welcome around me or my family and I will not participate in coddling them or their feelings.

What is sad is that I can be arrested for warning people about their presence in our community. The law says we all have the responsibility to keep only OURSELVES informed. I tried once to hang fliers up in my perpetrators neighborhood and the property manager threaten to call the police. I called them myself and asked about this stupid law and sure enough, you can't do things such as this.

WHY ARE WE CODDLING THESE PEOPLE?? They did not care about our rights when they were molesting us!

I pray that every victim is able to find the courage to tell their story and that everyone in a position to do something about it helps.

Walter, if you want, you can run my story in your paper. People need to rip away this veil of secrecy and accept this as reality.