[Publib] Boy raped in Boston library...NY Times -- Continuation of discussion regarding adults in children's areas in public libraries

[Paul Ericsson]

Colleagues --

It goes without saying that this reported incident is horrific.

But back to the original question - I was one of 
the people that replied and was critical of the 
library policy that banned adults from the 
children's section of the library.  Even with 
this horrific incident as an example of what does 
happen in this world (probably more often than 
any of us know) - it is my experience that the 
policy in question still does little-to-nothing 
to prevent the incident from happening.

The Boston Globe and AP articles give a fuller 
account of what happened:  "... has been charged 
with raping a 6-year-old at a public library 
while the boy's mother used a computer 
nearby."   I am not in the least blaming the 
parent for what happened - but I do suggest that 
the necessary prevention is not a library policy 
that bans adults from children's areas - it is 
the need for the parent to be watchful over their 
child when they are in public places.

It boggles my mind to every day at my library 
watch parent's become 100% immersed on the public 
computers in the adult section of the library, 
while their child runs loose (some are wild) 
throughout the entire library. When other patrons 
complain or the child is clearly exhibiting 
unsafe behaviors I will ask the oblivious parent 
to keep watch on their child. The response of the 
parent consistently and clearly say two things to 
me: "It won't happen to my child - you are too 
cautious" and also "I am busy and I cannot watch that kid all the time"

Policies that openly state or secondarily imply 
that the library will relieve parents of the 
responsibility of watching for their childs 
safety, are flawed policies.  The most important 
thing we can communicate to parents is that they 
need to be with their child while their child is 
using the library.  This is not a hard-hearted 
statement - it simply addresses the reality that 
the New Bedford Library incident can happen 
anytime, anyplace, and very quickly.

My heart reaches out to the child and parents of 
the New Bedford Library incident, as well as for 
the staff and users of the Library. Their lives 
will never be the same.  I pray for their healing 
and recovery from this horrific incident.

These views are my own and NOT necessarily the opinion of my employer.

Paul Ericsson




At 06:42 AM 2/2/2008, subs itoors wrote:
>This is dedicated to the person who said that the last time something
>bad happened to kids in libraries was in 1874 or something like that
>and sees no issues with adults in the kids section of the library.
>
>This is from today's New York Times:
>
>Sex Offender Accused of Raping Boy, 6, in Public Library
>
>By KATIE ZEZIMA
>Published: February 2, 2008
>
>BOSTON — A convicted sex offender was arrested this week and charged
>with raping a 6-year-old boy in the New Bedford public library, feet
>away from his mother, who was working on a computer.
>
>The suspect, Corey Saunders, 26, had pleaded guilty to attempted rape
>of a child in 2001, but was released from prison in 2006 over the
>strong objections of prosecutors and psychiatrists.
>
>The police said Mr. Saunders lured the boy into the library’s book
>shelves on Wednesday. “He sees the little boy and asks him if he can
>show him something,” said Lt. Jeffrey Silva of the New Bedford Police
>Department. “The little boy thought he was going to show him a book in
>there.”
>
>Lieutenant Silva said a librarian noticed Mr. Saunders speaking to the
>boy after the alleged rape. The librarian remembered Mr. Saunders’s
>name from a previous encounter, he said, and looked him up on the
>state’s sexual offender registry. When Mr. Saunders’s name came up,
>the librarian approached the boy’s mother and called the police.
>
>Mr. Saunders fled the library and was later arrested smoking a
>cigarette outside a homeless shelter, Lieutenant Silva said.
>
>Mr. Saunders’s lawyer, Lee Fortier, could not be reached for comment.
>
>Judge Richard Moses of Superior Court had ruled in December 2006 that
>prosecutors did not prove in a civil commitment hearing that Mr.
>Saunders was a sexually dangerous person and that he should be held in
>a treatment program after his sentence was completed. Instead, Mr.
>Saunders received probation and was required to register as a Class 3,
>or high risk, sex offender.
>
>Paul F. Walsh, the former Bristol County district attorney who handled
>Mr. Saunders’s case, strongly objected to his release, as did
>psychiatrists who testified at the hearing. In an interview, Mr. Walsh
>said he and others had feared that Mr. Saunders would commit another
>crime.
>
>“I was D.A. for 16 years,” Mr. Walsh said, “and I put him in the top
>10 most dangerous offenders. Everybody knew this guy was just another
>incident waiting to happen.”
>
>In his ruling, Judge Moses wrote that Mr. Saunders was “far from
>emotionally mature” at the time of his offense, and that his difficult
>childhood and low I.Q. were mitigating factors in the decision.
>
>Court records show that Mr. Saunders’s mother left him when he was 9.
>At 14 he was found wandering the streets clutching a teddy bear and
>was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for a month.
>
>A court spokeswoman said Judge Moses could not comment because the
>case was on appeal.
>More Articles in National »
>
>Oh and as to my identity, I am a law enforcement officer for children
>in Manhattan._______________________________________________
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