Topic: Sexual Abuse

Tape Recording Proves Bernie Fine’s Wife Knew About Sexual Abuse; She’s Just As Guilty

Laurie Davis, wife of accused Syracuse coach, Bernie Fine who was recently accused of sexually molesting one of the team’s ball boys, is just as guilty as her husband.

Maybe she wasn’t the one having sexual encounters with him when he was a boy (although she is accused of having sex with him after he turned 18), but on a taped conversation between Laurie and her husband’s victim, Bobby Davis, she admits that she knew about the sexual molestation that was taking place the whole time. More »

Sandusky’s Legacy: Adults With Permanent Mental Health Disorders

In the wake of child sex-abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky, two new cases were reported yesterday, bringing the total to eight victims–so far. The newest accusations come from those who are still under the age of 18 (all other victims are now adults), which means the former Penn State assistant coach now faces a whopping 40 criminal counts for sexual abuse over a 15-year period. If convicted, Sandusky will likely spend the rest of his life in jail, but what about the boys (some of them now men) that he abused? It’s likely they will face a jail of their own with a life of mental health problems. More »

Sexual Assault Awareness Isn’t Just for Women: 8 Famous Men Who’ve Been Sexually Abused

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and everyone’s talking about rape prevention and how to support survivors — all more than worthy topics of discussion, especially given the somewhat disparaging statistics on rape: One in four women is sexually assaulted before the age of 18, and rape is the least reported and convicted violent crime in the U.S. Clearly, huge progress is needed. But I don’t think we can really raise awareness or start changing those facts with the discussion in its current state: As long as we keep framing rape as a “women’s issue” and depict survivors only as women, we’re missing half the equation and only doing half the work that needs to be done. More »

Oprah’s Ties to Accused Child Molester Points to Irresponsible Reporting

Everyone’s wrong sometimes. Even Oprah. We’ve pointed out the Queen of Talk’s past “oopsies” before, but a recent controversy surrounding Dr. Melvin Levine, a childhood education expert who frequently offered his counsel on her show, has led to yet another rehash of her more serious errors in judgment.

Levine, who committed suicide last Friday after 40 of his patients filed a class-action suit against him for medical malpractice and sexual abuse, consulted on her show years before any news of his patient abuse came to light. These days, there’s no trace of his name or advice on her site, of course, but we don’t doubt that Oprah’s smart enough to dissociate from doctors getting sued for malpractice and child abuse. We just wonder how much she and her staff really investigated his background before inviting him on board as a bona fide expert. More »