Is child molestation more common now or just reported more often?

[Harvest Moon]

There just seems to be so many cases of child abuse and molestations reported these days. Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming that there are so many monsters out there. On the other hand, when I was growing up in a typical upper middle class neighborhood in the 1960's and 1970's, we had the characters that we knew to stay away from.

There was the man who lived in a house the center of the neighborhood with his polio-stricken wife, who would invite my friends and I in for some "soda" because his "wife wasn't home". He always winked when he said soda. When we were young teens, he was particularly interested in the most "developed" of my friends.

There was the "drunk" lady who rented the house on the corner. Us "kids" would go over there on weekend afternoons and sit out on her back porch with her. She was friends with all the "hobos" that would come through town seasonally and they would sleep in her house or yard when they came into town. We had nicknames for all the "hobos".

One summer, they found "Red", one of the local hobos, murdered in the entrance way to the local bowling alley. While the news never reported much on it, the word on the street was that his eyes, tongue and ears had been cut off. It was viewed by local police as being a message to other homeless people in the area to not speak of something that they might have witnessed.

Finally there was "Steve", the step-father of one of my close friends. When we were prepubescent young teens (ages 10 through 12) he would dress up in a gorilla costume and chase us around the yard. When he caught us, he would stick his hands down our pants and give us a finger. Thankfully, I was only caught once. I knew something was really very wrong with the situation, but none of us ever told our parents.

Steve managed to move the family away before we hit adulthood. I have often wondered about my lost friend and her younger sister. I suppose they dealt with a lot of sexual assault, because their mother was not capable of living on her own.

So is it really more common now or just more reports of something that has always gone on?

[Nina]

I think maybe it is reported more often now. I could tell a lot of stories like yours and I never told my parents anything either. I remember that a man tried to snatch my older brother one time...my family does still talk about that. But it certainly wasn't on the news or any kind of "alerts" sent out.

This world is so fucked up sometimes. Some of the stuff I read makes my heart hurt. But I am glad they report it now I guess. Because maybe, just maybe, the fear of public humiliation/retaliation will keep one scumbag from hurting a child.

[Maggot]

geez.....Texas Pete the old geezer that lived next door to us would always say "Here pull my finger" he always talked about how the Wright brothers would fly their planes around his house when he was a kid. He always called my brother Pistol Pete. Alot of Petes going on there. Ada his wife would yell out the door saying "get in here Tex and help me with lunch". They had the greatest rasberry patch in the backyard and we would use the Rubarb leaves and try and fly off the stone wall that they had their laundry lines near. The smell of fresh laundry would be in the air and our hands would be stained with rasberry juice.
Tex hated the way I raked leaves though and would come over and say "damn boy don't you know nothin? Here, this is how it's done boy" and off he would go and rake half the yard. Ada would yell out the window and say "let him do it Tex!" but he never listened.

[ramseycat]

I think it's both. It's reported more because people are more aware of it. Also, with the internet and all the stuff on TV it sets these freaks off. They have that latent desire which they used to be able to control to some degree. But with so much sex and perversion in their faces on TV and how easily they can find just about anything on the internet, they can't control themselves anymore.

[BlueTiki]

The laws are much more specific as to the offenses than they were "back then".

When was the last time you heard of someone being charged with Statutory Rape?

Now, it's usually Sexual Misconduct with a Minor.

Or a miner . . . if you live in West Virginia.

[Harvest Moon]

Or a miner . . . if you live in West Virginia.

Thanks for the laugh Tiki!

Maggot, That's just the way it was, except the best strawberry patch around was behind "Gerry, the drunks" house. My next door neighbor grew the rhubarb. But I don't see any signs of potential threats in your story.

[Maggot]

Or a miner . . . if you live in West Virginia.

Thanks for the laugh Tiki!

Maggot, That's just the way it was, except the best strawberry patch around was behind "Gerry, the drunks" house. My next door neighbor grew the rhubarb. But I don't see any signs of potential threats in your story.

Texas pete would hit me with a willow branch if I got to close to his chewin tobaccy..........he was very violent in that aspect.

[Harvest Moon]

Texas pete would hit me with a willow branch if I got to close to his chewin tobaccy..........he was very violent in that aspect.

So funny I forgot to laugh...

Obviously you can't relate to the topic, so just shut up and leave it alone.

[sally]

we had the characters that we knew to stay away from.

there was "Steve", he would dress up in a gorilla costume and chase us around the yard. When he caught us, he would stick his hands down our pants and give us a finger.

Well apparently you didn't know to stay away from that crazy son of a bitch.

[Harvest Moon]

we had the characters that we knew to stay away from.

there was "Steve", he would dress up in a gorilla costume and chase us around the yard. When he caught us, he would stick his hands down our pants and give us a finger.

Well apparently you didn't know to stay away from that crazy son of a bitch.

If you read my post you would have seen that "Steve" was the step-father of one of my friends. He came into our lives when we were just around 10 years old. We learned fast to stay away pretty fast.

[sally]

we had the characters that we knew to stay away from.

there was "Steve", he would dress up in a gorilla costume and chase us around the yard. When he caught us, he would stick his hands down our pants and give us a finger.

Well apparently you didn't know to stay away from that crazy son of a bitch.

If you read my post you would have seen that "Steve" was the step-father of one of my friends. He came into our lives when we were just around 10 years old. We learned fast to stay away pretty fast.

I did read your post, and I think the moral of the story is to teach your kids not to be knucleheads.

[Cracker]

Schools teach little kids about abuse every year when the school counselor comes around. I think that inspires more kids to tell, but it doesn't stop the fuckupedness.

I don't let mine go to other people's houses without me. You have to be about 13 or so around here before I ease up on the watch. You never know who is fucked up at their own house and I don't want to find out.

I dare some retard to step on my property dressed in a gorilla costume, or in a 3x t-shirt and baggy pants. Same difference.

[IMaDick]

I have a cure for the sickness of child abuse, but so far the liberals have been able to stop it from being implemented.

[cannongal]

I think population growth plays a part in it as well. We have almost 100 million more people living in the US now, than we did in 1970.

Also,and I'm not sure I can write this, so that it makes sense, but the news media outlets are pretty much in competition with each other, so they will try to out do each other with shocking stories about child abuse/molestation. Which ever they think will grab the most ratings.