An Orange County high school wrestling coach was recently arrested on suspicion of grooming young female athletes and coercing them into sex. This predatory behavior seems to be something we hear about with horrifying frequency. It may surprise some to know the perpetrator is often a trusted coach, pastor, pediatrician or youth group leader who takes advantage of the trust and proximity that comes with their position of respect.
This topic is highly relevant to the important role CASA serves within the Orange County dependency system and the vulnerable population that is served. Many youth in the foster care system are victims of sexual abuse or assault and their status as a dependent youth puts them at greater risk of being sexually abused in the future.
CASA’s model of matching a vulnerable youth with an adult volunteer relies heavily on CASA's ability to carefully screen, train and closely supervise volunteers. CASA takes this responsibility very seriously and all volunteer applicants are required to go through a very thorough background check, fingerprinting and training. Once a volunteer is sworn in by a judge, they are matched with an Advocate Supervisor on the CASA staff who provides ongoing monitoring and supervision throughout their time in the program.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and, as part of CASA OC’s ongoing staff training, two attorneys from Manly Stewart Finaldi, the leading sexual abuse law firm in America, recently visited the CASA offices. Courtney Thom, who also serves as a CASA OC board member and her colleague, Raquel Cooper, educated staff on the tactics pedophiles use to gain access to children and to abuse them.
The terms “grooming” and “pedophile” are frequently heard, but what do they really mean and what is the profile of a typical pedophile? Thom and Cooper provided a description of the steps that go into grooming a child and, often simultaneously, their guardians or parents.
Grooming means building a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person to manipulate, exploit and abuse them. The common traits of grooming include:
Targeting vulnerable populations who don’t have a traditional support system
Developing access to child and attempting to isolate from others
Building trust through gifts and/or special treatment
Desensitizing to inappropriate behavior
Cultivating a “special relationship” and normalizing this relationship to create confusion
Grooming of others around the child and earning their trust; parents and even the wider community
How can you spot a “typical” pedophile?
Pedophiles don’t share any common profile, in fact, they are often pillars in their community - a popular teacher, physician, coach or volunteer.
They seek out positions working with or helping children
Pedophiles don’t like roadblocks so close supervision and checks on their work will discourage them
For CASAs or others who work with children, it is important to recognize the signs of grooming and to be aware of Child Sexual Abuse Accomodation Syndrome (CSAAS.) CSAAS references 5 stages of response that are unhealthy and are frequently seen by victims of sexual abuse prior to disclosure of abuse. These stages include:
1) Secrecy - Children are often coerced into silence through fear or manipulation.
2) Helplessness - Victims feel powerless to escape or stop the abuse.
3) Entrapment and accommodation - Children adapt to the abuse as a coping mechanism.
4) Delayed disclosure - Most victims wait months, years, or decades before telling anyone.
5) Retraction/Recantation - After disclosing, some victims recant due to pressure or fear—even if their initial disclosure was true.
Additional takeaways:
1 in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys will be sexually abused by an adult by the time they are 18
In almost all reported cases, there is an effort to suppress this information by institutions (schools, hospitals, churches, youth organizations)
At-risk populations include children without a strong support system at home (single parents, low income, and non-English speaking families)
Self-reporting as a child is very rare; most girls don’t report until they’re in their 40s and boys wait even longer
At the conclusion of the training, Courtney Thom said, “CASA does more background checks than most organizations. Their layers of screening go far beyond most youth-serving institutions and, equally importantly, CASA provides ongoing monitoring of volunteers once they’re matched with their youth.”
Jenny Leon, CASA’s Chief Program Officer, added, “Our job is to keep CASA youth safe so they don’t come into further harm; that’s why we have so many background check steps. We are always exploring more ways to provide layers of support for our youth.”