The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "child molesters" ...
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Broken Shield
Decades ago, California created a special police force to patrol exclusively at its five state developmental centers – taxpayer-funded institutions where patients with severe autism and cerebral palsy have been beaten, tortured and raped by staff members. But California Watch found that this state force, the Office of Protective Services, does an abysmal job bringing perpetrators to justice. Reporter Ryan Gabrielson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, exposed the depths of the abuse inside these developmental centers while showing how sworn officers and detectives wait too long to start investigations, fail to collect evidence and ignore key witnesses – leading to an alarming inability to solve crimes inflicted upon some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Dozens of women were sexually assaulted inside state centers, but police investigators didn’t order “rape kits” to collect evidence, a standard law enforcement tool. Police waited so long to investigate one sexual assault that the staff janitor accused of rape fled the country, leaving behind a pregnant patient incapable of caring for a child. The police force’s inaction also allowed abusive caregivers to continue molesting patients – even after the department had evidence that could have stopped future assaults. Many of the victims chronicled by California Watch are so disabled they cannot utter a word. Gabrielson gave them a resounding voice. Our Broken Shield series prompted far-reaching change, including a criminal investigation, staff retraining and new laws – all intended to bring greater safeguards and accountability.
Tags: California; police; autism; cerebral palsy; abuse; children
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ESPN Outside The Lines: AAU Investigation
Uncovering allegations of child molestation and other forms of sexual abuse by Robert Dodd, longtime president and CEO if Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), eventually resulting in the firing of Dodd from the organization.
Tags: sexual abuse; sex offender; aau; athletic; amateur; union; robert dodd;
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Sex offender, other felons ran camps for homeless kids
This investigation "found that Palm Beach County officials paid a convicted child molester, drug dealers, thieves and other people with criminal records nearly half a million dollars in public money to run summer camps for homeless, foster and impoverished children during the past three years."
Tags: child safety; sex offender; criminal records; child care; criminal background; camp; child welfare
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Disciplining Oregon Teachers
Oregon state and local education officials poorly protected children from teachers who have molested or abused students. Secret deals were made by school administrators to get rid of these problems.
Tags: child abuse; classroom; sexual assault; statutory; school board; school district;
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I Lit the Fire: Jared Petrovich Admits His Role in the Killing of John Chamberlain. But why did he target the gay?
These four articles probed the culture of violence at tTheo Lacy Men's Jail in Orange, CA, beginning with an exclusive interview of Jared Petrovich, the accuse ringleader of the Oct. 5, 2006 murder of John Chamberlain, an inmate suspected of child molestation who was brutally beated inside the jail. That story included combined interviews with Petrovich and other inmates and guards at the facility with transcripts and notes of interviews with inmates and guards that the reporter obtained from lawyers representing inmates, including Petrovich, who were charged in the attack. The article contained allegations that Deputy Kevin Taylor, a prison guard who was never charged in the crime, told Petrovich that Chamberlain was a child molester, and that Taylor routinely use inmates like Petrovich to enforce prison rules and mete out punishment to various inmates. Petrovich provided an example of this behavior that I did not include in my original story, alleging that Taylor had known about--and approved--a previous beating of an inmate in Sept. 2006. He only knew the inmate's first name--Mark--but claimed the inmate had been a guitarist for the rock band Kiss. He claimed another inmate, nicknamed "Sick Dog" had witnessed Taylor being informed of the planned attack and, after it was carried out, rewarding the inmates with sack lunches. Through a California Public Records Act request, the reporter obtained the Sheriff Department's jail file on the beaten inmate, Mark Leslie Norton, aka Mark St. John of the rock band Kiss, and found information which corroborated Petrovich's account of the incident, and obtained his death certificate. St. John died of a brain hemorrhage several months after being released.
Tags: prison beatings; rock band Kiss; California; prisoner brutality; bribe; prison regulation
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The Bishop's Bad Moves
These stories include online and print coverage of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California. "Major findings include the diocese paid an admitted child molester $100,000 to stay quiet, that the bishop tried to cover up a molestation allegation in his past, and that he also documented molestations but didn't report them as required by California law."
Tags: church; catholicism; religion; child abuse; molestation; cover-up; state government
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Sexually Violent Predators
The Sacramento Bee investigates as a decade after the state of California adopted the nation's toughest laws regarding sexually violent predators, enforcement has fallen short of expectations. Those deemed to have the highest risk of being repeat offenders "were sent to Atascadero State Mental Hospital following their prison terms." But of 54 molesters released from the mental hospital, "none had gone through the full treatment regimen designed for them" and worse, "more than two-thirds underwent no treatment at all." In addition, "those who refused treatment had been released to society with fewer restrictions and less monitoring than the four who had completed the five-stage program."
Tags: Atascadero State Mental Hospital; California sex-offender laws; sexual predators; child molesters
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Delay on DNA Frees Girl's Rapist
A trucker in Florida raped a 13 year old girl, went to trial, and was aquitted because there was no DNA proof. But the DNA test proved he committed the crime five weeks after he was seen as not guilty by a jury. With mounds of evidence against him, Kenneth Robinson was able to avoid jail because the judge's order for a DNA test was not carried through.
Tags: rape; sexual assault; DNA; child abuse; molestation; Kenneth Robinson; Gary Barrett
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Too Close For Comfort
Known child sex offenders are not permitted to live within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds, or other facilities that provide programs for minors only. After an investigation, nine sex offenders were found to violate the 500 feet law.
Tags: sex offender; child molestation; sexual abuse; zoning law; Peoria Police; Bloomington
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Sex Offenders: Steps Away
WPLG reports on lax enforcement of Florida's sex offender law. No convicted sex offender is supposed to live within 1,000 feet of a day care centers, but the investigation discovered that 536 such people were doing exactly that, including some in apartments overlooking day care centers. Law enforcement asserted it "lacked the resources and manpower to enforce the law." The state legislature is planning to take a hard look at what must be done to improve the situation. As part of the investigation, reporter Julie Summers compiled information including maps of the centers in relation to the offenders, and a list of Web sites people can use for more information.
Tags: Sex offenders; day care centers; children; living; restraining order; law enforcement; Florida; sexual predators; child molesters