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July 15, 2005
Trend Of Child Sexual Assault Crimes
The man prosecuting what could be Dakota County, Nebraska’s first female sex offender says she does not have a criminal past.
Forty-year-old Sheryn McCallister of South Sioux City, was arrested early Saturday morning for alleged sexual and child abuse in Dakota County.
The alleged abuse happened while McCallister was babysitting the boys at her home at the Lake Village Trailer Court.
The boys’ father claims when he went to pick up the boys, McCallister was drunk, holding his seven-year-old son on top of her, on the bed. The boy told authorities McCallister started drinking after his dad left and started kissing him all over and touching him.
It’s rare authorities see a woman charged with sexual assault of a child. Rare, but not unheard of, says, Amy Scarman of the Child Advocacy Center, “In our statistics, the allegedly women perpetrators are definitely more rare than men would be, but we have seen them in the past."
The McCallister case is not the only high profile case involving sexual abuse of a child in the area. The end of last month, Harry Mastne received a minimum sentence of 12 years and could spend 20 years behind bars after he admitted to sexually assaulting four children while they stayed at his wife’s day care center.
Earlier this year, the body of Jetseta Gage was found near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Convicted sex offender Roger Bentley, who knew Gage, is charged with kidnapping, raping and killing the ten-year-old. With so many cases grabbing headlines, many wonder if we’re seeing more or just more awareness.
Dakota County Attorney Ed Matney handles sexual assault and abuse cases in Dakota County. He's seen the increase first hand.
Ed Matney says, "We'll I think there's more awareness in the public about the problem of child abuse, particularly with sexual abuse and the absolute necessity to get the situation resolved as soon as possible, particularly when it involves missing children and things of that nature."
Factor that in with cooperation between law enforcement and groups, like the Children's Advocacy Center, which work with children.
Matney says, "They work really well together."
But as far as the numbers dropping, Matney says, "Ideally the numbers will go down as the potential perpetrators realize they can't get away with this sort of thing."
Still, Matney says, "We must be prepared for there to be cases and for these perpetrators to get a hold of those children who are so vulnerable."
Posted by Nealus at July 15, 2005 01:28 PM
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