Tuesday, January 16, 2007

When the Victim gets victimized again

It's been interesting - but yet, its just another story of a person kidnapped and mostly likely abused. The story of Shawn may never completely come out, but I imagine the worst - I'm sure the man that kidnapped this boy and another boy did not do so in order to give them a better life. The questions being asked are shameful such as "why didn't he leave?" -- Why do millions of children in intolerable situations not leave?

Below is one reason: (From "Wikepedia")

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, rape cases, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping.

Another reason could be - "FEAR." Or being so psychologically manipulated and lied to and threatened that the individual feels they have no place to go and their parents don't love them anymore or they would have found them.

Reminds me of a case in Florida where a child molester got ahold of two young boys. The father began to get suspicious of the time this creep was spending with his boys and cut the creep out of their lives. The creep then sneaked around seeing the kids, manipulating them into thinking their dad was abusing them for setting limits, and finally set up the murder of the boy's father because his access to the boys was limited. The boys ended up being charged with the murder while the creep retained his freedoms. The press printed that that sexual abuse one of the boys was under was an "affair." An 8 year old boy - an "affair?" I wanted to go kill the creep myself and then while I was at it, hang the editor of the newspaper. There was a book written by one of the reporters covering the case. While the boys went to prison, much evidence pointed toward the molester, incidentally had a friend, a sheriff's deputy who visited he and the boys often when he had them.

5 comments:

Biddie said...

This makes me sick. I know first hand the control that an abuser has over his/her victim. It isn't something that can be easily understood unless you've lived through it.
I hope and pray that Shawn can find peace and happiness with his family again.
This man ( I forget the name of the guy that had Shawn and the other boy) should be locked away forever. Or worse.

Lee said...

Ugh...what a horrible story. Why are humans so freakish? Especially those middle-aged white ones?

Gardenia said...

Amen, for sure. It is always easy for folks to judge the victims when they haven't been there, huh? I too pray for all these kids who have been kidnapped and are living in horrible conditions. Over 1,000 children remain missing from Hurricane Katrina - something the news doesn't tell us. Governer Bush lost over 1,000 children in the welfare system in Florida, (no one could locate them, knew what had happened to them) boy, that one died out of the news quickly.

Pickled Olives said...

I think all child molesters should get their tally wackers and arms chopped off then go to jail. It makes me violently ill to think of the abuse some kids recieve.

tshsmom said...

Those boys' families have lived my worst nightmare!
I pray that the boys will be able to heal after their ordeal.