Victims of sexual abuse
There is an epidemic of child sexual abuse in the United States, with the vast majority of abuse going unreported, leaving sexual offenders free to abuse more young boys and girls while institutions look the other way or try to avoid liability. Approximately 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused at some point, and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused. According to surveys done of sexual offenders, the average male offender began abusing children around age 14 and has abused 150 different victims.
If you have been a victim of child sexual abuse, whether recently or years in the past, the attorneys at Gastelum Law will fight for your rights to be duly compensated for your emotional damages and other losses you have suffered. The perpetrators of abuse and the organizations that allowed the abuse to occur can and should be held accountable so that sexual abuse is not allowed to go forward unpunished. We will work to hold abusers accountable in all child sexual abuse situations including:
- Schools
- Churches and other religious organizations
- Camps
- Sporting teams and associations
- Civic organizations (after-school, scouting, etc.)
- Film/TV/Music Production
- Child on child sexual abuse
- Familial sexual abuse
Why Most Child Sexual Abuse Goes Unreported
Only 3% of sexual abusers ever come into contact with the criminal justice system. One of the reasons so few abusers are ever brought to justice is that children are afraid that they won’t believed. In the past, it was thought that “strangers” caused much of the sexual abuse targeting children, but we now know that sexual abuse is often carried out by people that the child knows. These abusers are often trusted members of a child’s community who intentionally build trust with leaders and parents so that they can carry out their abuse. They often then gain the trust of the children and intimidate them into believing that the abuse was their fault and that no one will believe them or that they will get into trouble if they report the abuse.
Child Sexual Abuse Can Happen Anywhere
In the past 15 years, we’ve seen the revelations of widespread child sexual abuse in the Catholic church as well as the story of Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky, who was known by his fellow coaches to be a child sexual abuser for decades and who set up a charitable foundation for the purpose of carrying out sexual abuse. Numerous stories of sexual abuse happening in scouting organizations and church groups have also been in the news.
What we can take from these stories is that, not only can child sexual abuse occur anywhere, but all kinds of organizations have taken steps to cover up child sexual abuse and avoid liability.
We Will Help You Bring Your Child Abuse Case
At Gastelum Law, our attorneys are here to listen to your story and to get you the justice you deserve. We will help you investigate the facts of your abuse – even if the events happened decades ago – and work to bring your abusers and those that helped protect your abusers to justice. Many abused victims in California have been able to recover large rewards in connection with their abuse. Contact the child abuse attorneys at Gastelum Law today to begin the road to legal recovery that you deserve.
