The former owners of a downtown Minneapolis hotel are being sued in a lawsuit brought by attorney and Zero Abuse Project founder Jeff Anderson for allegedly letting former GOP donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro sex-traffic underage girls at his condominium inside the hotel.
“A through line in the arc of my career and my life so far is a drive to ease the suffering caused by trauma, to ensure that survivors of that trauma are believed, validated, and never have to walk alone.” Zero Abuse Project’s Survivor Support Specialist shares her moving story of survival and resilience.
In the Fall 2024 CAST Quarterly Newsletter, explore our new program trailer, preview the upcoming Faith-Based Toolkit, catch highlights from our Virtual Seminar, and discover how you can help shape CAST’s future through our annual program survey.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, resigned Tuesday after an investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.
“Thirty-five years ago on this day—October 22—our 11-year-old son Jacob was stolen from us and our lives changed forever.” In the years after Jacob’s disappearance, his mother, Patty Wetterling, helped found the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, which provides victim assistance to families of missing children and adults, as well as educates families and communities to prevent the abductions and sexual exploitations of children.
Many states have laws designed to keep children away from convicted sexual offenders on Halloween night, such as curfews for those on offender registries and requirements to keep their porch lights off. But a Missouri law mandating a sign at the offender’s home was a step too far, a judge ruled. “These public signs may give a false sense of security to families while not actually preventing child abuse,” said Alison Feigh, Director of Jacob Wetterling Resource Center.
National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation, a partner of Zero Abuse Project, highlights the exciting new programs we’re launching this fall, and the important work being done in the field right now.
A coach in Kokomo, IN is accused of having sex with one of his players. This comes three months after a former teacher from the same school was charged with a child sex crime. “For most offenders, grooming looks like getting to know a child,” says Zero Abuse Project and Trauma-informed Prosecutor Project Senior Attorney, Kristina Korobov, in a recent story about a school coach accused of an inappropriate relationship with a student. “Figuring out what their wants and what their needs are for attention, affection, or appreciation…and then they just start to push those boundaries of the child.”
Zero Abuse Project announced the opening of The Center for Faith and Child Protection (CFCP), a new program designed to transform and empower faith communities to respond to cases of child abuse in a trauma-informed manner.
Child grooming is a pervasive yet rarely discussed topic in our society. Through her personal experience and collected research, Julia Teves demonstrates the urgent need for awareness education and policy change as the first line of defense against predators in this TED Talk.
The FBI has continued to mishandle allegations of child sexual abuse in the years after the bureau’s notorious bungling of the investigation into disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, according to an audit by the Justice Department’s inspector general released Thursday.
An IMPD sergeant has been arrested on 12 counts of child exploitation after Zero Abuse Project’s Internet Crimes Against Children received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploitation Children. Kristina Korobov, senior attorney with the Zero Abuse Project, said this kind of crime can happen in any profession and that there isn’t a type. “It is truly a crime that has no borders. It’s a crime that knows no limits. Really, an offender can be in any profession. It’s always concerning when that person is in a position of trust, though,” Korobov said.
A Zebulon, North Carolina couple faces child abuse charges after their 4-month-old baby was found to have 10 broken ribs. “This kind of abuse happens behind closed doors so it’s not often seen by the community,” said Alison Feigh, Director of Jacob Wetterling Resource Center, a program of Zero Abuse Project.
Around the Twin Cities, photos of missing people are being featured on billboards with the hope that they could shake loose new information and remind the public that their families are still waiting for answers. “When families have been waiting for answers for 20 years, 30 years, sometimes people ask, ‘Why are they still pushing? Why are they still asking?’”
James Morris, son of the Gateway Church senior pastor and founder Robert Morris (pictured) who has been accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl, has resigned from his position to succeed his father. In comments, Center for Faith & Child Protection director Victor Vieth says there is no quick-fix to the problem, and that congregants are at a “significant risk to be spiritually wounded and perhaps leave the church or even abandon their faith altogether.”
The volume of sexually explicit images of children being generated by predators using artificial intelligence is overwhelming law enforcement’s capabilities to identify and rescue real-life victims. “It’s going to require more human moderators to be looking at images or to be going into chat rooms and other servers where people are trading this material and seeing what’s out there rather than relying on automated systems to do it,” said Kristina Korobov, Senior Attorney with Zero Abuse Project.
After a four-year legal battle, Gateway Church agreed to settle a second lawsuit alleging child sexual assault carried out by one child on another. “The behavior thrives when we don’t shine a light on the fact that it could happen,” said Alison Feigh, Director of Jacob Wetterling Resource Center.
A Hancock County man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of possession of child pornography. “With each image or video depicting child sexual abuse, we must remember there is a name, an identify, and a life of a real child attached to each file,” said Child Abuse Investigations Specialist Derek Cress of Zero Abuse Project.
The team at Zero Abuse Project is excited to share our quarterly CAST newsletter!
Louisiana’s state supreme court on Wednesday reversed its decision to strike down a law that allowed child-molestation victims to file civil lawsuits over long-ago abuse. The decision affects all alleged abusers and their enablers – but it is particularly significant for Louisiana’s Roman Catholic church, which is facing hundreds of decades-old claims of child molestation in various state and federal courts.
Police in Muncie were shown a video of a 17-year-old repeatedly holding a lit lighter to her daughter’s hand as another girl sprayed perfume to accelerate the flame. “Sadly, these days, we see more and more parents who record themselves abusing their children. I wish I could tell you it’s shocking, but it just isn’t. It’s simply a way to memorialize the conduct forever,” said Kristina Korobov, who is the senior lawyer for the Zero Abuse Project.
After more than a year working with experts, advocates, and organizations including Zero Abuse Project, two students from the same school once attended by Jacob Wetterling have developed an award-winning online safety curriculum on recognizing and preventing the threat of grooming in online gaming, social media, and more.
Roughly 800 lawsuits have been filed against local child welfare agencies in New York since passage of the state’s 2019 Child Victims Act lifted statutes of limitation for survivors to file legal claims against alleged perpetrators. Joelle Casteix, a survivor of child sexual abuse and Chair of Zero Abuse Project’s Board of Directors, praised those brave enough to file suit. “The more we empower survivors, the more we normalize the discussion of abuse, and the more we empower kids to speak out while the abuse is going on, so we can put predators behind bars,” she said.
Eight abuse survivors spoke Monday in the Baltimore archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, contributing to a chilling picture of children being tormented by Catholic clergy. The testimony follows six survivors who spoke on April 8th detailing decades of abuse by priests and clergy members. Zero Abuse Project’s SurvivorSpace team spoke to the firm representing the Committee of survivors coming forward to learn more about the case and the looming deadline for filing claims.
SurvivorSpace, a website and mobile app from Zero Abuse Project that is dedicated to supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse, is proud to announce the release of a compelling video featuring three adult survivors engaging in a candid conversation about their experiences. Filmed in February, the video captures an intimate discussion among three survivors, sharing their personal journeys of overcoming the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. With honesty and vulnerability, they delve into the challenges they faced, the impact on their lives, and the paths they’ve taken toward healing and empowerment.
Zero Abuse Project is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to the elimination of child sexual abuse. Our programs are designed to provide training and education to professionals and students, and to help transform institutions to effectively prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse.
