Last Monday my husband, my son, and yours truly hit the streets of our neighborhood dressed up as Death, Optimum Prime Transformer, and sexy witch, respectively for Halloween. My husband will tell you that my costume fit me to perfection–not only size wise, but also because of my mischievous intuition. By magic, if the weather is nice, I can tell you exactly where my husband is after work: golfing.
Before we left the house for the “Trick or Treat” marathon–there is no other way to call it when you have a five-year-old–I made sure we didn’t walk through one of the nearby streets. A couple of weeks ago, I received an alert through Facebook, about a sex offender moving into our community. When I clicked on the attachment to see the picture of the “monster,” I looked into his eyes and felt a chill run through my spine.
I showed my husband the picture, so he could also identify the man if he saw him in the street. A few days later I spoke to friends and neighbors and we realized that, besides being alert, there was not much we could do. It turns out, these beasts have rights too.
Demons are everywhere, and unfortunately they don’t wear Halloween horror masks. They wear human camouflage to hide their hollow souls. They are the wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing–or uniforms, or clergy cloaks–waiting for the shepherds to fall asleep and pounce on the defenseless victims.
Last year I wrote about the case of the Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, the decorated Green Beret who was discharged from the U.S. Army in November of 2015 after serving some “street justice” to an Afghan military commander. This monster admitted and laughed proudly to being a child rapist in front of other officers at a base in the Kunduz Province in 2011.
The case outraged members of Congress who criticized the political games played by the U.S. Army, which wanted to maintain a politically correct position in regards to foreign affairs. After a lengthy investigation, the Army brass reversed its decision on April of this year.
In my opinion, Sargent Martland is a true hero. He risked his life in battle and also his career and reputation to defend a child he hardly knew. I am glad he is still serving as an inspiration for his fellow soldiers.
Sexual violence against children is a way of life in many countries around the world, specially in the Middle East. Boys are sodomized and girls are raped while the perpetrators roam free. I try hard to follow Christian values in my life–many times unsuccessfully–but, forgiving a child rapist is beyond my faith, and I just wish they all burn in hell.
Sexual violence against children is a silenced reality which is only reported 30% of the times to the authorities, and what is worse, the vast majority of the perpetrators are known to the child (30% relatives, and 60% non relatives.)
Another factor that increases the risk in kids between 12 and 17 years old is the access to internet from their cellphones. 76% of the first encounters between predators and victims occur online. Once they attain their trust, kids accept a face to face rendezvous. 1
As a mother of a little boy, the thought of his innocence being stolen by a predator haunts me. Therefore, I am willing to do whatever is necessary to keep him safe, even if it means to be labeled as the “Uncool Mom.” My son already asked me when he could go to a slumber party, and I answered the same way my Mama did to me: “As long as you live with me, you are always sleeping under my roof.“
P.S. To search the National Sex Offender Public Registry click here
Thanks for reading and sharing.
Xiomara Spadafora
Good crazy woman 