Protecting Kids

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Beau ran for Attorney General to protect those who cannot protect themselves, especially children. That’s why one of the first things he did was to push for tough mandatory penalties for those who possess child pornography and create the Child Predator Task Force, which puts prosecutors and police side by side to track down and arrest those who want to hurt our kids. The Task Force has arrested more than 150 of the worst of society.

Recently Beau and his office have partnered with the Darkness to Light Foundation, the YMCA, and Prevent Child Abuse Delaware to train adults to recognize the signs of child abuse and report it to authorities. They have set of goal of training 35,000 Delawareans through the Stewards of Children program over five years, and Beau has asked the state legislature to support them in this effort.

“It is our job as adults to stand up and speak out for children who are being abused,” Beau said. “We are giving adults the knowledge they need to speak up for children who are being abused.”

Most children who have been abused – 9 out of 10 – will not report the abuse, so Beau believes it is critical to teach adults the importance of giving a voice to these victims whose voices are never heard. The statistics show that there are far too many voiceless victims of abuse. According to a federal study, 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys will be sexually abused before the they turn 18.

Beau is also working hard every day to protect kids from bullies. Beau has never liked bullies, and as Attorney General, he has led the fight against bullies.

Working with members of the General Assembly, Beau is purposing legislation that will give us more knowledge about how many bullying incidents are occurring our schools.

Beau has also personally spoken to more than 20,000 Delaware school children about the dangers of online bullying. His Internet Safety presentations also teach kids how to avoid predators lurking online seeking to harm them. Social networking sites have taken bullying from simple teasing on a playground to online attacks that can stay on the Internet forever.

Bullying has been in the news a lot lately for tragic reasons. Earlier this year, a high school student in Massachusetts committed suicide after she was relentlessly bullied, and in September, a college student jumped to his death off of New York City’s George Washington Bridge after he was bulled online.

The Middletown Transcript recently wrote about Beau’s visit to a local to discuss the dangers of cyber-bullying and how children can protect themselves from online predators. Click here to read the whole article..

To report a suspected case of child abuse, call 800-292-9582. To report bullying, call the Delaware Attorney General’s School Crime and Bullying hot line at: (800) 220-5414.