I wanted to find out more about how child protective services are set up in Pasco County, as it seems CPS was not involved at all in Orange County with the Caylee Anthony case. Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco Sheriff's Office, shed some light on this: “I am not sure child protection authorities were ever involved in the child's life to begin with," Doll said. "And as it was more than 30 days as to when she was reported missing when she was last seen alive, there wasn't anything they could have done after the fact." How does the Pasco Sheriff-run CPS get involved? “We receive complaints …

Since people locally and throughout the country followed the Casey Anthony trial, I wanted to know what aspect of the case could have been addressed differently by the law and whether there were any gaps that the legislature could address.  I spoke with Sen. Mike Fasano's office about the verdict and a new law he is proposing. “Over and over, from the beginning of this, Sen. Fasano kept asking about the 31 days: why is it that this child was missing for 31 days and no one reported it?” said Greg Giordano, Fasano's chief legislative aide. "As we know now, there is no law in Florida that …

A recent FBI corruption probe resulted in the arrest of St. Petersburg Police Department Det. Anthony Foster. What I am concerned about here is that even before the alleged extortion of a confidential informant by the homicide detective, Foster had already developed a history of domestic abuse allegations against him and even battery on a fellow officer. Yet none of that resulted in any real consequences for the detective. St. Petersburg police ranking officers penalized him but no criminal charges came from this, and they kept him on the force. There were three documented examples of Foster …

The Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force of Pasco County tentatively voted in late May to drop "domestic and sexual violence" from its common-use name and expand its services in East Pasco. While the new name is "Family and Community Enhancement Task Force of East Pasco," the goup is still operating as the only countywide domestic and sexual violence task force. In addition, West Pasco's Domestic Violence Task force is not included in these changes at all and is a separate operation. Why change the name? It's a different name for “marketing purposes” while the grant money still rolls in …

When a child dies brutally at the hands of another, society stands up and takes notice. Losing one so young is a cause for concern that rattles us all and makes us take a deeper look inside ourselves and our systems to see what can be done to prevent similar deaths in the future. Or does it? The recent death of 1-year-old Ezekiel Mathis in nearby Hillsborough County brings these questions to the forefront. What are we really doing to make sure the system that is meant to protect and defend the weak and innocent really does that? Ezekiel was the younger sibling of a girl who was removed from …

What comes next for convicted sex offenders who are released from prison?  Marty Driscoll, Co-Chair of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force for Pasco County, is a licensed therapist who helps sex offenders find the answer to this question. I spoke to him about what it is like to work with the convicted sex offenders who are out of jail on probation or parole: Driscoll is a licensed mental health therapist who worked with child abuse prevention and started first child abuse prevention program in Pasco County.  Then in private practice, he noticed there was a lack of sex offender …

“Excellent news, HB 251 passed the House of Representatives this morning with unanimous support, 116-0.”  This was the wonderful update I got from Carissa Caricato, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. House Bill 251 is the “Walk in Their Shoes Act," which strengthens prosecutors' and law enforcement officers' ability to combat sexual violence and better protects the rights of victims of crimes.  Lauren Book is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse  who has worked to help heal other survivors. She also started a non-profit, Lauren's Kids, to help raise awareness of prevention of child sexual abuse, …

It certainly takes a few good men to end sexual violence. Fortunately, the good guys are running ahead and fighting on the frontlines. At least 257 men took the Men’s Pledge at the Take Back the Night event to raise awareness and stop sexual assault April 16 in Tampa, according to preliminary numbers from Marilyn Bray, outreach and empowerment coordinator for Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. Total attendance of men and women at this year’s Take Back the Night was estimated at 750. Take Back the Night, originally known as “Reclaim the Night,” is an international march, rally, protest and call to …

It’s a bit quiet out there right now since the two rapes at the school were reported to law enforcement and reported on by the news.  First, I was struck with awe at the strength and shear survival of those young girls who had the courage to report that they were sexually assaulted. Then I wondered what on earth are those parents going through? What are those girls going through now? What about those boys? What about all of their friends, teachers, classmates, neighbors in the community, their relatives and back in their homes? What are those schools doing right now?  I contacted Christine …

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It's time to speak out against rape and other forms of forced sex. To give you some perspective on the problem of sexual assault, here are just a few startling facts provided by Terri O’Brien, executive director of Sunrise of Pasco County and co-chairperson of the Pasco Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force: 44 percent of sexual violence victims are under age 18 Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted 15 of every 16 rapists will never spend a day in jail "No!" means "No!" No consent means it is rape!  If you are incapacitated …

“He threw me into a wall after dragging me by my hair, but he didn’t punch me with his fist.” It may not seem like it, but this anecdote is just one example of reportable domestic violence. It was given to me by Terri O’Brien of Sunrise of Pasco County, a domestic violence and sexual assault center.  Knowing what counts as domestic violence can be difficult. I thought it would be helpful to know what guidelines and definitions help police and courts punish abusers. Here is what I learned about Florida’s legal definition of domestic violence ( Fl.S.S. 741.28): “Domestic Violence” means any …

"Because domestic and sexual assault are a real problem in our community.”  That's what Terri O’Brien told me when I asked her why we need a Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force in Pasco County. O'Brien serves as co-chair of not one but two task forces with Marty Driscoll, who works as a therapist for convicted sexual offenders and predators in Pasco. One Task Force serves West Pasco. The other serves East Pasco. With these combined forces and collaboration with police, task force members are bound to produce results.  And it's about time. Last year alone, police responded to more than 8,…

I wanted to know more about recent steps the Pasco County Sheriff's Office has taken to stop domestic violence before it turns deadly. Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco Sheriff's Office, directed me to Detective Jennie Jones for in-depth information. Jones is one of two domestic violence detectives at the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. She was instrumental in bringing to our area a nationally recognized program for preventing domestic violence.  Jones, a career law enforcement professional who responds to domestic abuse calls and conducts long-term investigations, has expertise in …

I recently wrote an e-mail to Lynn Needs, director of the Salvation Army's West Pasco Domestic Violence program, asking how serious a problem domestic violence is in our county. The answer was alarming. “Homicides related to domestic violence doubled from three to six” in Pasco County in 2009, she wrote back, citing numbers from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.  In Florida, domestic violence results in one out of every five murders, according to information from Needs. Get help with safety planning to leave abusive situations so you don't become a statistic. The Florida Department of Law …

"We arrest them. We don’t issue citations.” That's the answer Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, gave when asked how deputies respond if someone violates a domestic violence injunction.  Consider that information to be a knock at your door and a wake up call if you are thinking about crossing that line: violating a civil domestic violence injunction can land you in jail in this county. A civil domestic violence injunction is issued in civil court and is different from a criminal one because it does not require a criminal prosecution in order for it to exist to …