Inside a former church in Fulton, dozens gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Oswego County's Child Advocacy Center. The occasion also provided the public with the rare opportunity to see first hand the inside of a center that is instrumental in the fight against child abuse.
Executive Director Karrie Damm says the idea behind the center is to bring the services to an abused child at one location. "If they had to go to 5 different places...and tell their story an average of 15 times, that's like re-traumatizing the child."
At the advocacy center, an abused child can get counseling andmedical attention as well as deal with law enforcement and others.
Oswego County has a new awareness of child abuse and neglect which some say is the legacy of Erin Maxwell. The 11 year old was murdered inside her Palermo home by her step brother. Her parents went to jail for child endangerment. The little girl was forced to live in a house full of animals and garbage, often locked in a caged in room, even though Child Protective caseworkers had visited the home several times. Her death brought a public outcry to change the way Oswego County handles cases of abuse and neglect and led to the creation of Child Protection Advisory Council.
"As tragic as the death of Erin Maxwell was, it did shine a light on this as a problem." Damm added, "Child sex abuse and child abuse is an epidemic."
Due to increased awareness after Maxwell's death .there was a sharp increase in child abuse cases in Oswego County. Damm says there were 289 cases in 2009, 243 last year and 80 for the first three months of 2011.
Assistant District Attorney Gregory Oakes deals first hand with those cases . Oakes says, "It's difficult at times as a father of two young boys but I can tell you it makes me appreciate my children that much more. Hug them a little bit tighter, hold them a little bit longer when I'm at home with them."
Oakes says his reward comes when a child sex offender or abuser is put away and he knows the child is safe from further harm.
