COMMUNITY
Angry parents ask for protection for their children
By Stephanie Sisson
Oegor! Doty I rnerakl
The nine parents ot the meeting Thurs
day night seemed, at times, more like
members of a support group than citizens
who had gathered to change the law
But this was because the parents at the
Keep Our Children Safe meeting wore
angry and disillusioned by what the law
had done to them and to their children
Once they acknowledged their bitter
ness. they were ready to use it construc
tively — to fight back
The meeting of Keep Our Children Safe
was sparked by the September conviction
of Daniel David Lichau on six counts of
sox crimes, the January decision of l-ane
County Court fudge F. Gordon Cottrell to
allow Lichau to remain free on Iwil pend
ing his appeal, and today's hearing, in
which Cottrell will be asked to reconsid
er his decision.
Not all of the people at the meeting
were parents of abused children; if they
were, some kept it to themselves. Most
of them told their stories right away ns if
to prove that they belonged, that they
understood, and that they did want to
change things.
Kxcept for one man present, all
believed that the majority of men and
women with a history of pedophilia
could not be cured. None of them
believed that the current justice system
cared anything about thoir children
If one had to summarize what they all
wanted to change, it would be that each
case could In? looked at individually,
with the aim of protecting children from
re living their abuse in court and from
any further contai t from their molester
According to these parents the current
system will not allow you to have it both
ways Kxnmplc after example of cases
were given in which children's lawyers
had to plea bargain to keep molested chil
dren out of the courtroom — thereby
reducing the charge of sexual abuse, and
eventually the molester s sentence
The father of two girls, both of whom
became involved with a neighbor before
the age of 13. told of his frustration with
the system One of his daughters was vis
iting their neighbor every morning as
soon as her father left fur work, and skip
ping school all day one day a week to lx*
with him In exchange, the man promised
to be her best friend and to give her any
thing she wanted.
"I fought with the police. I fought with
the school, I even tried to get her thrown
in jail," he wild "I'll (ell you — if 1 ever
come across another situation like this
one, I will not go to the police. I'd shoot
him."
This man. who agreed to have his story
told on the condition of anonymity, said
that his neighbor was convicted of sex
crimes, hut. like l.n.hau. released on Iiail
When, after being told he could never
harm them again, and his daughters saw
their molester out of prison, they told
their father they were afraid he would kill
them
In order to protei t his children, this
father sent them out of the state to stay
with a friend, and is in process of finding
a home in another town to start over Me
is giving up a good job and a nice homo,
and is also struggling to hold his mnrnnge
together
He. like many of the parents at the
meeting, had difficulty maintaining con
trol Once upon a time, the law told these
parents that if they were patient, justice
would lie served Now believing that they
have been cheated, these parents — hurt
and angry for the sake of their children —
want a different ending to their stories
The most talked-about solutions were
report cards for judges, evaluating them
on each case, with periodic review from
'f fought with the police,
I fought with the school,
I even tried to get her
thrown in jell. Ifll tell you
— If I ever come across
another situation like
this one, I will not go to
the police. I’d shoot him.'
_— Angry Parent
state legislators; ami a bill that would pre
vent convicted child molesters from run
ning children's tutorials. It was evident,
though, that these ideas weren't enough.
"I'd like to just lock them away and
keep them the hell out of society," saiil
one woman, and all agreed.
Of course, the law is already supposed
to do that — but. as these parents know,
it does not. Until that happens, other
solutions must be examined; these par
ents must attempt other, small steps of
change until our society reaches the point
where the molesters cease to Ihi regarded
as the victims, and the victims no longer
live in fear.
COMMUNITY UPDATE
• A rally and march to the
Unit Outer will celebrate Mar
tin Luther King l)ay Monday
The march is organized by
Eugene Peaceworks and will
focus on class and race issues
Participants will meet at the
EMU Courtyard at .v:to p m For
more information, call t-Ct-HUH
• The public is invited to dis
cuss plans for restoring the
Masonic Ceineterv in Southeast
Eugene. The meeting is sched
uled for )nn 20 at 7 p.m. ot Mil
yard Community Center, 2580
Milvard St The purpose of the
meeting is to recruit volunteers
to develop a restoration plan
For more information, call the
city Library, Kei reation and Cul
tural Services Department at
B87-5333.
• McKenzio-WilUmette Hos
pital's Center for Healthy Living
1 niw rsiu llu.ilrt I’rvsciils: \ Robinson I hcutn-I’roilm (inn
“A Pulitzer
PrizeWinning
Play"
ML
U£0 HIM •
Box Office
346-4191
The Heidi
Chronicles
by Wendy Wasserstein
January 14,15,20,21,22^8,29
University of Oregon- Robinson Theatre
is offering u scries of (..lasses to
help people in making healthy
lifestyle changes Participants in
the four-part program will learn
about risk factors for illness and
receive help in planning a
healthy diet and a personalized
fitness program Classes are
every Monday |an 21 through
Feb. 21 beginning at 0 30 p m
The first session is free, and all
other sessions i ost $10 To pre
register, call 343-1883.
• The Eugene-Springfield
Community Partnership and
African-American Community
Coalition are sponsoring a com
munity development program
Jan 10-22. The program, called
Institute for African-American
Mobilization, was organized for
local African-Americans to
develop an agenda for advance
ment in areas such as substance
abuse, cultural recognition and
broader access to all public
resources. The tbree-day pro
gram is scheduled from V) a m. to
5 p m at First United Methodist
Church, 176 Olive St
• The United Way needs vol
unteers for the following posi
tions: office assistant for Eugene
hearing and speech, six hours
per week; general office helper
for the Girl Scouts Western
Council, two hours per month;
child care helper for the YMCA,
four hours per week, store vol
unteer for Lane County Adult
Corrections, five hours per
week; group exercise assistant
for Eugene Good Samaritan, one
hour per week. For more infor
mation. call the Volunteer Con
nection, 683-9000.
• A six-week class series on
renting and housing begins Jan.
2H. The Second Chance Renter
Rehabilitation Program will
teach people how to apply for
housing and how to he u good
tenant. People will also learn
how to make and manage a bud
get, as well as how to establish
good credit. The program is free
and is sponsored by Clergy and
1-aity Concerned. Space is limit
ed. For more information, call
485-1755.
COMEDY NIGHT
sfisvtrs
Headlining:
Kid Kong
(A.KJV. Albert Lee)
This 6' 1" 3001b.
comedian is a rising
comic on the scene
Also performing:
B.T. from Dallas, Texas
Saturday, Jan. 15th
at 9:00
SCANDAL'S/KOWLOON
2222 Centennial Blvd.
343-4734
$5 cover