Author: Brent Hoffman

The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision that a father’s religious-based homosexuality and transgender comments constituted sexual abuse. This ruling buries the age-old “sticks and stones” proverb. It also opens the door for further sex abuse claims, especially since the legislature abolished the statute of limitations in these claims.

Facts

About three years ago, S. (as the child was identified in court documents) told his mother that he believed he was transgender. Mother denied steering S. toward identifying as transgender, but she did actively support S. by arranging for therapy and attending meetings of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (“PFLAG”).

When S. told Father that he identified as transgender, Father “opposed” his decision and refused to call him by his preferred name. S. subsequently engaged in the self-harming behavior of “cutting.”

Mother testified that S. is “scared” to be around his father, who is staunchly Christian and anti-LGBTQ+, because “he doesn’t feel support” and “doesn’t feel that S. can be himself.”

The couple’s younger child, N., allegedly had a similar experience. Mother was asked about her observations of N. when she drove him home from Father’s house. She testified that N. “seemed a little down and out, and was a little shaken up, and you know, I just asked if he was okay, and he said … ‘I am now.'” She testified that N. told her that when he told his father he was gay, his father said, “No, you’re not, but I love you anyway.”

Father testified that since 2019, he has not seen and does not have a relationship with S. He claims the lack of a relationship has “’nothing to do with h[im] wanting to be called S[.]’ or because he identifies as transgender but because Mother ‘encourages [father’s] isolation, alienation, and compartmentalization.’”

He added that “most” of the texts that he has sent to S. over the last couple of years relate to S. identifying as transgender and that his texts, which “’reflect[] the truth[,]’ are sent to present S. with an opposing view of the transgender community.”

Survivors of sexual abuse are entitled to significant compensation under the new laws passed by Maryland’s legislature and governor. If you or a loved one is a sexual abuse survivor, call our compassionate attorneys today: 1-800-YOST-LAW

Decision

Upon the recommendation of the lawyers in the case, the court granted the protective order petition as to N., but denied the petition as to Mother and S. 

By a preponderance of the evidence, the court found that Father “has repeatedly communicated in person and through text messages homophobic comments and religious beliefs, causing mental injury to N[.] N[.] communicated to the court that he is fearful of his father because of his father’s anger and aggressiveness in the past and his reaction to him coming out as gay.” 

In ruling in N.’s favor, the father must adhere to the following:

1. He shall not abuse or threaten to abuse N.
2. He shall not enter N.’s residence.
3. He may continue to have visitation as set forth in the previous order, but visitation with Father “can only occur if N[.] is comfortable doing so”
4. He may call or text N. “but may not use that communication to abuse N[.] regarding sexual orientation and/or religion.”

Compassionate Sexual Abuse Survivor Attorneys on Call

This ruling is a groundbreaking one in favor of sexual abuse and harassment survivors everywhere. We here at The Yost Legal Group are here to listen and here to help if you are ready to talk.

If you or a loved one has survived sexual abuse, contact our experienced sexual abuse survivor lawyers today. You are not at fault, and you are not alone. When you are ready, call The Yost Legal Group: 1-800-967-8529.

Negligence or a lack of care is the most common personal injury claim (tort). Examples include car crashes and slip-and-falls. Sexual abuse claims are intentional torts. There is a difference between intentional and negligence. In one famous case, a court ruled that a boy who pulled a chair from underneath an elderly woman, causing her to fall, was liable for an intentional tort, even though he did not intend to hurt her.

An experienced sexual abuse survivor lawyer can often obtain more compensation in an intentional tort claim than in a negligence claim. Frequently, the injuries in an intentional tort claim, especially a sexual abuse claim, are more severe.

Additionally, the wrongful actor in an intentional tort claim deliberately ignored the safety of other people and selfishly pursued a course of action that resulted in serious injury.

Sexual Harassment

Workplace sexual harassment is the most common form of sexual harassment. However, it could occur almost anywhere, most notably in schools. Sexual harassment is an umbrella term that includes several kinds of intentional torts, such as:

• Hostile Environment: If a boss knowingly tolerates a sexually charged environment, such as pictures of nude women on computer wallpaper, that makes a reasonable person unable to do their job, that boss creates a hostile environment.
• Quid Pro Quo: On TV shows, it might be portrayed as romantic when a shy boss offers to discuss a promotion over dinner with a pretty intern. In the real world, that action is quid pro quo sexual harassment. Bosses cannot tie favorable treatment to sexual favors in any way, shape, or form.
• Retaliation: This sexual harassment tort does not require proof of sexual harassment, which is probably why it’s the leading Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sexual harassment charge. It is illegal to take adverse action against a person who reports sexual harassment, encourages someone else to report such behavior, or serves as a witness in an investigation.

Employers may also be responsible for third-party sexual harassment (e.g., a customer sexually harassing a waitress) if the employer knew about it, had the power to do something about it, and did not act.

If you or a loved one is a sexual abuse survivor, our compassionate attorneys at The Yost Legal Group are here to offer free, confidential consultations. If you are ready to talk, we are ready to listen: 1-800-YOST-LAW.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is unconsented genital touching, regardless of whether the survivor was clothed. Usually, consent is a voluntary, affirmative agreement to a particular act. Prior sexual touching is not consent to current touching. 

In civil court, a sex abuse lawyer must prove abuse, and all other intentional torts, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not).

Battery

Sometimes, sexual abuse involves non-sexual touching. For example, Bill might push Linda against a wall with the intent to sexually touch her, but change his mind at the last minute and release Linda. Bill did not commit a sexual abuse tort, but he did commit battery, which in most states is a harmful or offensive touch.

Sexual Battery

Laws vary in different states. Usually, sexual battery is the unconsented penetration of any organ (buttocks, vagina, etc.) with any part of the body (tongue, finger, etc.). Because of the physical, mental, and emotional damage it inflicts, an experienced sexual abuse lawyer can usually obtain more compensation in a sexual battery case than in any other sexual abuse tort case.

Experienced Lawyers Here to Help Sexual Abuse Survivors

The Yost Legal Group’s compassionate sexual abuse survivor attorneys are working diligently to get people the justice and compensation they deserve. If you or a loved one is a survivor of sexual abuse and ready to talk, we offer free and confidential consultations to all. Our experienced sexual abuse survivor lawyers are ready to help: 1-800-967-8529.

A jury ordered the former president to pay $5 million to E. Jean Carroll who, according to the court ruling, was sexually abused by Trump some 30 years ago.

During the trial, Ms. Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine and who was well-known in Manhattan media circles, testified that the attack followed a chance encounter one evening at a Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store on Fifth Avenue.

In a subsequent statement, the survivor said, “I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back. Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me, but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”

Trump, who did not testify or appear at the trial, denied the allegations in a deposition, and his lawyer plans to appeal.

If you or a loved one is a survivor of sexual abuse, The Yost Legal Group is here to listen when you are ready to talk. Our compassionate sexual abuse survivor attorneys are ready to help: 1-800-YOST-LAW.

Civil Versus Criminal Court: Purpose

Occasionally, criminal judges order defendants to pay some restitution to sexual abuse and other survivors, usually as a condition of probation. This restitution is almost always limited to medical bills. It usually does not include lost wages and other economic losses. It never includes emotional distress and other noneconomic losses.

Additionally, most states have crime victim compensation funds. Once again, this compensation is usually limited to medical bills. Furthermore, the application and award processes are long, cumbersome, and not very transparent.

Instead of restitution, a criminal court’s primary purpose is punishing offenders. This punishment is usually confinement in prison, court supervision (like probation or parole), a fine, or some combination of all three.

Criminal court punishments also have collateral effects. For example, sexual abuse and other offenders must usually add their names to sex offender registration lists. The specific rules vary significantly in different states. 

A criminal court makes people safer by removing offenders from society or at least monitoring them closely. But a criminal court does not fully compensate sex abuse survivors.

Only an experienced sexual abuse survivor attorney can file a civil action to do that. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses as well as for noneconomic losses.

Civil Versus Criminal Court: Burden of Proof

Criminal court prosecutors must prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. That is one of the highest standards of proof in the law. Informally, this proof usually follows the motive, means, and opportunity analysis. If prosecutors prove a defendant had a clear motive to commit a crime, the ability to commit that offense, and the opportunity to commit it, a guilty verdict usually follows.

Additionally, the Fourth Amendment (searches and seizures), Fifth Amendment (right to remain silent), and other Constitutional procedural defenses apply in criminal court.

These provisions do not apply in civil proceedings. If a sex abuse lawyer presents illegally obtained evidence, that evidence is admissible, but it may have less effect.

Furthermore, the burden of proof in civil court is a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). That is one of the lowest burdens of proof in the law. 

A hit-and-run wreck is a good example of the difference. In criminal court, a credible witness must place the defendant behind the wheel at or near the time of the crash. In civil court, a personal injury lawyer must normally only identify the vehicle’s owner. It is more likely than not that the owner was driving the car.

Count on a Thorough Sexual Abuse Survivor Attorney in Maryland

If you or a loved one has survived sexual abuse, you may be entitled to significant compensation.  For a free, confidential consultation with an experienced Maryland sexual abuse survivor lawyer, contact The Yost Legal Group today: 1-800-967-8529.

A recent investigation shed light on the tendency of schools to quietly allow teachers accused of sexual abuse to transfer to other schools. Unsurprisingly, those teachers accused of sexual misconduct often repeat the same bad behavior at their new schools. This practice is repeated in schools across the United States, risking harm to millions of children, according to experts and federal officials.

On average, one offender passes through three different school districts before being stopped. In the process, they can abuse as many as 73 children, according to a 2010 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

“This is a phenomenon of child abuse that we allow to happen under our noses,” said Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the federal Department of Education. “It’s something that we’ve known conclusively for decades, but we have insufficient collective will as a country to stop it.”

Failing to report reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse is a crime, yet federal officials and experts believe school administrators often do not contact authorities for fear of damaging the reputation of a teacher or the school.

If you or a loved one was sexually abused in school by a faculty or staff member, The Yost Legal Group is here to help (1-800-YOST-LAW). If you are ready to talk, our compassionate sexual abuse survivor attorneys are ready to help.

Sexual Abuse at Schools

Generally, a teacher or staffer is directly responsible for sexual violence directed toward a student. The violence could be physical (any form of non-consensual or unwanted touching) or non-physical (making sexual comments in front of children or showing children sexually explicit material). 

Other times, schools tolerate peer-on-peer sexual bullying and harassment. Frequently, the school mildly disciplines the responsible students, but does nothing to ensure the other student’s safety moving forward.

Regardless of the abuser’s identity, such behavior has long-lasting and usually permanent ill effects on survivors. Some effects our compassionate sexual abuse survivor attorneys see most frequently include:

• Relationship Issues: Sexual abuse survivors usually have trust issues and have a hard time forging connections with other people. These issues affect their professional lives as well as their personal lives.
• Depression: Shutting down is a natural reaction to sexual abuse. These shutdowns often begin downward spirals. Kids don’t feel like going to school, especially if they must be around their abusers. The isolation worsens their depression, and the downward spiral continues.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PTSD is especially common among physical abuse survivors and among students who witnessed such conduct. Such extreme stress alters brain chemistry. This chemical imbalance causes symptoms like anxiety, hypervigilance, anger, and nightmares.

No one can change the past and prevent these incidents from happening. However, a Baltimore sexual abuse lawyer can do the next best thing, which is to obtain compensation that helps these victims move on with their lives.

Ignorance Is Not an Excuse for Negligence

By law, schools in the Maryland education system have a responsibility to keep students safe from faculty and staff and from other students as well. When a student is abused or sexually abused on school property or by school employees, schools and school districts could be financially responsible for such acts.

Screening potential employees is not as easy as it used to be since most people change jobs frequently. But difficulty is not an excuse for negligence. Schools still have a duty to properly screen workers, and they should not make excuses for their failure to do so.

And once the school has hired an individual, it then becomes the school’s responsibility to properly monitor its employees. Failure to properly investigate a misconduct charge or failure to respond to such charges based on the facts and nothing else are clear forms of negligence that will land a school and school district in scalding hot water.

You Are Not Alone | It Was Not Your Fault

If you or a loved one experienced sexual abuse in a Maryland school or by a Maryland school system employee, call The Yost Legal Group today (1-800-YOST-LAW). Our firm offers compassionate attorneys who are here to help. All consultations are free and confidential. Call today: 1-800-967-8529.

When Sister Francis Marie Yocum was a music teacher at The Catholic High School of Baltimore in the 1950s, she wrote the school song. But after her name appeared in the Attorney General’s sex abuse report, her name will no longer be on the school’s auditorium.

In 2012, a 75-year-old woman reported that Yocum sexually abused her in 1954. At the time, the survivor would have been about 16 or 17 years old, according to a recently released report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “The sexual abuse took place during the course of a year when the victim would go to her music lessons,” the report stated. “The abuse included kissing and fondling of the victim’s breasts and genitals,” it added.

“The incontrovertible history uncovered by this investigation is one of pervasive, pernicious, and persistent abuse by priests,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown when the report was released. “It’s also a history of repeated cover-up of that abuse by the Catholic Church hierarchy.”

If you or a loved one was sexually abused in school by a faculty or staff member, The Yost Legal Group is here to help (1-800-YOST-LAW). If you are ready to talk, our compassionate sexual abuse survivor attorneys are ready to help.

Types of Sexual Abuse at Schools

The numbers are hard to pin down, but somewhere between 5% and 10% of students at primary and secondary schools experience some form of sexual violence.

Sometimes, a teacher or staffer instigates that violence. The violence could be physical, like rape and kissing, or non-physical, like making sexual comments in front of children or showing children sexually explicit material. Other times, a peer sexually harasses or bullies a classmate. This harassment and bullying often include physical or sexual misconduct.

Such abuse has long-lasting and usually permanent ill effects. Some effects our Baltimore sexual abuse lawyers see most frequently include:

• Relationship Issues: Sexual abuse survivors usually have trust issues and have a hard time forging connections with other people. These issues affect their professional lives as well as their personal lives.
• Depression: Shutting down is a natural reaction to sexual abuse. These shutdowns often begin downward spirals. Kids do not feel like going to school, especially if they must be around their abusers. The isolation worsens their depression, and the downward spiral continues.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PTSD is especially common among physical abuse survivors and among students who witnessed such conduct. Such extreme stress alters brain chemistry. This chemical imbalance causes symptoms like anxiety, hypervigilance, anger, and nightmares.

Unfortunately, no one can change the past and prevent these incidents from happening. It was not your fault. It never will be your fault.

That is why we are here. When people are ready to talk, we are ready to help. We cannot change the past, but we can help you get justice in the form of monetary compensation as well as the public naming of abusers and institutions that harbored them.

Negligent Hiring Practices in Maryland Schools

Under Maryland law, schools have a responsibility to keep students safe from both adult-on-student and peer-on-peer abuse. Assault and other similar injuries are intentional torts. Schools and school districts could be financially responsible for such acts.

Furthermore, negligent hiring is knowingly hiring an incompetent person to do a job. Turning a blind eye and not asking the right questions is the equivalent of knowingly hiring an individual in this context. 

Screening potential employees is not as easy as it used to be since most people change jobs frequently. Nevertheless, schools have a duty to properly screen workers, and they cannot make excuses for their failure to do so.

Negligent supervision is a failure to properly watch employees. Specifically, the issue could be a failure to keep tabs on employees: failure to properly investigate a misconduct charge or a failure to respond to such charges based on the facts and nothing else.

Furthermore, students are invitees under Maryland’s premises liability law. Therefore, schools have a duty to provide safe environments for their students. If schools knew or should have known about sexual harassment or another injury hazard, they must promptly remove that hazard.

If You Are Ready to Talk, We Are Here to Help

If you or a loved one experienced sexual assault or abuse in school or by a school system employee, you or they are entitled to significant compensation. For a free and confidential consultation with a compassionate sexual abuse lawyer in Baltimore, contact The Yost Legal Group today: 1-800-967-8529.

Exact numbers are difficult to pinpoint, but as many as 40% of American children experience some form of sexual abuse. In a significant number of cases, children experience ongoing abuse, often at the hands of a parent, caregiver, or adult in a position of authority. The betrayal of trust, not to mention the act itself, causes severe psychological effects. The physical effects, some of which are outlined below, are equally as devastating.

Thanks to a recent change in the law, it is much easier for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice and receive compensation. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

More importantly, a legal claim forces negligent actors to face the consequences of the abusive actions they thought they had gotten away with. No one should ever have to endure sexual abuse. Holding individuals and the institutions that harbor abusers accountable for their actions is a way to help mitigate the proliferation of abuse against other innocent people.

If you or a loved one was sexually abused in an institution (church, detention facility, school, scouting organization, et cetera) or by someone who worked for some such institution, you are not alone. There are people ready to help you get the justice you deserve. If you are ready to talk, call The Yost Legal Group (1-800-YOST-LAW) for a free, confidential consultation with a compassionate Baltimore City sexual abuse survivor attorney.

Overall Physical and Sexual Effects

Sexual abuse during childhood often starts a downward spiral that ends with severe physical maladies like:

• Chronic and diffuse pain, especially abdominal or pelvic pain
• Lower pain threshold
• Anxiety and depression
• Self-neglect
• Eating disorders have been attributed to childhood sexual abuse

The outcomes of these physical conditions are often life-threatening. Adults abused as children are four to five times more likely to abuse alcohol and illicit drugs. They are also twice as likely to smoke, be physically inactive, and be severely obese.

Sexual effects include disturbances of desire, arousal, and orgasm, mostly due to the physical pain that sexual abuse causes. 

Additionally, survivors are more likely to have contracted a sexually transmitted infection and engage in other risk-taking behaviors. People who have been sexually assaulted are also at a higher risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Gynecologic problems later in life (including chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, vaginismus, and nonspecific vaginitis) are common diagnoses among survivors.

Other effects begin at an even younger age. Higher rates of early adolescent or unintended pregnancy and prostitution are also associated with sexual abuse survivors.

“An Abnormal Condition Resulting from a Previous Disease”

That is the definition of “sequela.” It is med-speak for an aggravation of a pre-existing condition. In the sexual abuse context, sequelae symptoms are common and varied. More extreme symptoms can be associated with abuse onset at an early age, extended or frequent abuse, incest by a parent, or use of force.

Common life events, like death, birth, marriage, or divorce, may trigger the return of symptoms for a childhood sexual abuse survivor. The primary aftereffects of childhood sexual abuse include the following:

• Emotional Reactions: Emotions such as fear, shame, humiliation, guilt, and self–blame are common and can lead to depression and anxiety.
• PTSD: Survivors may experience intrusive or recurring thoughts of the abuse as well as nightmares or flashbacks.
• Distorted Self-Perception: Survivors often develop a belief that they caused the sexual abuse and that they deserved it. These beliefs may result in self-destructive relationships.

A Baltimore sexual abuse lawyer can hold abusers legally responsible for sequelae under the eggshell skull rule.

You Are Not Alone—It Was Not Your Fault

The Yost Legal Group is working diligently to use the time we have to help childhood sexual abuse victims who are ready to come forward, speak their truths, and seek the justice they deserve. For a free, confidential consultation with an experienced sexual abuse survivor attorney in Baltimore, contact The Yost Legal Group today at 1-800-967-8529

After a four-year investigation, a Pennsylvania grand jury recently indicted nine men on charges connected to long-term sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witness church.

Critics say church elders have treated child sexual abuse as a sin rather than a crime, carefully documenting cases in internal files, but not reporting allegations to authorities and sometimes letting the accused remain active in their congregations with access to children from unsuspecting families. Critics also say the church has often required a second witness for complaints, a standard that can be impossible to meet in cases of molestation.

Church spokesman Jarrod Lopes said otherwise — that the church does recognize abuse as a crime and that members have the right to report sexual assault to authorities. He said the second-witness rule applies only to internal church discipline and that elders comply with reporting laws, even when there is not a second witness. Evidence of Lopes’s claims is lacking.

Roots of the Problem

This religious cult focuses on using—though some might say “misusing”—Bible passages. For example, Deuteronomy 16:15 states that “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” If a victim brought a charge and could not meet the two-witness rule, the church severely disciplined the complainant.

In 1997, the sect specifically extended this rule to sexual abuse cases. This letter also instructed church elders to keep any copy of any related transcript or report within the congregation’s confidential files and not to share it with anyone else, including law enforcement.

A 2022 update to the Jehovah’s Witnesses elder’s manual acknowledges that elders may be obligated to report allegations to secular authorities. But the policy does not encourage them to do so unless mandatory.

Most states, including Maryland, recognize the clergy-pertinent privilege, which exempts religious elders from any mandatory reporting requirement. However, this privilege does not apply in civil cases, meaning that an experienced Baltimore City sexual abuse survivor attorney can pursue damages in civil court.

Furthermore, several civil cases have uncovered widespread cover-ups of sexual abuse, not unlike the allegations contained in the Maryland Attorney General’s report about child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Childhood sexual abuse often causes lifelong problems. Victims need substantial compensation to deal with the psychological trauma that may compound or create other issue. Criminal courts usually do not compensate victims for these losses. Only a Baltimore sexual abuse survivor lawyer can do that.

Your Claim for Damages

State lawmakers recently repealed the statute of limitations in childhood sexual abuse claims. The SOL, which cuts off a victim’s ability to obtain compensation after a certain number of years, often runs afoul of child sex abuse matters. For various reasons, which are all perfectly valid reasons, these victims often don not come forward for decades. Since this restriction no longer applies in these cases, the biggest procedural obstacle in these matters disappeared overnight. 

So, instead of worrying about procedural hurdles, an experienced Baltimore City sexual abuse survivor attorney can concentrate on proving negligence or a lack of care by focusing on the investigation.

Usually, churches have a duty of care to protect parishioners. Sexual abuse clearly violates that duty of care. Because of the church’s cover-up, there is ample proof that the Jehovah’s Witnesses knew about abusers in its ranks.

Damages in a sexual abuse or other personal injury case normally include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills as well as noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages may be available as well if there is clear and convincing evidence that the church intentionally disregarded a known risk.

These claims usually settle out of court. That is good news for survivors. These resolutions avoid the trauma and uncertainty of a trial. Survivors are able to keep their anonymity while still fighting for justice. They also wrap these cases up sooner and allow victims to move on with their lives sooner, which is usually the reason they file legal action.

Compassionate Sexual Abuse Attorneys Available When You Are Ready to Talk

We routinely handle sexual abuse cases throughout the Old Line State and take pride in help survivors get the justice they deserve. If you or a loved one is a survivor of sexual abuse, please remember this: You are not alone. They are not alone.

What’s more, you are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced sexual abuse survivor attorney in Baltimore, contact The Yost Legal Group: 1-800-967-8529.