Here's the $64,000 question: Will the Dane County "authorities" who repeatedly failed to discover the ongoing rape and torture of a 15 year-old-girl be held accountable? Don't hold your breath!
About two weeks ago, it was learned that a teenage girl had allegedly been held prisoner in a basement for years by her father and stepmother. She was also allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted by her stepbrother. Criminal charges have now been issued.
It's nice to see that authorities are finally paying attention to this situation. Still, what took so long?
It turns out that the girl's school had referred her situation to child protective services back in 2007. Additional neglect reports were made in 2009 and 2011. Despite all the evidence, officials were unable to find evidence of abuse.
Calling Barney Fife!
In perhaps the most shocking revelation, employees of the Department of Corrections were at the house three separate times since mid-December. These officials were supposed to be making a "residence assessment" in connection with the girl's step-brother (who was on probation for having sex with a 13-year-old).
Yes, that's the same stepbrother who is accused of sexually assaulting the victim in this case.
Anyway, these "residence assessments" are supposed to include "a thorough on-site inspection of the residence".
How in the world could authorities go out to this house and miss the fact that a 15-year-old girl weighing 80 pounds was being held prisoner in the basement? How could authorities get multiple reports of child abuse and be unable to figure out what was going on? How can these people live with themselves - and how can they keep their jobs?
If the father, stepmother and stepbrother did what they are alleged to have done - they are monsters. No punishment can be too severe.
Still, Dane County officials are also to blame. For almost five years, they apparently failed to notice the systematic torture of a child - and for that failure, there should be consequences.
As a start, why don't we fire the people who failed this child? Oh yeah, this is Dane County - where we don't hold public officials accountable for their failures.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.