There is an absurd law in Oregon that allows adult to hit and abuse - and 2 year old children and get away with it. As in literally get away with it without any charges filed against them.
The law was exposed recently after a couple dared to go on a date night, leaving their one-year-old son in what they thought were the capable hands of their babysitter.
Instead, when they got home, they heard their child screaming while their babysitter slept on the couch, and the next morning, in the light of day, they saw that their little boy, Jacob, was covered in bruises.
The sitter admitted to abusing Jacob, but the sitter can't be prosecuted due to a ruling in Oregon that states the victim has to be able to definitively prove that the mistreatment was intentional, which is difficult to do when the victim is a baby who can't speak.
Jacob's dad, Joshua Marbury, who is understandably irate that justice won't be served, wrote in a viral Facebook post, "Something needs to be done. NOBODY can just hit a child and more to just get away with it because the child can't verbally tell you."
"We had a confession from the abuser saying they did it. Still this person was not arrested because they had to build a case and a jury to find him guilty before they go to jail. (Side note: If I'm not mistaken, if I strike a person in the face and the cops were called I would be put in handcuffs immediately). After two months of waiting we find out that charges are dropped because my one-year-old can't tell you verbally he was abused and my son did not show he was in pain or that this person 'intentionally' did this."
"A dead body can't tell you who killed them. Yet a baby isn't held to the same standard because he can't talk?" Marbury continued.
According to the Oregonian, if the abused person is "impaired," then that could be substantial proof of the crime, but little Jacob's bruises were apparently not considered damaging enough to press charges.
Marbury, and Jacob's mother, Alicia Quinney, are hoping that by sharing their story, the law will ultimately be changed so that no other child will have to suffer from this injustice.
The law was exposed recently after a couple dared to go on a date night, leaving their one-year-old son in what they thought were the capable hands of their babysitter.
Instead, when they got home, they heard their child screaming while their babysitter slept on the couch, and the next morning, in the light of day, they saw that their little boy, Jacob, was covered in bruises.
The sitter admitted to abusing Jacob, but the sitter can't be prosecuted due to a ruling in Oregon that states the victim has to be able to definitively prove that the mistreatment was intentional, which is difficult to do when the victim is a baby who can't speak.
Jacob's dad, Joshua Marbury, who is understandably irate that justice won't be served, wrote in a viral Facebook post, "Something needs to be done. NOBODY can just hit a child and more to just get away with it because the child can't verbally tell you."
"We had a confession from the abuser saying they did it. Still this person was not arrested because they had to build a case and a jury to find him guilty before they go to jail. (Side note: If I'm not mistaken, if I strike a person in the face and the cops were called I would be put in handcuffs immediately). After two months of waiting we find out that charges are dropped because my one-year-old can't tell you verbally he was abused and my son did not show he was in pain or that this person 'intentionally' did this."
"A dead body can't tell you who killed them. Yet a baby isn't held to the same standard because he can't talk?" Marbury continued.
According to the Oregonian, if the abused person is "impaired," then that could be substantial proof of the crime, but little Jacob's bruises were apparently not considered damaging enough to press charges.
Marbury, and Jacob's mother, Alicia Quinney, are hoping that by sharing their story, the law will ultimately be changed so that no other child will have to suffer from this injustice.