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WARREN – A recent celebration luncheon at Cafe 422 in Warren marked 40 years of work from the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office's Child Assault Prosecution Unit.
Some 75 people attended, with most having contact with the unit over the decades. Trumbull County Children Services Executive Director Marilyn Pape and Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins honored the work of past and current social workers, professionals, prosecutors, police and victims of crime "who did their jobs and duty to bring justice, sunshine and good outcomes to many in our community."
"The CAP team exists for children and families through your compassion and expertise," Pape told the luncheon audience. "Thank you for showing up, speaking up and never giving up."
Special guest at the event was past Children Services Executive Director Craig H. Neuman and his wife, who came in from their Virginia home for the celebration luncheon. It was Neuman, who along with Watkins in 1986, applied for and received one of only six national grants that enabled the creation of the unit. In fact, it was Neuman who called Watkins and made him aware of the grant.
Remembering how the CAP unit got started, Neuman talked about the "chilly" reception nationally in the legal world of the idea of combining compassion and considering the rights of the child victims.
"What a contrast did we have in our county. We had good outcomes and we have a right to be proud of our work," Neuman said.
Watkins singled out the work of Robert Kubiak, who helped secure the $105,000 Department of Justice grant by writing a concept paper envisioning the Child Assault Unit.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman, chief of the Child Assault Division of the Prosecutor's Office, said he figures there are about 70 serious cases of sexual abuse of children he prosecutes per year.
"Over the 40 years, those figures show that we have helped thousands and thousands of children in crisis," Wildman said.
Special-made plaques commemorating the 40th anniversary were presented to Neuman, Watkins and former and present CAP members, including investigator Roy Anne Malak, former Child Assault Division chief Diane Barber, and Children Services representatives Darlene Shope and David Watts. Also recognized was the first director of the Child Assault Unit, attorney Carol Sopkovich, a Trumbull County Common Pleas Court magistrate, who also was in attendance.
In presenting Neuman's plaque, Watkins praised the past director for having a son (also Craig H. Neuman) who is a highly decorated pilot of fixed-wing aircraft who was recently promoted to colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
The keynote speaker at the luncheon was Jennifer Gorsuch, a victim of a vicious sexual abuse at age 7 who remained vigilant in keeping her abuser, David Lockney, serving a life sentence behind bars by testifying at a full board parole hearing in Columbus in 2002. Lockney was one of the first abusers convicted by the Child Assault Prosecution Unit in July 1987.
This was the first time that Jennifer Gorsuch recounted in public her experience as a child abuse victim. Her often-tearful address was met with a standing ovation from the luncheon attendees.
"My story began with something terrible, but that's not where it has ended," she said.
Gorsuch recounted how the CAP unit helped her find faith in the legal process, which led to a new family, friendships and a purpose in life. She had special words of thanks for Watkins, "who stood up for me when I couldn't."
"Thank you for saving me, standing up for me and believing in me. You fought for justice for me when I couldn't. I want to thank Children Services for standing up for me too. They helped find me love and protection through my adoptive parents."
Gorsuch also had words of encouragement to present CAP members.
"The child you help truly may not remember every name. At the age of 7, I didn't know the names of those protecting me when I couldn't protect myself. What you do does matter. It mattered for me,” Gorsuch said.
The Trumbull County Commissioners on Oct. 7 issued a special proclamation congratulating the Children Services Board and the Prosecutor's Office on 40 years of their joint Child Assault Prosecution Unit.
After the luncheon, a special presentation was given by former prosecutor Philip Bogdanoff, who gave a lecture titled "Reporting Sexual Predators, Fumbling a Duty to Protect Victims of Sexual Abuse." Bogdanoff, a former Summit County assistant prosecutor, talked about the nationally noted cases of sex abusers who used power and celebrity to escape prosecution, including the abuse cases against singer Michael Jackson and Dr. Larry Nassar, an osteopathic sport medicine physician for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University who sexually assaulted at least 265 young athletes under the guise of medical treatment.
During the program, Watkins recited the story of the beginning of the Child Assault Prosecution Unit. In 1986, members of the legal profession faced a dilemma when dealing with child assault victims. Some mental health professionals had suggested a victim's court appearance could be more hurtful than the abuse itself.
In recognizing this problem, the prosecutor's office and Children Services presented a concept that focused on effective prosecution of the growing number of child sexual abuse cases while at the same time not further traumatizing the children involved. The plan included training for prosecutors and other professionals who deal with sexual abuse, an investigation protocol that set forth an appropriate role for each agency involved and policies and criteria to assist prosecutors in determining whether to pursue an abuse case.