Sexual Assault Survivors Advocacy

As the father of three daughters, Chris is keenly aware of the challenges of raising kids. Between social media, climate change and the pandemic, children are exposed to stressors their parents never had to consider while growing up. 

In 2021, Chris's youngest daughter was sexually assaulted by a York City Police Officer. Through the manipulative behavior of grooming, the officer earned the trust of the entire family and used his authority to take advantage of the child. The officer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Corruption of a Minor and was sentenced to five years of probation. He also was required to complete sex offender treatment and abide by the terms of adult probation for sex offender, but:

• He received no jail time for his crime;
• He did not have to register on the National Sex Offender Database.

Literally, someone stealing a car will receive a harsher penalty than the cop did in this case. 

Outraged by this absolute failure of the legal system, Chris researched and was shocked to learn that this is a common plea deal for officers who commit sexual offenses with minors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  That is because police officers, even Student Resource Officers, cannot be charged with Institutional Sexual Assault currently, as the law stands. As a result, survivors of sexual assault are prevented from seeing justice served, especially at the hands of law enforcement.  

As a parent and a concerned member of society, Chris refused to accept this as an acceptable punishment and committed to never allow another parent or survivor watch a member of law enforcement who used their position of authority and inflicted so much pain and trauma walk out of a courtroom as a free person.  There are plenty of people in this world who can and should be doing something about this and Chris decided to let them know it.