We're near Philadelphia so it's been in our news since his arrest. It is so disturbing that I have trouble even listening to the updates. He is one sick, sick, man. I just hope he spends the rest of his life locked in prison.

It is just sickening. I was always present when my kids were examined, too. It was just expected that the mom would come in. Did this guy have a staff? How could a medical assistant, nurse, or even office worker not know something was going on? I agree, I hope he spends the rest of his life locked in prison.

Disturbing.

A few years ago I learned one of the pediatric residents that rotated where I work was arrested for the same thing several years after he finished his residency. I was absolutely sickened when I heard, just as I am sickened by this story. I would never let my child be examined without me present. When it comes to my kids, I trust almost no one.

In our area, it seems that about once a year a school teacher is accused of being a pedophile, and the requisite search of their personal computer yields thousands of sexually explicit photos of children. This always begs the question for me, "Is there an increase in this behavior, OR are we just better at discovering it than in the past, OR do we just hear about it more through today's media?

Child abuse seems more rampant and vicious, and creepier than ever, but maybe we just are informed about it when it happens more than we used to be.

I just read an article about the mother accused of microwaving her baby, and thought surely this woman must be severely mentally ill or deficient, but tests revealed no evidence of mental illness.

She put her relatively newborn baby in the microwave after having a fight with her boyfriend. The baby showed no external signs of burns or scalding, but its internal organs were completely burned, and of course it soon died.

I repeatedly read stories of children being starved by their parents. In my area a six year old girl was just discovered living in a cage and being starved by her parents...she weighed 16 pounds! Her parents look completely normal; on the young side, but very regular. How could they do that, first of all, but also how could they keep it a secret for six years? It's insane!

I hadn't hear about the pediatrician - I guess we have our own versions of bad news here that trump things from farther away.

stinky what you described makes me physically ill.

Just 2 more things in this world that I wish I didn't know.

So sorry, Dlm! Maybe I shouldn't have given details. I know it's so hard to process news like this. My wondering about what's going on culturally is part of what I do to process senseless acts of brutality.

I asked is the world getting crazier or are we just more aware of the craziness than before? But really, what difference does it make? If the answer is, "The world's going mad," I don't know how to go about regaining sanity. If it's always been this crazy, but we're just more aware of it, I still don't know how to finally make things better. All I know for sure is that there's a lot going on out there that is very sad.

I usually try to be optimistic and believe in the power of love, good will and healing. I'm having a moment of feeling really jaded and pessimistic.

People with those proclivities do try to enter professions where they will have access to victims. I didn't read the story, but I thought that it was standard procedure to have a parent, or at least a nurse in the room when examining a child.
I currently have a female gyn, but when I had a male gyn, he always had a nurse in the room during exams as a matter of policy.

I think we're more aware of such behavior than we used to be, rather than the behavior increasing. I'm in my 50s, and could tell a few horrible stories. While I was growing up, my family lived in neighborhoods that appeared picture perfect. I attended well-regarded schools and my friends' parents were mostly doctors, lawyers, architects and other professionals. (I hope this doesn't come out wrong - I just mean to say that people didn't used to expect criminal behavior in those environments, and denied it when it did.)

I was molested by an older neighbor boy when I was in first grade; it was hushed up. The priest who headed our parish was later found to be a pedophile. It was kept quiet until about five years ago. When I was in 8th grade, I was violently raped at a friend's home. My mother thought rape victims "asked for it" by their attire, behavior or the company they kept, so I didn't tell my parents. A life guard at our country club (college student when I was 14, so a significant age difference) repeatedly attempted to fondle my breasts and tugged on my swimsuit whenever I went into the building with the snack bar & bathrooms/dressing rooms while he was off duty. I ended up riding my bike home whenever I needed a break.

A doctor I was taken to when I worked (out of state) as a junior camp counselor molested me (not raped, but still traumatic.) He'd sent his nurse out of the room, which didn't cause alarm until too late. The nuns for whom I worked refused to believe me. A teacher at my private school befriended me, then became increasingly insistent in his physical advances and refused to take no for an answer. He volunteered to chaperone a three day trip for a club I was in and raped me on the last night. I was afraid to tell anyone, because of my mother's attitude & her history of physical punishment. Years later, when I read the man had died (prostate cancer), I spoke to the priest who'd been president of the school and he denied that the man had ever worked there. He then yelled at me about the "evil" of people suing the church over abuse/rape. I'd not even suggested that I was thinking of a lawsuit (& was not) and was very hurt that someone who I believed to be a family friend would both lie about the fact of the man's employment and show no sympathy whatsoever.

I was protective of my own children as they were growing up. When the head of a nearby Y was found to be a pedophile, at least I knew that my own kids had been safe because I stayed there and alternated between observing their classes and reading within sight/hearing of them. They did very few overnights with friends, and only with those I knew well. When they got older and went to camps, they had prepaid calling cards and other means of reaching us in an emergency. I tried to never scare them, but we did talk about inappropriate behavior and how to respond.

I hope that if the doctor in the OP's post is guilty he spends the rest of his life in jail. Even many hardened criminals find such people repulsive. He might find that the old punishment of a millstone around the neck before drowning would be preferable.

Bless you, dear Rockmanor. I am so, so sorry that you suffered so much trauma and abuse. You had a horrific childhood/young adulthood. How did you come to trust anyone, especially men, ever again?

You sound like a very good, caring parent who doesn't want to induce undue fear, but to teach caution and encourage awareness.

Your resilience and inner resources must be formidable. I know you have created a good life for yourself and were able to move beyond so much pain to enjoy life. Good for you!

Ah, thanks, Stinky-Gardener. That's so sweet. I had second thoughts after posting, but too late. I used to feel as if I had a sign reading "abuse me" on my back. I think that predators can almost sniff out easy victims or determine which parents won't believe their kids. Anyway, I feel very detached about it all now and if my being candid can help just one other victim realize that abuse and/or rape doesn't mean an end to a happy life then it's worthwhile.

You asked a profound question about trust. It wasn't easy to learn to trust anyone, particularly men. I was very lucky to find my terrific dh. He was a big help when our kids were little and I needed someone to determine whether I was being reasonably cautious or overprotective.

One irony about my mother was that after an elderly relative was raped in her nursing home, she became paranoid about it happening to her. After decades of blaming the victim, she finally realized how wrong she'd been. Sadly, as her dementia worsened she believed that everyone was out to do her harm in some way and she died a bitter and fearful person.

Anyway, I think that being open about abuse can help put more of these creeps in jail. That seems to be what's changed, since we (mostly) don't blame the victim or feel ashamed if we're the victim. Then, we need to get the victims counseling or whatever support they need to move on and make a good life for themselves.

I am also sorry to hear that you suffered such shocking abuse, rockmanor. To go through all that and survive, and even thrive, is really remarkable. I agree with stinky that your resilience and inner resources must be formidable!

I'm happy to hear you found such a wonderful husband! Did you work through all this on your own or did you have the help of therapy? (If it's any of my business!)

Rock, I'm in shock at what you've had to live with for all these years. Did you ever get therapy or are you one of those (like me) who just "forgets" about it & carries on?

I think I was molested at 8, but I'm not really sure what is required to be molested.

I was at my adult cousin's house, she was my mom's age. I think I called her "Aunt June."

She was dating a sleezeoid and one afternoon I was laying on the sofa, watching TV. The other kids were off playing, I have no idea where Aunt June or my parents were, for all I know he was babysitting us.

He came and laid down beside me, he didn't say a word. Neither did I. Then he fondled my breasts, and we both just kept quiet, although I knew there was something wrong with what he was doing. Back then, Molestation wasn't even in our vocabulary!

Then he took his hand south of the border and that's when I jumped up and told him I needed to go play.

I never spoke of this incident to my mom and dad. It never crossed my mind to tell them! Strange thing is, although I remember it vividly & knew it was sooo wrong of him, it never did bother me emotionally.

But I think I put hurt in a hardened part of my heart where nothing or no one can penetrate it. Not even me.

Rock, thanks for sharing your story, it's so traumatic and sad. Not only were you abused but the adults in your world failed you as well and I'm sorry you went through that. I think this problem has always been very much around but like others have pointed out, it just wasn't spoken about.

When I was 7, we lived in a nice neighborhood where everyone was very close. There was an older man and his wife who lived directly next door to us and for some reason, my older sister had gone over there to talk with the old man in his garage. All of a sudden she came running out of the garage calling for my mother. After that we were not allowed to go over there and I found out later it was because he had tried to molest her. Why the police weren't called I don't know but that was very typical of how it was in the 60's and 70's when I was growing up. It was swept under the rug and no one dealt with it.

As for the man in this article, any news like this upsets me, but I think it shocked me so much more because I've never heard of something like this happening by someone in the medical profession before. I hope he does get life and will have to bear what ever comes his way behind bars.

Luck, the article didn't shock me in the least. How many times do we hear about camp counselors and sport's coaches doing the same thing.

A guy we knew very well, or so we thought, blew his brains out because he was getting ready to be arrested on numerous molestation charges when he was a Boy Scout Leader. That was 30 years ago! Nothing phases me anymore.

I didn't read the article, just all of your posts. It breaks my heart.

As a mom to young kids it is frightening how "common" inappropriate behavior (various degrees) has become (or always has been). We've talked about private areas and that nobody should see or touch them, and how you should never see or touch anybody elses - even if they ask you to. But how do you communicate the imporatance of the message without scaring your kids? I feel like there is a fine line.

Oak, yes, I too have heard nightmares about camp counselors and sports coaches, but they aren't in the medical profession which is what I'm referring to. I've personally never heard of a Doctor doing this.

Rockmanor - you are a woman of great strength to be able to share what happened to you. How sad that your Mother's opinions caused you to stay quiet. I'm not sure which was worse - the actual abuse you suffered or the adults who left you down when you asked for help. But it is wonderful that you were able to survive the abuse and create a family of your own. I am sorry that you had to deal with all of that.

Thanks for your kind words, y'all. I hate that others have had similar experiences, but am not surprised, and hope we can put an end to this behavior some day (how, I have no idea.)

Oakleyok, I would definitely consider what that pervert did to you to be molestation. An adult fondled a child, and tried to do even more. It's not surprising that it scared you. Back then, I think that a lot of kids did not tell anyone because people just didn't talk about certain things even with their parents. Some kids may have been afraid of getting into trouble, as if it was their fault.

Nancybee and Oakleyok, I did not get any therapy but wish I had; therapy with the right professional would have been an excellent alternative to the self-destructive behavior I engaged in instead. That lasted well into my 20s.

There are some lingering effects. I have hyper-startle reflex, which began after the assault/rape in 8th grade. My weight has been an issue since I overcame an addiction to Rx meds, and I hope that now that I recognize my overeating as a way to build a protective wall around myself I'll find it easier to develop better habits.

One of the things that really bothers me about this case, that amj0517 alluded to, is how do parents teach kids about good/bad touch? For Pete's sake, this guy was a pediatrician. Haven't we told our kids that their doctor is the only person (other than parents, when they're little) who should ever see or touch their private areas? I get quite upset about any case of child abuse, but even more so when the criminal is someone our children are taught to trust such as clergy, teachers or doctors.

I agree with what you're saying Rock, maybe that's why the article caught me so off guard when I read it. The other thing that I still don't get is where were the parents of all these kids? As many have said, a parent or nurse is supposed to be present at all times.

Oh Rockmanor, your childhood is heartbreaking. I'm glad you found peace and happiness in life and I do think being open about it is very helpful to whoever might be reading this and not posting and of course, those in your life. And how sad about your mother.

Stinky, your post..I understood it completely and agree but still it makes me sick and so sad at the evil in this world. Nothing surprises me.

I have never been abused and I had the best of parents, this thread is a reminder to always be grateful for that.

Rockmanor - I'm so sorry to hear about the abuse you had to take. You sound like a very strong person to overcome that.

Unfortunatately I think this has always been happening, it just wasn't talked about or even really had strong laws about it before.

I know myself I have been a victim of fondling more than one time and attempted rape once, along with having men expose them to me as a child a handful of times. Luckily for me my personality as a child/teen was such that when I was in a situation where I was scared or felt uncomfortable I always ended up with a brave/angry/talk back type attitude and would sometimes kick/punch. I think that saved me from things going further. Most of these things I've pushed to the back of my mind and until this post I thought I had successfully forgotten the majority of them. One was a policeman that fondled my breast while we were at a concert so they exist in all professions unfortunately. My father fondled me once too, but I'm still confused what that was about as I was just walking by and he cupped my breast when I was 14. I slapped his hand off, continued walking, and it never happened again.

I also know that I could have probably been a victim of random rape too if I hadn't had a sort of feeling something was wrong and walked another way or run from a car that slowed down and made my friends do the same. They'd laugh at me, but a few times we'd hear about it happening to somebody else in the area we'd been in and they started trusting me. (we did report what we saw/experienced to the police on those occasions) I grew up in what would be considered a very safe suburb to Stockholm, Sweden. My mom and I had a conversation about rapes and how often they seemed to happen about five years ago and I told her about these occasions and she then seemed to agree that it was probably more awareness and media reporting it. She was also shocked that I never said anything to her. I don't know why, I think because I blocked them out as soon as they happened.

Maybe I would have told my mom if back then it was more common to talk about it in media and my mom would have thought to have the private parts talk with me as a young kid. I just don't think anybody where I lived was really aware of it then other than flashers which was very common to hear about in the news.

Now what I do think has gotten worse with the internet is that these sick people have now so many other ways to get in contact with victims (chats etc.) and the spreading of child porn is so much easier. I'm thinking some of this may be increasing offenders too as some that would never act on their urges may now do so because they have more contact with others like them.

Stinky, that story of the person (I refuse to call her a mother) who put the baby in the microwave really hits hard. A friend of mine has a sister who was expecting a much-anticipated (after multiple miscarriages) baby, in only two weeks. This woman went to the doctor for a checkup last week and learned that the baby had died. The devastation of such a loss - and then having to deliver a dead baby - when all this woman and her husband and indeed, her entire extended family, wanted was to have this precious little one with them to love and nurture and watch as she grew day by day. To think that there are human beings in this world who would simply throw away such a precious, precious gift is something that is completely incomprehensible.

I don't even know the woman who lost her child in the womb - I only know her sister - but my heart broke for her all the same. How could anyone hurt a child in any way? It defies understanding.