kari2493

Thanks for the work you do to get the message out there to parents, as hard as it is to hear.

cadolliole

Thank you for all the hard work you put in to get much needed information out to everyone. What an incredible nightmare for all of us, especially the precious children. God help us!

erikaitis

Yeah sometimes I've found myself as a big sister to newbie young ones out there. The bad people are more persistent than most good people unfortunately. It's hard to know boundaries for one thing. Looking forward to your show!

younek1

I cringe when watching MSNBCwhen they show the specials on child preadtors. It makes me sick to the stomach to see what these men are doing and some of them are teachers, pastors, camp counselors, CEO's.I understand its a sickness but it hurts my heart becasue in theend its thechild that will impacted the most and they end up runining their lives if they dont recieve help, so as you uncover this project I hope that more light will be shed on this dark issue

kareyshane

I used to work in a homeless office, Leslie. I heard stories I couldn't even repeat to my family. Things like that DO mess with your head if you're not careful.

Here's my recipe, sister: Listen to lots of uplifting music, and surround yourself with good things: good books, soul food, walks. And, of course, good friends and family to laugh with.

This might not seem like it applies, and I since you didn't ask for my advice, I'll go ahead and give it to you! What I want to say is that everything that was created physically, was created spiritually first. I truly believe that...even all the bad yucky poo poo stuff. You're dealing with a lot of dark and dreadful images, conversations, things that pop into your head that you don't want. Balance it out with things that reflect light, and it will fill you with peace. Because, after all, you are doing a good work, and your work will be a gift to many, many people.

I'm cheering you on, Leslie. I also dare you to look through the eyes of charity. You can hate, hate, hate what you see going on, but you can quietly love and bless the tormented soul. God bless all children who suffer, who are victimized, and who don't have the power to change their circumstances. God bless you for making a difference.

lesleynu

This is a tough topic but necessary. Thank you for sharing this with us.

zakiyyahs

WOW. I dont even want to watch that show,but the reality is I have small children and need to be aware of these things. Just the mere fact that this types of things exist emposes a dark luming shadow on the inocence of children everywhere and undermines the core of my parentig responsibility. Im getting more pissed as I think about it. all the best with the show

jewelzm

How can there be so many sick people in the world?!! I hope your next show is a happy celebrity show, Leslie, for your sake.

dotlund

A few years ago I, too, did some research on this topic. It's so very pathetic and way more prevalent than most people know. The age of the internet...easy availability for child predators is one of the sickening side effects of "online." I have a theory....I believe that many missing children could be seen on some of these sights and maybe even located and brought to safety. I know how you feel on the inside and it's ONE HELPLESS sensation. I wouldn't even know where to begin to put a dent in this type of abuse and exploitation...maybe if ALL the normal people who love this show so much were to check out this sort of material, we could come up with some sort of solution. Thanks for working on this topic, though it's very difficult for me to deal with because I cannot figure a way to help the children...I will be watching this show. My prayers are with you.

vbparks

My wish is that the laws get tougher. These crimes should be treated just as harshly as murder. They destroy lives. Lawmakers need to buckle down and look at their priorities! Don't give these monsters second chances. Lock them away- forever.

glitterluv

My heart hurts because I'm a survivor of child sexual abuse.
As tough as this topic is It's a necessary one, thank you for sharing it with us.

spydog

Dear LG
I attended the taping of this show yesterday and I must say I was disappointed at first when I was reading the teleprompter before the taping began. I thought, of all the shows for me to attend after calling and emailing for all these years this is what I get! I soon realized, I felt for this woman as a mother and a human. I have never been in prison but the road that led her there was very sobering for me. She seemed to have all of her needs met as a child but for whatever reason, she veered off the path which caused her to spiral downward. Her children at least the younger two I think will warm up to her in time. The older one is going to be a harder sell. He seemed very distant, unsure and aloof to her as if to say " oh great now you are here to screw us up even more" I am sure he loves her but is very protective of his feelings. He is probably wondering how long it will be before she leaves me again. Kids need their moms!! Grandma's are ok but nothing like a mom. Perhaps she and her mom should sit down with the kids and discuss now that mom is back things are going to be different and hopefully better. I wish them all the best of luck as they journey down the road of recovery.
The second segment was very depressing for me. I don't know how adults can do such cruel and sick things to children. Yes it definitely changes my thinking about the term child pornography. I have two children one is 21 and in heaven as of July 28th 2008 due to type 1 diabetes the second one is 18 and struggling with the death of her brother. The parents of these abused children have lost them some forever like me and some for hopefully a short period of time until they can get them back but the road to healing and forgiveness is going to be long.(like it will be for my family and especially daughter over the loss of her brother). The family of this young man involved is forever changed. This young man has a shattered soul and has been broken for a long time. The segment did not mention any real specifics regarding him and what may have led him down the road he traveled and perhaps their will be follow up in a future show.
While the show itself was not what I expected, (I guess I had visions of "my favorite things" floating in my head or even a book) I really DID enjoy the experience and excitement of getting to see Oprah live and up close. I would love to have the opportunity to come again!
Thanks
Cheryl

spydog

Dear LG
I attended the taping of this show yesterday and I must say I was disappointed at first when I was reading the teleprompter before the taping began. I thought, of all the shows for me to attend after calling and emailing for all these years this is what I get! I soon realized, I felt for this woman as a mother and a human. I have never been in prison but the road that led her there was very sobering for me. She seemed to have all of her needs met as a child but for whatever reason, she veered off the path which caused her to spiral downward. Her children at least the younger two I think will warm up to her in time. The older one is going to be a harder sell. He seemed very distant, unsure and aloof to her as if to say " oh great now you are here to screw us up even more" I am sure he loves her but is very protective of his feelings. He is probably wondering how long it will be before she leaves me again. Kids need their moms!! Grandma's are ok but nothing like a mom. Perhaps she and her mom should sit down with the kids and discuss now that mom is back things are going to be different and hopefully better. I wish them all the best of luck as they journey down the road of recovery.
The second segment was very depressing for me. I don't know how adults can do such cruel and sick things to children. Yes it definitely changes my thinking about the term child pornography. I have two children one is 21 and in heaven as of July 28th 2008 due to type 1 diabetes the second one is 18 and struggling with the death of her brother. The parents of these abused children have lost them some forever like me and some for hopefully a short period of time until they can get them back but the road to healing and forgiveness is going to be long.(like it will be for my family and especially daughter over the loss of her brother). The family of this young man involved is forever changed. This young man has a shattered soul and has been broken for a long time. The segment did not mention any real specifics regarding him and what may have led him down the road he traveled and perhaps their will be follow up in a future show.
While the show itself was not what I expected, (I guess I had visions of "my favorite things" floating in my head or even a book) I really DID enjoy the experience and excitement of getting to see Oprah live and up close. I would love to have the opportunity to come again!
Thanks
Cheryl

denisesing

Thanks for your work and dedication on helping kids stay safe.

When my daughter was young, I substituted our address, phone numbers, etc. for the lyrics of a song she was familiar with. Worked like a charm to help her remember.

joyann3

HI LG we need to shed light on this as often as we can. I live in Barbados and child abuse here and in the Caribbean is HUGE...kids hardly talk about it this side of the Globe I find. I was sexually abused by my biological father and my own mother never belived me and if she did, she never said. I was just seen as a little girl who to them (my family)possesed a wild imagination...my dad passed since then about 8 yrs ago and I always wanted to ask him "why"..I never got the chance and no therapy which is necessary for children who experience those kinds of horrors.
I plan to start my own tv talk show(The Joy Show) here in Barbados that will also be aired in the Caribbean and one of my goals will be to push for tougher laws for these Child Sex Offenders.Majority of these men here don't even see it as a crime claiming ignorance to the girl's age. Any child under the age of 16 (16 is our legal age of consent)it's rape. Some children develope early and some men see that as a green light and the child could actually be 12 or 13.Others are no where near puberity. I am looking forward to this show. Oprah is great but kudos to the producers..... I welcome any advice you might have as I begin my journey educating and empowering others in the Caribbean via The Joy Tv Show.

hawkxs3

Hi LG!

We, the children @ A Beloved Start Learning Center (inspired by Oprah's movie "BELOVED") would like to thank you and your team for being a voice for children everywhere, just like us.

nicoloboys

I wished they would follow up on this mom in a couple of years to see how she is doing.

shanct33

HI LG,
I watched the show today, and I applaud Oprah's efforts to support child advocacy. The details given by the Sheriffs were appalling, nauseating, and horrid and those were just few choice words that came to mind. It is very difficult for me to hear as I am sure 100,000's of other viewers were thinking the same. But, with that said we do have to report the information and make people shocked and nauseated, to get the point across. I want these monsters (pedophiles) found and brought to justice, every single ONE! I want follow ups,, I want these children protected and found and supported and medically evaluated. God bless them.

I myself am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hand of a 16 yr old baby sitter. Unfortunately she was never put to justice and now has a children of her own. I know where she lives, I know she is a member of a church. I don't know if she continued the awful abuse as she got older, but I can't imagine she would stop, if she never had been initially arrested. I wish, I could be a child advocate,simply because I have been there.

Thank you.

genevalago

Protection of children is not a priority in this country. period. Read the NY Times any day of the week and it doesn't take long to figure out what our priorities are as a nation. The economy is front page news every single day--This or that company is losing revenues! The stock price is down! Obviously the econmy is an important issue, however, I would argue that finding the person that raped a 4 year old is as important. The problem of child rape should be front page news until it is eradicated. We have lost our soul, America. What is important to us??

samlindley

It is a hard task you have in front of you. I worked in a crime photo lab for awhile. It will certainly change how you view the world. But the truth always does. They say this is the reason there is a high divorce rate in police families. You go home and your husband complains about having a flat tire and you been processing child crime scenes.
Its hard for people to hear this, but to keep it quite, would be exactly what happens with abuse, wife,husband,child and animal...it would allow it to continue....Child abuse has always been around, as long as there have been children..It didn't just start because America or our world has come to some awful time in history. Keep up your chin and the good work!!!

begintada

I watched the show today and just wanted to comment from my perspective. Our family has been affected by child pornography and child sexual molestation. My son is military and child pornography was discovered on his laptop in Iraq. He asked his gunny sergeant for help and was told he would get it when they got back stateside. The night before they left Iraq he was told he was going to another base to work in a supply unit. HE eventually went back to his base and a short time later was arrested because child porn had been traced to his computer. We hired an attorney, which I strongly suggest to any military family for a myriad of reasons. A forensic psychologist was brought in my our attorney for an evaluation and it was discovered my son had been abused by his biological father beginning at the age of 6 when he would go there for visits. The psychologist said my son had started looking at child pornography trying to figure out why it happened to him. He never told anybody that I'm aware of. He is currently in the brig. He received a 48 month sentence (had already been there 257 days before the court-martial), all pay was stopped, got a dis-honorable discharge, stripped of rank and will have to register as a sex offender. He voluntarily gave up his earned time to participate in a 24 month Sex Offender Program at the Brig. His original plea agreement was 36 months but had the military extended it for the program. The military's position on child pornography is that sex offenders disgrace what they (Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines) stand for. But, in this case they did it to themselves!

On the program today it was said that 5 million child pornography pictures are transmitted each day on the internet. These are being sent "by" and "to" the people we consider "normal!" There is no way the people we classify as "perverts" are transmitting all these images. They are being sent by people who have been "desensitized" to human pain and suffering (i.e., abortion, murder, etc) There are not enough prisons to contain all the people sending and receiving child pornography. From what I understand one "sting" is like a spider web effect and with each image distributed the web grows. If you receive it and don't send it to someone else you don't get into as much trouble. Is there a fine line..if you send 10 images your a "light weight" but 50 makes you a "heavy hitter!"

What is the answer. Using cybercops to track the distribution is easy but, finding and stopping the "creators" is the difficult part. We as "caring human beings" should report every suspicious thing, question kids who seem troubled, etc.

Just like the drug market, child pornography is a market and the funding is coming from somewhere.

One thing Oprah said in closing was that we need to rehabilitate and support. With sex offenders, no matter the degree of offense, they are "Labeled for Life", can't find a job, are harassed, in some cases murdered, can't live anywhere so they sleep under bridges. They can't even stay in a homeless shelter. My son "volunteered" to do the Sex Offender Treatment Program but, will face this in a few months. In my opinion, if they do the SOTP they should be classified differently.

This is going to be a tough and long road for the justice system.

moniano76

Thank you for doing this show. I watched it yesterday and cannot get my mind off of the victims described in some of the cases. God bless the law enforcement and other agencies who devote their time and lives to fighting such crimes. They are our soldiers on the front lines of this war on child exploitation. I am redirecting the anger and horror that I feel into how I can actively help prevent this crimes -- and how to save those who are already victims. I saw how many of the audience members were wondering the same thing -- how does the average citizen help?? I have found a few agencies to donate to -- but still am wondering how else to help?????