THE DEBATES will no doubt rage for the next few days, weeks and months as to the correctness of yesterday's not guilty verdict from the jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
No doubt the American pop star's credibility would have been further tarnished by some of the evidence presented during the course of the trial. His eccentricities provided much fuel to the already raging controversy over his character. And while he, like so many others, may make easy targets for shake-down scam artistes, the discomfort will long remain over the habit of a wealthy adult male having children who are not his relatives frequently sleeping in his bed.
This was another case from the United States that pushed into the public spotlight several issues that have international relevance. The vulnerability of children to paedophiles should not be underestimated. Over the past few years, the reports have increased of children being targeted by internet-savvy perverts; and of children being kidnapped or lured away even to foreign countries to be used in all kinds of nefarious activities. Parents and guardians are often in denial over charges made by children, but those who have specific responsibilities in the raising of their wards should not take these reports lightly. They may have substance to them.
Michael Jackson's international celebrity status helped to propel some of these concerns into the domain of public discourse and would have caused more serious examination of some of the related issues of child care and parental responsibility.
Locally, the recent ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions against persons given responsibility for supervising children in state-run places of safety should make us less willing to dismiss charges of abuse made by minors.
There are other questions to consider as much for the United States as for Jamaica: How far can the justice system be relied on to provide a fair trial if an accused does not have the wherewithal to hire a competent team of defence lawyers? An inadequately paid or inexperienced defence team might not be able to investigate properly the persons bringing charges against their clients.
We need to ensure that here in Jamaica, we do not add to the number of victims we may already have. We need to ensure that facilities are in place to allow children to report cases of sexual and physical abuse, and that there are proper systems to do follow-up investigations.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
