Essex District Attorney s Domestic Violence Newsletter

Transcription

1 Essex District Attorney s Domestic Violence Newsletter Office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett Joint Roundtable Meeting features Murder for Hire Domestic Case On Thursday, April 12, 2012, District Attorney Blodgett hosted a joint domestic violence roundtable meeting at Peabody City Hall as part of Victim Rights Month. The event was attended by law enforcement and professionals in the domestic violence field from all over Essex County. Murder for Hire: The investigation of the Vasco Domestic Violence Case, was the focus of the meeting. Special ATF Agent Matthew O Shaughnessy and Peabody Police Sgt. Sheila McDaid, who were both involved in the investigation of this case, were the guest speakers. In 2004, Guillermo Vasco had abducted his wife and daughter at gunpoint from their Peabody home. In while in the Essex County Correctional Facility, Vasco approached another inmate, seeking to find someone to kill his wife and daughter. Federal agents got involved and Vasco s wife faked her death, exposing Vasco and his plot. The story aired on DATELINE NBC in June of Office of the Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett Ten Federal Street Salem, MA V o l u m e 5, I s s u e 1 S p r i n g, Pictured are guest speakers Sgt. Sheila McDaid and ATF Agent Matthew O Shaughnessy

2 Page 2 Essex District Attorney s Senior Bullying a Growing Problem in Senior Facilities The Essex County Triad Program and the Elder Justice Network combined efforts to bring Marsha Frankel from Jewish Family Services in Boston to the Peabody Torigian Community Life Center on April 25 to address the increased concern of social bullying in senior housing and senior centers. Staff from Essex County Councils on Aging and Housing Authorities were invited to attend this presentation at no cost. Staff learned how to identify and work with the issue of social bullying the causes, the repercussion, and the remedies. Marsha Frankel, Director of Senior Services at JFCS, is an expert on this issue through her work as a consultant to senior housing with a focus on creating more caring communities. She was interviewed on this topic by the New York Times and Ageless Radio. The Essex County Triad Program a partnership between the Essex County District Attorney s Office, the Essex County Sheriff s Department, Councils on Aging and Police, provides safety programs for seniors through local senior centers. The program has been in existence since 2000 and currently serves 31 out of 34 communities in Essex County. The Elder Justice Network made its debut in Based out of Greater Lynn Senior Services, the Network is a multidisciplinary coalition whose focus is on awareness and education regarding elder abuse. Pictured are Guest Speaker Marsha Frankel and District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett

3 Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 3 Cheryl Watson Presented with Delamano, Inc. Award On March 8, 2012, Cheryl Watson, Chief Victim/Witness Services of the Essex District Attorney s Office, was presented with the 2012 Women of the Year Award. Cheryl has worked in the field of victim services for 26 years. In 1986, Cheryl co-founded the Victim of Crime and Loss Program (VOCAL) at RAP in Beverly as one of the first programs funded by the Mass. Victim of Crime Act. She worked for 8 years with the Essex DA as a Victim Witness Advocate and then as a victim Advocate/outreach coordinator for the MA Office of Victim Assistance. She was also a founding member of the Cambridge Hospital community Crisis Response Team. She worked at the Attorney General s Office and became director of the Victim Compensation and Assistance Division. She has served on numerous boards and has been a presenter on victimrelated issues locally and nationally. Delamano is a non-profit organization based in Lawrence, committed to domestic violence intervention and awareness programs in the Merrimack valley area. They operate a domestic violence Spanish/English helpline to assist victims of domestic abuse. They provide emergency assistance to victims and offer educational programs to young people in order to stop the spread of domestic violence. Courthouse Update On February 28, 2012, the J. Michael Ruane Judicial Center officially opened for business. The $106 million courthouse located on Federal Street actually opened this past fall, but was officially dedicated in February in honor of State representative Michael Ruane who passed away in The main courtroom was dedicated to former Salem mayor and Chief Justice of the Mass. District Court Samuel Zoll, who passed away in Speakers included Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Robert Cordy, Massachusetts Trial Court Chief Justice Robert Mulligan, Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry of Peabody, Mayor Kim Driscoll, and Rep. John Keenan. Invited guests included many present and retired judges, district attorneys, and elected and government officials. Assistant district attorneys, victim/witness advocates, juvenile justice coordinates and support staff from the District Attorney s offices in the Salem Superior, District and Juvenile courts are all located together in the basement level of the new facility.

4 Page 4 Essex District Attorney s District Attorney s Office Now on Facebook and Twitter! In order to use all available means to provide information to the public and promote the good works of the District Attorney s Office, we are now using both Facebook and Twitter. We will post all our conferences and community outreach events on Facebook and Tweet all of four press releases. LIKE us on Facebook and Follow US on Twitter. Both Facebook and Twitter are imbedded in our website, which you may find at Steve O Connell, former Director of Communications for the DA s Office, is now the Director of Social Media, and Carrie Kimball Monahan is now serving as Director of Communications. DA Blodgett Launches Child Abuse Awareness Campaign In observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Essex Children s Advocacy Center introduced the One with Courage campaign on Tuesday, April 24 at the Essex District Attorney s Office. The One with Courage campaign is a national initiative that focuses on the courage it takes to talk about child abuse and the important role that Children s Advocacy Centers play, not only in providing services to child victims of abuse, but also aiding in investigations and prosecution of the perpetrators. The Essex Children s Advocacy Center, which is a partnership of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, local hospitals and law enforcement agencies under the leadership of the Essex District Attorney s Office, is one of the first CACs in Massachusetts to roll out the national campaign. When a child is abused, their trust has been violated by the person or persons who are supposed to protect them. This makes it extremely frightening for them to disclose the abuse, District Attorney Blodgett said. The One With Courage campaign seeks to educate the community about the signs of abuse so that we can report abuse and protect these vulnerable children. In 2011 the Essex Children s Advocacy Center received over 700 referrals of child abuse; 582 were allegations of sexual abuse, 123 allegations of serious physical abuse and 76 allegations of neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. District Attorney Blodgett, Dr. Ed Bailey (Mass General for Children at the North Shore Medical Center), and Ray Pillidge (Northeast Regional Director for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families) signed a memorandum of understanding to continue their longstanding commitment to prevent, investigate, and prosecute child abuse as well as to provide services to child victims of abuse.

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6 Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 6 Essex County High Risk Assessment Teams The High Risk Assessment Teams in Essex County continue to do great work! Team members meet on a regular basis, working and collaborating together in order to provide services to high risk victims. For more information on Teams, contact: Gloucester: Jessie Ballantine, or Lt. Kathy Auld Lynn: Fay Ciaramitaro, or Sheila Radziewicz, , ext. 12. Greater Newburyport: Kelly Dunne, Salem: Fay Ciaramitaro, Domestic Violence Roundtable Updates Domestic Violence Roundtables in Lawrence, Lynn and Peabody continue to provide opportunities for local domestic violence advocates to share information and resources and work together to fight domestic abuse. Over the past several months, Peabody has hosted speakers from the North Shore Rape Crisis Center, the Essex County Correctional Facility, Health Quarters, Juvenile Probation, and the Address Confidentiality Program. They viewed a video on stalking, and are scheduled for a presentation from the Independent Living Center of the North Shore. The Lawrence Roundtable has also hosted speakers from the Essex County Correctional Facility, as well as Children s Friend and Family Services, the City of Lawrence Mayor s Health Task Force, the Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, and the Essex County correctional Gang Unit. Future presenters include the Department of Children and Families and Health Quarters. In Lynn, presenters have included North Shore Rape Crisis Center, Essex County Correctional Facility, Protective Services of GLSS, Lynn Community Connections, and the video on stalking. Upcoming speakers include the Address Confidentiality Program and the Children s Advocacy Center. Joint meetings are generally held twice a year, where all Roundtables come together to hear a story of survival. In October, Dina Bunting shared her story of abuse and survival and in April Sgt. Sheila McDaid and Special ATF Agent Matthew O Shaughnessy spoke about the Vasco Murder For Hire Domestic Violence case. Additional Roundtables are also held in Gloucester, Saugus and WITH (Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield and Hamilton). As a result of the Roundtables, several High Risk Teams have developed in Essex County which address high risk domestic abuse cases. For more information on the Roundtables, please contact Debbie MacGregor at

7 Volume 4 Issue 2 Page 7 Essex County Domestic Violence Roundtables Gloucester Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 12:30 at St. John s Episcopal Church, Gloucester. Lawrence Domestic Violence Roundtable Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 9:00 a.m. at the Family Safety Project, 360 Merrimac Street, Lawrence. Lynn Domestic Violence Roundtable Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 11:00 a.m. at the Lynn Police Station, 300 Washington Street, Lynn. Peabody Domestic Violence Roundtable Meetings are held the first Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m. at the Peabody Police Station, Allen s Lane, Peabody. Saugus Coalition Against Domestic Violence Meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month at 11:00 a.m. at Saugus Town Hall. W.I.T.H. (Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Hamilton) Domestic Violence Roundtable Meetings are held the first Monday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Hamilton-Wenham Community House.