Deaf School Apologizes for Decades of Abuse

Leaders of The American School for the Deaf are apologizing to dozens of survivors of sexual abuse and physical abuse by former faculty and staff members. The abuse took place from the 1950s through the 1980s. The statement reads in part:

On behalf of ASD and its Board of Directors, we apologize to the survivors of this abuse — this should not have happened to you -– and we promise to continue to devote ourselves to protecting the current and future generations of children who rely on us and this community to enrich their lives,” they said in a statement.

Read the full statement here and watch a vlog summarizing the findings of the investigation.

Protecting deaf children from abuse in TN

A Tennessee woman is hoping her effort in schools called The Sign Club will help deaf children not become isolated and more likely fall victim to sexual abuse. WSMV-TV in Nashville has a video report. No captions, but you can read the story here.

WBRC FOX6 News - Birmingham, AL

Victims of sexual abuse at deaf school speak out

Students at an east London school for deaf children "tried to tell people they were being sexually abused without success." Students were punished for signing at this oral school, according to a BBC report here.

Luke Adams: A unique college hoops career

Luke Adams is a Texas Tech walk-on guard who stands at only 5 feet 7 inches. CBS Sports says the cochlear implant wearer "gets carded at the campus bookstore. They questioned him being in the athletes' line to return his books for the semester." His college sports career is coming to a close but not his career. Find out why in a CBS Sports video profile of Luke Adams.No captions but you can read the story here.

Rampant abuse alleged at school for deaf

The California School for the Deaf in Riverside has "chronic underperformance, rendering massive numbers of students lacking life skills and academic abilities, crimes involving sexual misconduct, rape, attempted rape, forceful sexual abuse, sodomy and other illegal sexual conduct," according to an article published by the Orange County Register. Read more here.

How deaf women are vulnerable to domestic abuse

Deaf women are twice as likely as hearing women to experience domestic abuse, according to the New Statesman, a weekly UK magazine. Read the "tragic story" of Safiya here.

Judge out for Abuse of Deaf Niece

New York's high court is making sure a family judge never hears another case. Former Onondaga County family court judge Bryan Hedges is accused of sexually abusing his deaf niece some 40 years ago, when she was 5 years old. Hedges resigned from the Syracuse-area post last year when the accusation became public. He's been a judge since 1985. The Commission on Judicial Conduct decided that his removal from office would have been the appropriate sanction if Hedges still were a judge and he hadn't resigned before it could rule. Now, New York's highest court has upheld the decision to keep Hedges off the bench--permanently.

Review: This film is nauseating, terrifying, and shocking

A film about a priest abusing deaf children opens in Australia. Read a review here.

Cover up at deaf school?

Parents of students who attend a state school are suing because administrators allegedly covered up the sexual abuse of five children by a teen at the school. The former principal of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind says its not true. The school kept records but did not report the assaults to law enforcement as required by law, according to police. Another student admitted assaulting other students to school officials in 2011. Lawyers for former principal Louis Tutt appeared in court for a hearing yesterday (Thursday), asking that the lawsuit be thrown out, claiming their client has immunity as a state employee. An arrest warrant has been issued for Tutt who is not in the state.

School abuse prompts calls for federal intervention

Rapes and assaults of deaf and blind students in Hawaii public schools have some calling for the federal intervention. Below is a video report on DeafNewsToday.com from KHNL-TV.You can read the story here.

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

Settlement over Sexual Abuse at School

The Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind will pay millions over sexual abuse that took place under school supervision between students. KHON-TV has a video report. You can read the story here.

Deaf Boys Film banned at Film Fests

A sex abuse film that points the finger at the Vatican will be shown in U.S. theaters starting next month (Nov 16). Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney put together Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God. It follows the abuse of deaf boys at a Milwaukee Catholic church to a Vatican coverup. The Venice and Rome film festivals banned the film, due to Vatican influence. Father Lawrence Murphy taught at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in Wisconsin and is believed to have molested hundreds of pupils for more than two decades. Murphy never faced any discipline from the church - even after his abuse became known. The five students interviewed in the film use ASL to explain what they endured. You can see a preview here.

With Deaf Students in Mind

The Washington Post offers its look at the new deaf-friendly dorms at Gallaudet University here.

Sexual Abuse on Bus in Georgia

Sexual abuse on a school bus allegedly went on for months, according to a Georgia lawsuit. Two students from the Atlanta Area School for The Deaf in Clarkston are accused of assaulting a 10-year-old boy during their ride to Roswell. The victim was apparently too afraid to come forward on his own and the abuse stopped only when he screamed - something he didn't know he could do. The situation was recently reported by another student. The driver, who is no longer a school system employee, was apparently aware of the attacks but she never reported them. The accused students, ages 16 and 14, are being charged as adults and will make their first court appearance tomorrow.

Burn Down the Ground

Kambri Crews shares her story as a CODA in Burn Down the Ground. Readers will find out why her father is now serving a 20 year prison sentence for a violent attack, why her mother endured years of abuse, and how Crews got from rural Texas to New York City and now runs her own PR and production company. Find out more here.

Police: Deaf Student Assaulted

There's an investigation underway in the bullying and sexual assault of a 15-year-old deaf student in San Antonio. Police have already arrested one South San Antonio High School. The 18-year-old allegedly talked another deaf student into grouping the victim in October. The 15-year-old was threatened into not telling anyone. The two students continued to harass the victim until she eventually told her interpreter. There are reportedly more victims.

Sex Slave Trial

A deaf woman from Pakistan says she was taken to the UK at the age of 10 where she was beaten and used as a sex slave for a decade, according to her testimony made through a sign language interpreter in court today. The couple she lived with denies the charges. Read the story in the Daily Mail here.

Advocacy

The video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com explains the role of an advocate and is produced by DeafHope, a group focused on domestic and sexual violence against Deaf women.

GPS help for Substance Abuse

How apps are helping deaf substance abusers in Denver here.

Deaf Suffer More Abuse

You are more likely to have been neglected or abused as a child if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing than if you are hearing. That's the finding of a new study out of the Rochester Institute of Technology. A survey of college students found:

• 77% of those with a hearing loss reported some kind of maltreatment before the age of 16.
• 49% of those with a hearing loss reported some kind of maltreatment before the age of 16.

Maltreatment was defined as physical or sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect or emotional abuse. Read more about the study here.