Senator Kip Bateman’s legislation requiring witnesses of child sexual abuse to immediately report it to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency has passed the New Jersey Senate.

Senator Kip Bateman’s legislation requiring witnesses of child sexual abuse to immediately report it to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency has unanimously passed the New Jersey Senate.

“It is nauseating when adults know that child abuse is occurring, yet they fail in their moral duty to take the appropriate steps to end it,” Bateman (R-16) stated. “This legislation requires witnesses to immediately notify Division of Child Protection and Permanency officials of these obscene violations. Taking this step is crucial to keep our children safe in school.”

Bateman’s bipartisan bill, S-641 <http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/S1000/641_I1.PDF> , requires that sexual abuse against a child be directly reported to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. It also makes failing to report an act of sexual abuse a crime of the fourth degree.

Bateman originally introduced said bill in 2011 in the wake of the Penn State football scandal. Recent attention was brought to the legislation when multiple videos were made public of top New Jersey teacher union officials discussing their efforts and willingness to conceal teacher sexual misconduct <http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2018/05/second_teachers_union_president_target_of_new_vide.html> .

“From what we saw at Penn State to what we saw in the recent videos, it’s clear that people don’t always do the right thing,” Bateman added. “Individuals shouldn’t think that it’s ok to not report child sexual abuse. I urge the Governor to sign this into law immediately to safeguard our children.”