{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://toomey.senate.gov?p=news&id=1677", "A Victory for Kids", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Patrick Toomey", "T000461", "toomey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It is unimaginable: A child is being repeatedly sexually abused, and the people the child should be able to  trust not only stand by but actually facilitate the abuse.\nAmazingly it is happening and - of all places - in our children's schools.\nAgain and again, we have seen instances  where a teacher or other school employee sexually abuses a child, other  school employees know, and instead of acting to protect the child, those  employees facilitate the abuse.\nTake Pittsburgh's Plum High School. At  least two teachers have been charged with sexually abusing students in  their care. A third teacher allegedly took it upon himself to intimidate  one of the victims in an attempt to silence her.\nOr consider the tragic case of Jeremy Bell,  12. At an elementary school in Delaware County, child after child, boys  ages 10 to 12, came forward and told the school officials how the  fifth-grade science teacher had performed sexual acts on them - and  raped at least one boy. The school, appallingly, helped the pedophile  land a new teaching job in West Virginia, sending along letters of  recommendation. That teacher continued brutalizing children, eventually  raping and murdering Jeremy Bell.\nThe vast majority of teachers would never stand by and allow a child to be hurt - much less harm a child themselves.\nBut these cases reveal a troubling mindset  that has taken hold at too many schools. When an allegation of child  sexual abuse emerges, some employees first look the other way and do not  report the abuse. Then they discourage - or intimidate - children who  want to come forward and report the abuse. Finally, when there are so  many child victims it cannot be swept under the rug, they help that  pedophile get a new job, where he'll be someone else's problem.\nIndeed, the practice of schools helping a  child molester land a job at another school is so common that it has its  own moniker-\"passing the trash.\"\nFortunately, last year, the Pennsylvania  Legislature enacted a law banning passing the trash. And Pennsylvania  has dedicated prosecutors willing to uncover the alleged wrongdoing at  schools like Plum High School.\nBut Pennsylvania legislators and  prosecutors cannot stop schools in other states from passing their  pedophile employees to Pennsylvania schools. Federal legislation is  necessary.\nThat is why I took the fight to Washington,  D.C., introducing bipartisan legislation that would ban passing the  trash nationwide. President Obama has signed into law a bipartisan  education bill that included my legislation banning this terrible  process. This legislation is a crucial step forward toward protecting  our children from child molesters.\nA study by the Government Accountability  Office found that the average pedophile working in a school victimized  73 children over a lifetime. Seventy-three. Imagine if that pedophile  was caught after the first victim instead of \"passed along\" to other  victims. How many children would be spared?\nNo child should have his or her innocence  shattered by sexual abuse. When we in Congress work together - across  party lines - we can achieve real victories to protect our children.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://toomey.senate.gov?p=news&id=1677"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6887858510017395, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}