Criticism grows on lack of response

House leaders blamed for ignoring child threat

2 Oct 2006 // Alarm bells should have gone off among House leaders immediately upon learning that Rep. Mark Foley's e-mail messages caused discomfort to a 16-year-old former page, according to child welfare advocates, who said criminal authorities should have been notified earlier.

Criticism from outside Congress grew Sunday after Republican leaders, including Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds of Clarence, acknowledged they knew about Foley's e-mail months before the Florida congressman resigned his seat Friday.

Child welfare advocates said the e-mail to the Louisiana teenager was cause for alarm, even though it was not sexually explicit.

In the e-mail, Foley requested the page's photograph and inquired about what the boy wanted for his birthday.

Reynolds said he knew in the spring that the page complained last fall about the e-mail, although he denied knowing the exact content of the e-mail. He and other House leaders defended their actions by arguing that the boy's parents did not want to pursue the matter further.

But critics described the lack of response as unacceptable, especially given the possibility that other children could have been endangered.

"This is something that should have been referred to the district attorney's office immediately," said Sharon Sisti, a clinical social worker and assistant professor of human services at Hilbert College. "Our responsibility as a society is to protect all kids, not just one."

Dr. Timothy M. Osberg, a psychologist and professor of psychology at Niagara University, said he viewed the situation as similar to that of reporters who are required by law to report evidence of child abuse.

The e-mail, he said, coupled with the boy's reaction to it, "should send up red flags."

And "there's a call to action" for an adult who becomes aware of the situation, he added.

Although not overtly sexual, the e-mail echoed the manner in which many sexual predators try to gain the confidence and friendship of a targeted victim, child welfare advocates said.

"It's a way for the perpetrator to test the waters," Sisti said. "Even if there isn't enough to warrant any kind of legal steps, certainly it may fall within the realm of ethics violations."

Foley, who had served as co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and championed legislation aimed at fighting sexual predators of children, had an exchange of "instant messages" online with another teen-aged page three years ago that included sexually graphic language.

House leaders said they were unaware of those messages until ABC News first reported them Friday.

But Foley's e-mail last year alone was enough for House leaders to relay the matter to authorities, said Melanie Sloan, a former prosecutor of sex crimes against children and the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

"That nobody thought to go anywhere to protect kids or discipline Foley is shocking," Sloan said. "Anybody who knew should have done something."

Sloan's organization, which identifies itself as a progressive legal watchdog group, joined with several other Washington-based reform groups in calling for an independent investigation.

"We certainly feel when leadership is implicated - in this case, on many levels - in order to have any credible investigation, it's got to be by outside counsel," said Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for Common Cause. Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer also issued a statement Sunday calling on the House Ethics Committee to appoint an independent counsel.

Several Washington reform groups have been pushing, without success, for the creation of an outside panel to address ethics complaints in Congress.

Last March, the Senate voted down a bipartisan proposal to establish an office of public integrity.

The latest scandal is another example in a growing list of ethics lapses in a Congress that is uninterested in addressing them, reform groups say.

"There is this culture that members of Congress can get away with anything with no repercussions," Boyle said, mentioning previous scandals involving former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and legislators linked to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "The way they've dealt with it is they've tried to ignore it."

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News Washington Bureau Chief Douglas Turner contributed to this report.