Mothers are even able to convince their children to refuse to cooperate with investigators, or even recant the allegations. There is no way to tell how many sex-abuse cases are remaining a secret because of the silence of the mother. It's a devastating experience for a child because they're not only being abused, they're being abandoned,'' said Chicago therapist Nina Corwin, who counsels adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. A woman's loyalty to her mate may even lead her to choose to live with him rather than her children. When faced with a court order requiring a removal of the suspect from the home, roughly 10 percent of mothers choose to surrender their children to foster care rather than kick their men out of the house, estimates Darcy Cole, a caseworker for the Utah Division of Children and Family Services.
Some mothers disown their partners on the spot when they learn their children have been abused.
If 15 percent of mothers are impeding police investigations, Corwin said, then an overwhelming 85 percent are doing the right thing. The teen-ager originally was placed in Shaw's home because her guardian was unable to care for her and the girl is related to Shaw's wife. According to Brown, the decision to let the girl live with Shaw was based on his recent history and professional expert reports. Krueger was shocked when the man turned up in a registry of sex offenders. He was later arrested on child molestation charges and sentenced to six years behind bars.