Lee County determined in preventing child abuse

DIXON – Since it opened in 2002, Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center helped 3,500 children in Lee and Ogle counties who required intervention services in the realm of abuse and violent crime.

Last year, 185 children needed the agency’s forensic interview services, which is the process in partnership with law enforcement and state social services that assists children in sharing how they were victimized in a safe and supportive environment.

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Participants in the Hands Around the Courthouse event as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month hold aloft their blue pinwheels in a sign of solidarity on Friday, April 14, 2023, at the Old Lee County Courthouse in Dixon. (Troy Taylor)

“That’s a lot of children … in our two small counties,” said Jessica Cash, executive director of Shining Star.

Cash’s comments came during an observance of National Child Prevention Month held shortly after noon on Friday at the Old Lee County Courthouse. About 50 people attended the event where they held aloft blue pinwheels as a show of support and solidarity.

Preventing abuse is an obligation we all share. It’s a moral imperative that we look at every child as if they are a citizen.”

—  Matthew Klahn, associate judge for the 15th Judicial Circuit

Many in the crowd were members of law enforcement, either wearing uniforms or plainclothes officers displaying their badges.

Since Shining Star started in 2002, the agency has helped about 3,500 children. In addition to providing a safe environment for children after traumatic events, it arranges court advocacy, community referrals, specialized medical exams, counseling and other therapeutic services, Cash said.

Shining Star’s objective is to reduce the trama of child abuse through the identification of child abuse offenders. However, holding offenders accountable, advocacy and counseling are required to help children so they can cease being victims and begin transforming into survivors.

Cash sought to emphasize that there are things responsible adults can do to promote change.

“Talk to the children that you interact with personally and professionally about body safety, how to say ‘no,’ and help them identify safe people in their life that they can talk to if things are happening,” she said.

One of the speakers was Karen Digby, who was there on behalf of the victims. She told her story of the extensive care required for her grandson Colton Fassler, who had been severely beaten and then died of his injuries nearly a year later.

“His poor little body was giving up,” Digby recalled. “They tried to save him. Our ‘Superman’ Colton was 7 years old when he died.”

In a much publicized and protracted case, stepmother Tiffany Fassler was convicted and sentenced in 2018 of aggravated battery of a child.

“Be the voice of a child,” Digby implored. “Stand up for truth and justice.”

Another speaker was 15th Circuit Court Associate Judge Matthew Klahn, who in 2018 had been the last of three prosecutors on the Fassler case.

“Preventing abuse is an obligation we all share,” Klahn said. “It’s a moral imperative that we look at every child as if they are a citizen.”

Klahn cited statistics that showed in 2020 that about 618,000 children were abused and neglected, and about 1,750 of those cases resulted in the death of a child.

However, he cautioned that, as a rule, cases of child abuse often go unreported. The actual number of incidents might well be higher.

“This is our problem,” he said. “We must accept responsibility.”

Lee County state’s attorney Charles Boostra spoke to the role of law enforcement and officers of the court to address child abuse.

“I’m proud to serve in this community that takes child abuse so seriously,” Boonstra said, asking for the community’s assistance. “If you hear something, if you see something, say something. We will support these children.”

Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center is located at 215 East First St., Dixon.

The opening paragraph was corrected on April 18, 2023, to reflect that Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center has helped 3,500 children since it was founded.