It seems as soon as McKay Allen shared the details of the probable cause documents with us, much of our focus and discussion centered on the victims. As a station, our policy is to not identify the victims of sexual assault (unless they are adults who want to tell their story).
In the case of Pamela Ortega, we went back and forth. Do we let the public know the victims were her own children, or do we just say they are “relatives”. Does that open the door to people in the community in which they live, to scrutinize cousins or nieces or nephews, etc?
Though no actual names of the victims will be in our stories, some of us felt we shouldn’t even report the relationship. Others felt we should. Her children undoubtably had friends over. Those parents need to know that their children may have been in a dangerous situation.
The discussion went on and on, so, we turned to the experts for a different perspective. I just got out of a meeting with the news director, executive producer and reporter McKay Allen. They just got off the phone with the experts at the Poynter Institute (is a school and resource for journalism). The folks there don’t tell us what to do, but, become a sounding board with much ethical and legal background knowledge.
Part of Poynter’s discussion with us focused on the age of the victims. The children are considered under the “age of reason”. That basically means that they are too young to feel the embarrassment and shame that many people feel when they’ve been victims of such crimes.
What also played a part in our decision, is that we learned that the children no longer live in the community in which the alleged crimes occured.
This story will be unfolding in the days and months ahead.. and, you’ll not only be seeing and hearing what we uncover, you’ll be learning about the help the victims will get. You’ll hear about that key phone call that saved them from further abuse.. and how the community can help potential victims, and what each and everyone of us has the responsibility to do so.
McKay Allen’s investigation:
Popularity: 2% [?]
There are no words vile or filty enough to describe my disgust for Pamela. Pamela should be knelt down, given the opportunity for one last prayer, and then put a bullet in the back of her head.
RobW
SpokaneWA
No, you didn’t have to print the relationship. You already knew her website is open and what that means.
I don’t understand what you mean.
These things happen all to frequently and more often than many think. There is a site that tries to gather all the available research on female sex offenders. The website and attached blog is http://www.female-offenders.com
It has over 400+ studies listed in APA style with most of those studies hyperlinked so anyone can go straight to them. A good number of the studies are complete studies as well. There is also various articles, statistics and more on the site that may be of interest for some.
Thank you so much!
I checked out the site. It’s very helpful.
As an adult survivor of incest, I think you made the right decision. The Truth no matter how VILE is always better than the feeling that everyone knows something bad and hidden about you that you may not fully understand. With God’s help ALL things are possible, even overcoming this type of abuse and reclaiming their own bodies and when ready as adults sharing their own bodies within the bonds of love by their own fully conscience choice. Lies, denial, coverups, half-truths, the feeling of being so dirty and shamed no one can even talk about it, having fearful memories that make no sense within the lies meant to protect are far more painful than the actual abuse. There is no doubt, what was done to them is VILE. The children had no choice and are innocent. They need to know that. They most likely don’t currently understand what they lost, how their trust and ability to be intimate by choice was so violated, but they will – and armed with the truth, they can learn to overcome even this and find joy in this life. God bless them and heal them, in Jesus’ Name.
RT..
I really appreciate your comment. I’m so sorry for what you lived through, and I am so glad you shared.
there is no such thing as god stupid. grow up.
Robyn, you know I respect you and the KXLY staff more than any other news staff in the region. But to think that at 8 years old a child is under the age of reason? I’m sorry, but I can’t disagree more. You’re a mother. Does your child, at 8 years old, know right from wtong. Is your child able to reason? Does your child know embarrassment? I don’t remember everything from when I was 8, but I can tell you that is when my family went to the Carlsbad Caverns and I can remember that vacation. If you think that an 8 year old child will be able to just get by this abuse without feeling shame or embarrassment, I think you guys are very mistaken. And putting the name of the mother out there it should be pretty easy for someone to find out the kids’ names. Even if they are out of the area, some sick human being will be able to track them down and the psychological abuse can keep happening. In the end, I have to say I strongly disagree with putting the mom’s name out there. Let the police talk with the girls friends to find out if anything happened to them. It’s not the media’s job to make the neighbors aware.
This women should not even go to prison, it is to good of an end result for her. She should be buried in a box!
Yes Brenda, but buried alive !!
Whoever said that children 8 and under do not suffer the shame has rocks in her/his head. Every child (infant on up) is shamed and traumatized by sexual abuse and rape and it haunts them everyday of their lives to the point that it is almost all they can think about. Anyone who knows of a small child that has suffered this way needs to see to it that that child receives counseling with a kind, non-threatening and experienced counselor. That is a very poor excuse for “outing” these kids. I do agree that authorities should let the children’s freinds parents know about it though.
I agree that it was appropriate in this instance to reveal that the victims were her own children, and the circumstances of the abuse. The public outrage on this one is going to be great, probably even greater than if it was their father that abused them, because this was their mother, who gave birth to them, and who is supposed to protect them, support them, love them, and nurture them. She is supposed to be the last person in the world who would do such a vile, unspeakable thing. I understand why they are keeping her in isolation, since the outrage against such a crime would put her in extreme danger if she was kept in general population. She deserves life in prison without parole for what she has done.
I appreciate all of your comments. This dialogue is important. I really wanted everyone to know that we do not take these types of decisions lightly. I, personally, agonized about it (as I know my managers did).
This story, like you wrote, Kitty, IS vile. It is heinous.
What this woman admits doing to her precious babies is unfathomable.
We will follow this case every step of the way as it works through the justice system.
You made the right choice. An eternity in hell isn’t enough for this woman.
History has shown that some abused people go on to become the abuser. It’s a cycle. So Yes, its very sad, but I don’t think she should die for what she did. She was wrong, yes, but I can’t pass any judgment on her. Anyone can have children, but not everyone can be a parent.
You’re a saint, Kevin.
i to was a sexual abuse victim at the age of 8 till i was 11 it never goes away never even knowing its not your fault it will always effect some aspects of your life my heart breaks for them & they are in my prayers . shame on you kevin to even imply that the reason this happened was that she may have been molested & how can you not pass judgement on her ! she is a monster who has ruined innocent childrens lives who she was suppose to love & protect not only her own but a 2 week old baby ! i am passing judgement may justice prevail & also may she rot in hell!
It is a possibility that she, at some point, has been a victim, but I agree its not fair to HER victims, her own children, for it to be assumed that she was not at fault for this because of something that may or may not have happened in her past. In my, perhaps, flawed understanding of human nature, there are some people who are just bad eggs. Whether they are made that way or born that way doesn’t change what they are and if they’re a danger to the people around them, then they should be treated accordingly.
I just can’t put into words how absurd it is to assume that an eight year old wouldn’t be embarassed by something like this. At least they are out of their old neighborhood. I can understand using the relationship to heighten public outrage for the crime, but man… at what cost? Her picture is up, she’ll go to prison, probably find Jeebus, and she’ll have to register as a sex offender. In Missouri, on the sex offender registry website, it shows a picture of the perv, their address, a vague and very general description of the crime, and the age of the victim. That would be adequate to provoke outrage, in my opinion. Its bad enough people will know that this thing is their mother, but that they were the ones abused, as well. I just don’t know. I can see why it was such an agonizing decision… I’m glad, as a reader, that this explanation was posted, because about 3/4 of the way through the article, I was shaking my head thinking, “What are these people thinking??” ><
I think it was the right decision to report the relationship between the abused and the abuser- it reminds people that women can be abusers, and not to ignore signs of possible sexual abuse just because the suspect is a woman.
On a side note I would like to say that this woman doesn’t deserve the fair and just treatment she is going to get, but God knows her heart and He will see eternal justice for these children.
Thanks Robyn for your great reporting, even the tough stories get your classy treatment- my family loves you (especially my 10 year old, also named Robyn!)
True that these kids are under the age to be embarrassed, but they won’t always be… And the Internet is *forever*… Later, some kid in school will Google their name, or a potential date will, and this terrible past will return again and again to haunt them endlessly. It was wrong to publish this as you did – the damage will come not now but in the years to come.
Thank you for reporting of this heinous crime. The only disagreement I have is with the statement The children are considered under the “age of reason”. I have personal experience with belated grief something a 12 year old started to display due to his father’s death at age 3. However I commend you and sympathize with you because this was a hard decision. This crime had to be made public.Thank you again for your coverage and for your in depth investigating.
Thank you all for the continued comments and conversation. It’s good for us, as a newsroom, to keep it going.
As reporters, you sometimes just treat things like this as a “story”. That makes it easier to deal with heinous crimes and all the gorey details. In the same respect, we can’t lose sight of the victims and the impact on them.
Thanks again!
I am a victim of a sadistically abusive mother, and I want to commend you on your decision to publish the name of the abuser, and the relationship to her victims.
At 50 years of age I’ve lived my entire life in hiding and shame due to lack of support services for survivors of female perpetrated abuse. This is primarily because no-one in the public realm seems to be able to “believe” that women can seriouly harm children and thus provide services for victims, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Not providing names and relationships keeps this “vague” enough for everyone to continue to turn a blind eye. Making it personal and verifiable illustrates that this is a REAL problem, that happens to REAL people in REAL communities. I’m working my way up to summoning up enough courage to “out” myself so that I don’t have to keep a large part of my life hidden. Articles like this are so helpful in removing the public blinders, and are helpful to me.
Because of this article, parents of two-week olds will be alerted to the fact that a baby-sitter isn’t above suspicion just because of her gender.
The children will benefit greatly by having their abuse validated, and by not having their situation minimized. They’re free as adults, as I did, to change their names in order to shield themselves if they so choose, but Ortega is a common enough name that odds are low that they will be “outed” unless they choose to. But if they choose to speak openly about it validation for their story is on the public record – as it should be.
Most importantly, I hope that they’ll be provided with the services they need to heal, and that they’ll be adopted into new families who will give them the love and care they should have had all along.
Jane,
Thank you so much for sharing your incredible story.
THERE A SOLUTION FOR MOLESTERS
HANG THEM , THEN U DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT REOFFENDERS