Sexual Child Abuse Relief and Services Inc.
About Our Founder
Sexual Child Abuse Relief and Services Inc. (S.C.A.R.S.), a non-profit organization for the prevention of sexual child abuse, was originally founded in 2006 by Paul McLaughlin, a victim of sexual child abuse himself. From the age of eleven (11) to fifteen (15) years old. For five years three men repeatedly and brutally raped him. At some point Paul repressed the memories of the abuse, his minds way of protecting him from the horrors he suffered as a child. In the summer of 1999 the memories came back. A married father of three, Paul's world was turned upside down. There was no instruction manual to follow, nothing to explain what steps he should take, who to report it to, how to help his family cope with his abuse and its effects on the family, how to pursue justice, or obtain counseling and mental health treatment. Having learned through trial and error, years of research, experiencing first hand the difficulties victims face when seeking help, and with the encouragement, support, and patience of family, friends, and a couple of very gifted attorneys S.C.A.R.S. was formed.
Originally designed as a simple online resource for victims to find the help they need and as an educational resource to educate the public and prevent sexual child abuse, it soon became apparent that victims needs and concerns . The television show "Americas Most Wanted" aired Paul's story when one of his abusers attempted to evade criminal prosecution becoming a fugitive from justice. One month later he was captured and "Americas Most Wanted" later televised his capture. Viewer response to Paul's story also played a major role in the formation of S.C.A.R.S, it became clear however after a couple of years that victims needs were more extensive than our website could provide. We decided to temporarily deactivate the S.C.A.R.S. website refocusing our efforts towards determining and reevaluate our goals
To learn more about Paul McLaughlin and the formation of S.C.A.R.S. continue reading below.
Paul McLaughlin served in the United States Army as a combat medic with the 326 Medical Battalion, 101st Airbourne Division Ft. Campbell Ky. After leaving the military he attended and graduated Executive Security International Lmtd.©, a school for executive protection services skills and training and began providing protective services to individuals, companies, and corporations. To compliment his executive protection skills Paul began working for a number private investigations firms, learning from a variety of mentors with different styles, theories and approaches. Several years later, while providing investigative services to a large Phoenix, Arizona based company, Paul observed and reported numerous security deficiencies to the company CEO and recommended the creation of an internal security department. At the request of the company CEO Paul submitted a formal proposal for the creation and management of an internal security department. The proposal was accepted and Paul became the director of security designing, creating, and implementing the new security department responsible for the development of security plans and policies, delvelopment of training program, hiring of security personnel, and their training.
In the early morning hours of August 19th,1999 several hours after a particularly heated argument with his wife, while attempting to go to sleep, Paul entered a nightmare that to his horror he knew wasn't a nightmare but in fact his reality. Like a damn bursting in his mind memories came flooding forth, sights, sounds, voices, smells, and names. Paralyzed in that place between being awake and being asleep he could not shut off the memories. Frozen in fear he was forced to relive the horrors of his past. The assault on his mind was incredible, the disgust, guilt, and shame were too much to endure, still the nightmare wouldn't release him. The cruelty of his own mind was unfathomable. Finally, after being forced to watch the most horrible and disgusting things he had ever seen, he was released. In reality however, Paul learned that his real nightmare was only just beginning.
On that terrible August morning Paul learned that from the time he was eleven years old continuing until he was fifteen he had been repeatedly and brutally sexually abused by three men. He remembered their names, their occupations, their voices, he remembered almost everything. After several months of simply trying to live with his disgust, shame, and guilt Paul began to seek justice. Putting to use the investigative skills he had acquired throughout most of his adult life he was able to locate his abusers and sought to have them criminally prosecuted. Paul's abuse occurred in four different states and in mutiple jurisdictions within those states during a five year period, he believed he could have his abusers criminally prosecuted in each of the four states he was abused in guaranteeing that they would spend the rest of their lives in prison, no longer able to hurt any other child. He was wrong.
Paul no longer lived in any of the jurisdictions where he had been sexually abused, in fact he lived on the other side of the country. By telephone he contacted law enforcement officers from each of the jurisdictions where he had been sexually abused and reported his abuse. To his total disbelief Paul was informed by every single one of them that the statute of limitations had expired, that they could not and would not be prosecuted criminally. Call after call it was the same thing, not one of them would spend a single day in prison for what they did to him. For months he tried to think of ways to have them prosecuted, he researched the criminal laws in each of those states, he researched federal laws, kidnaping laws, rape laws, everytime he hit a brick wall. Things finally took a turn for the better after he contact the States Attorneys Office in one of the states and he was advised that he might be able to pursue a civil suit against his abusers in one or more of the states he was abused in, just not that one.
Paul, in desperate need of justice, to have his abusers held accountable for what they did to him, began contacting civil attorneys in several states seeking representation. Every attorney he contacted declined to represent him and with each and every rejection he felt a little more worthless, like he was dying a little more inside. Though each rejection was like a knife in his heart he wouldn't give up, he wouldn't quit. Paul felt enormous guilt and shame for not knowing about or remembering the abuse he suffered, he believed that had he remembered or known about the abuse he would have reported it, they would have been imprisoned for what they had done. The thing that scared him most, that he felt the most guilt for, was the certainty that they were all continuing to hurt children and it was his fault because he didn't tell. No, he wouldn't quit.
In a final last ditch effort, Paul contacted a local attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. The attorney was sympathetic to his story and advised him to contact an organization called the National Center for Victims of Crime (N.C.V.C.). He contacted the N.C.V.C. and for what seemed like the millionth time he told them his story. The person he spoke with provided him with names and phone numbers of several attorneys who had experience with child sex abuse litigation. Though many of the attorneys Paul contacted declined to represent him for various reasons most of them recommended a particular attorney, one that was already on his list and that he had left a message for the day before. The attorney returned his call the following day. The attorney patiently listened to his story and advised him that only one of the states where he had been abused had a statute of limitations that hadn't expired yet. The attorney further explained that the statute would expire within a few months and my civil suit would have to be filed by then. he also explained to Paul that one of the major issues for a successful outcome would be some sort corroboration to support his accusations. As there were no witnesses to abuse he had suffered or any other evidence he was aware of, he knew there was nothing more he could do, they would get away with what they had done. The attorney said he would contact Paul in a week or two and let him know if he would be able to represent him.
Every day that passed without contact from the attorney, Paul became more desperate, fearing that no one believed him and that his abusers were going to get away with what they did to him and that they would continue hurting other children he decided there was only one thing he to do. On the afternoon of May 23, 2001 Paul took his children to his mothers house and asked her to babysit them and then returned home and contacted one of his abusers on the phone. He pretended that his memories of the three men and the abuse were good memories, Paul told him that he was gay and that he an underage lover and was seeking his advice. Throughout the conversation Paul felt as if his mind were on fire, he was filled with rage, hate, and even a little fear, but he kept the conversation going. By the end of the conversation he had gotten the abuser to admit some of the horrible acts he had committed against Paul, he acknowledged participation with the other two men in the repeated molestation of Paul and the Paul was a child at the time, and he provided Paul with the contact information for one of the other men who had abused him, but most importantly he did it all on tape!
Sometime later Paul contacted the other man and much like the first call got him to admit on tape the same things.
Paul contacted the attorney who's decision he was waiting for and advised him of the tape recorded conversations. The attorney agreed to represent him and in July of 2001 a civil action was filed against all three men. Two of the men evaded service of the suit and The third reached a settlement with Paul in 2002. Paul later learned that he had been given erroneous information on the criminal statute of limitations in one of the states where some of the molestations had occurred. Again he contacted law enforcement in that jurisdiction, this time he asked to speak with a supervisor. He told his story to the supervisor and answered the supervisors questions. The supervisor advised him that a detective would be assigned and that the would contact him within a week or two. More than a month had passed with contact from the detective or anyone else from the sheriffs department. Paul called the supervisor and inquired about the status of his report, the supervisor provided the detectives name and assured him that he would be contacted as soon as possible by the detective. Another two weeks passed without contact from the detective or the supervisor. His patience having reached its limits Paul Contacted the Sheriff directly, explaining that he was tired of being given misinformation and being ignored, within hours a detective called.
Reports were taken, interviews conducted, and indictments handed down.
