Some acts are intolerable

Two stories that broke this week deserve to be revisited.

Our coverage of the first began after a local woman contacted us to say the man charged with 12 felony counts of sexually assault against her daughter and anther girl — Lyn Roger Christian, 50, — was being arraigned in Palmer that morning. He was later released from jail on a $100,000 corporate bond from Fred’s Bail Bonding in Anchorage.

Then Friday a second local man, Emmanuel Cancel, 30, was indicted on 45 charges, including 41 for allegedly sexually abusing three girls from 2000 to 2007.

That our children are victims of any crime is troubling. That adults — mostly men — continue to sexually assault children is something we will not tolerate.

We must take a stand as a community, a state and a nation and say loudly and with one voice that harming children who know what it is like to feel love, pain, joy and sadness is the gravest of evils.

At the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman we will work to deter these crimes by covering the stories and placing that coverage prominently on our pages. Know now that if you harm children your crimes will not remain secret. We will print your names, age, places of employment and all other details we can provide that will make it harder for you to repeat your crimes against other children.

Because that’s the pattern; people who prey on children sexually usually harm multiple children.

But more than doing all we can to hold these evildoers accountable, we’d like to shine our light on a part of these stories that usually remains in the shadows.

How much courage, strength and shear mental toughness did it take for these young girls to stand up straight and face these men, to call them out on their crimes and hold them accountable in front of a grand jury?

To these heroes in elementary school, junior high and high school we say bravo. For as much as we despise, loath, distain and will not tolerate people who sexually assault others — especially children — our pride in these girls is tenfold.

These children are quiet heroes for being brave enough, strong enough and tough enough to tell. And whether or not they knew it when they came forward, the very act of telling their stories has helped keep other children safe.

For that we thank you. It is our job as adults to keep all of our children safe. Today you’ve stepped up and given voice to crimes that even many adult women and men sometimes do not report out of shame and fear.

As a state struggling to rid itself of the unwelcoming distinction of having the highest frequency of sexual abuse, we thank you for showing us how we can end these crimes. Tell the story and end secrecy that empowers pedophiles. Good on all the children in our community, state and nation who’ve been sexually assaulted by adults — who damn sure know better — and have held those adults accountable.

These children deserve our thanks, recognition and support for fighting for what’s right when it might be easier for them just to try and forget.

Talk to your kids and listen when they talk. Sexual abuse is a crime that depends on kids keeping these crimes secret. We think all kids, all adults, should tell.

If you are a child or an adult caring these secrets, know there is no shame in your story. Know that healing is possible. Know that telling your story is powerful. Know that one may be whole in spite of their holes. Know that you are already a hero just for being brave enough to tell.

People with information about Cancel, Christian or other potential additional victims are asked to contact Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Investigator Mark Granda at 373-6367.