Alleged abuse victim lobbies for change

For nearly three decades, Amy Davis says she suffered in silence, hiding the shame of two years of serial sex abuse by a trusted junior high teacher.

The 40-year-old woman broke her silence Wednesday, buoyed by an Associated Press investigation into sexual misconduct by teachers and subsequent calls for reform by a Missouri lawmaker.

"I'm on a mission now," Davis said at a news conference convened by state Rep. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield. "I realized I could not remain quiet any longer."

Cunningham announced legislative hearings and proposed changes to Missouri's disciplinary system in cases of teacher sexual misconduct.

With her mother, brother and 10-year-old son at her side, Davis described how, as an awkward and lonely 12-year-old she had sex multiple times over two years with a teacher for whom she baby sat. When Davis tried to break free soon after her 14th birthday, she said, the man violently forced himself on her.

Twenty-six years later, her assailant continues to teach in southeast Missouri, Davis said.

The Associated Press does not normally identify victims of sexual abuse, but in this case Davis agreed to have her named released. The AP is not identifying the teacher because no criminal charges or civil complaints have been filed.

The teacher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For Cunningham, chairwoman of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, accounts like the one shared by Davis point to the need for change.

Davis said she lodged complaints with Randolph County investigators and the teacher's subsequent employer seven or eight years after the abuse but that nothing was done. Randolph County prosecutor Mike Fusselman said he is looking at reopening the case after Davis' recent disclosure. Fusselman was not the prosecutor when she made her earlier report.

In a seven-month investigation that concluded last month, the AP found sexual misconduct allegations led states to take action against the licenses of 2,570 educators from 2001 through 2005. There are about 3 million public school teachers in the United States.

Davis said she was inspired to step forward after reading the AP's stories on teacher sex abuse.

Cunningham plans to file a teacher misconduct bill on Dec. 1, the first day possible to introduce legislation for the 2008 session, and hold a pair of hearings on Jan. 16 and Jan. 23.

While the bill's specifics remain uncertain, Cunningham said it will likely tighten background checks of prospective teachers and annual background checks of licensed teachers. It may also seek to expand local school districts' obligation to report abuse, and to remove the statute of limitations for bringing charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.

"It is wrong to call sex between an adult and a child consensual, or casual," Cunningham said. "It is rape."