Mental Health Worker Fired for Reporting Child Porn; When ‘Ethical’ and ‘Right’ Conflict

COMMENTARY | It appears that there are two possibilities when it comes to reporting the exploitation of children. You can try to cover it up and ignore it and suffer the consequences, as appears to be the case with the former defensive coordinator for former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and the other members of the Nittany Lions football staff; or you can report it and suffer the consequences, which is what happened to a mental health worker in Missoula, Montana.

An employee of the Three Rivers Mental Health Solutions allegedly found what she believed was child pornography on a computer used by a client of the facility. According to the Missoulian, she brought her concerns to her supervisors – including the information that the client babysat two young girls – but the supervisors, citing confidentiality laws, told her that she could not report the suspected abuse as she did not have specific information regarding victims. Said the director of Three Rivers, Shea Hennelly: “In the past, this gentleman babysat kids and we were able to identify the mother and were able to carry out our duty to warn.”

The heart-stopping, caviler sentiment of that attitude aside, certain conditions must be met to breech confidentiality. The employee reported her findings anyway, and John Gribble was arrested for abuse of a child after police allegedly found a DVD depicting nude children in his house, reports the Missoulian.

This case differs significantly from the Penn State situation in that the failure to report the alleged abuse there appears to stem from the desire to protect the football program. Here, there are actual laws and, ironically, codes of ethics that cover what information must be reported and what information cannot, as Hennelly explains. Adding another layer to this story is the fact that mental health workers are generally mandatory child abuse reporters; in other words, they are legally obligated to report suspected child abuse and/or neglect to authorities.

With the facts available in the media reports, it would be difficult to determine who was fulfilling their professional obligations in this situation. One could even argue that the fear of a therapist reporting such findings to police could make people with the inclination to sexually exploit children less likely to seek help. On the other hand, it sounds like the employee did not report information gleaned through a therapeutic session; rather she found information on a computer after it had been used.

But here’s the crux of matter, the tiny kernel of truth at its very heart. That former employee knows that the action she took, regardless of the personal and professional consequences, may have ended the possible abuse of at least two girls of whom she was aware. In a murky world where the “ethical” thing to do and the “right” thing to do lie in opposition, she made a choice.

Consequences or no consequences, job or no job, it’s likely the choice that will let her sleep tonight.


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