1983: Parents of Jerry Sidell Victims Organize Support Group
Original publication: December 9, 1983. Original headline: “Parents of molested boys starting group.” Byline: John Brady.
Content note: This archival report discusses child sexual abuse. Some passages describe alleged abuse and its effects on victims.
Editorial transcription note: Newspaper wording is preserved as closely as legible; line-break hyphenation and paragraph layout are normalized. Square brackets identify unreadable print, not original article words.
From the archive
Original newspaper headline: Parents of molested boys starting group
The parents of two boys who were molested by a former youth minister in Jonesboro said Thursday they are forming a support group to aid other parents who find themselves in similar situations.
Larry and Betty Martin said they are organizing a local chapter of Society’s League Against Molestors, a California-based organization. The group will try to aid parents of children who have been molested and lobby for stiffer sentences for people convicted of molesting children.
The Clayton Department of Family and Children Services cited two national studies, showing that between 10 percent and 25 percent of all children would be sexually approached by an adult before age 18.
The Martins’ two sons, then 11 and 12, were repeatedly molested by Jerry A. Sidell, former youth minister of the First Christian Church of Jonesboro, Mrs. Martin said.
Sidell was sentenced Wednesday to five concurrent 10-year sentences in Clayton County Superior Court on four charges of child molestation and one charge of enticing a minor to commit indecent acts during a period from February 1982 through May 1983. Sidell pleaded guilty to the charges last September.
He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years probation on an enticement charge in Carroll County.
“I don’t want revenge. I just feel like child molesting has become outlandishly unbelievable in this United States of America,” Mrs. Martin said.
“Until the laws get stiffer, I don’t think that this is going to stop. And until parents learn to be educated and know what child molesting is all about, it is not going to stop,” she said.
The Martins said many parents are reluctant to report child molesting because of the stress on children who must testify in court.
“Children can be videoed now — that’s what we have video equipment for — instead of putting them through the trauma of an open courtroom. I guess our main goal is to change the laws to protect the children. That’s why so many (incidents of molestation) are never reported,” Mrs. Martin said.
Both of the Martins’ sons have been in therapy since the incidents occurred, and the emotional scars are beginning to heal, said Larry Martin.
“Since the sentencing in Carroll County, and the sentencing in Clayton County, they’re beginning to stabilize pretty much, at least in therapy,” Martin said.
“They’re both trying very hard to just carry on normal lives,” Martin said.
The younger boy has gone out for football and wrestling, Martin said.
The older boy is helping to counsel other youths who have been molested, Martin said.
Source attribution: Historical Atlanta newspaper clipping, December 9, 1983; article by John Brady; supplied through the Atlanta Journal-Constitution archival research collection. Original newspaper edition not independently confirmed from these cropped scans. Transcription prepared from provided microfilm reproductions; newspaper text and images remain the property of their respective rights holders.
