NEW NERSEY
NJ.com

By Mai Fernandez

Imagine living in a state ranked in the bottom half of the country in protecting victims of child sexual abuse and letting molesters off the hook. Believe it or not, if New Jersey is your home, you live in such a state, according to an analysis of all 50 states by SOL-Reform.com. This doesn’t have to be the case. New Jersey should be leading the charge on this issue.

According to data from the Crimes Against Children Research Center, one in five girls and one in 20 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. In more than half those cases, the child was abused by a trusted person, such as a family member, an athletic coach or a scoutmaster. Despite the prevalence, up to 90 percent of the cases are never reported.

It often takes years or even decades for victims…