Lawson Lamar, running for re-election for the position of Orange-Osceola County State Attorney said, while a lot had been accomplished over his 23 years in office, he is still troubled by the continued low level of reporting of child abuse, by the public.
Speaking exclusively in a wide-ranging interview Thursday with West Orlando News Online, Lamar said, although his office has worked hard, the “reporting of child abuse is abysmally low.” He did hope the significant media spotlight surrounding the murder of Caylee Anthony would have led to an increase in the number of calls to the secret hotline, but this hasn’t happened.
Lamar added that, in almost all cases, neighbors, family members and other people in the community knew that the child was in danger and being abused, but didn’t report it.
“Almost every single child murder that we are prosecuting right now could have been prevented, if some citizen had had the courage to be involved,” he said. “…That is a sad fact about our society.”
Lamar, who will face former prosecutor Jeff Ashton, in an open primary on August 14, lists among his accomplishments, the 50 percent reduction in crime in Orange-Osceola County, the drop in juvenile gun crimes by almost two-thirds, robust prosecution of sex crimes and domestic violence offenders, and closure of internet casinos and pill mills.
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