By Judith Roberts, publisher of LPJ
On Friday, Sept. 17, it was brought to my attention that a story had broken about a lawsuit filed against Cedar Creek School that contained allegations ranging from bullying to multiple sexual assaults of a minor. The charges are absolutely heartbreaking and are difficult to read and comprehend.
In light of the information available, I have chosen not to run this specific story at this time for three reasons that I would like to share with you.
First and foremost, this story involves more than half a dozen minors and allegations of horrific acts of sexual assault. Other outlets have published the names of the parents of the minors involved in this lawsuit. Under good conscience, I have chosen not to currently run a story on this lawsuit so as to not bring more harm to minors involved in this story.
Second and less importantly, we do not have enough information to run an accurate story. My goal for The Lincoln Parish Journal is to provide accurate, trustworthy information that can be reported and read with integrity, and I will not run something with the goal of ever being “first” at the risk of inaccuracy. And in this case, to simply react and write something for the sake of publishing a story could only further the possibility of harming minors in this story. I will not do that under any circumstances.
Lastly, and this is the least important point, the LPJ has nothing new to offer that cannot already be easily accessed at this point online or in print. Should further information be made available to us, we will publish only after a rigorous fact-checking process or only if we obtain any certified copies of court reports and documents. We will not post any documents we collect secondhand through social media or via text.
On a personal note, my heart breaks at any abuse that any child endures under any circumstances. My hope is that we can do our collective part to make sure all children can thrive in a society that can be built to provide safe environments. In light of this, we are planning to write multiple stories in the LPJ that will connect you with resources on what you can do if you or a loved one is a victim of abuse.
Thank you for your time in reading this.
