Aghast with Horror, Sickened Beyond Belief

As posted on Bay News 9

The St. Petersburg Police Department is looking for a man who allegedly grabbed an 8-year-old girl early Wednesday afternoon.The girl's mother had brought her and her 7-year-old brother to play at Central Oaks Park. St. Petersburg Police spokesman Bill Proffit said the children's mother remembered she had left the stove on. She ran home and the children stayed to play. Almost immediately, the children noticed a stranger so they started home. "Before they could leave the park, the man came up from behind, grabbed her in a bear hug, pushed her down and got on her," Proffit said. The boy ran home to get his mother. Meanwhile, Aaron Chambliss, who was nearby, saw what was happening and rushed to help. "He saw me coming to her rescue and he proceeded to get up and run, but in a split second he changed his mind and jumped back on her before she could get up," Chambliss said. "And that's when I hit full sprint. I was going to catch him. I was going to do something about it." A female motorist also saw what was happening and honked her horn in an attempt to get the suspect off the girl."They saw and instantly perceived that a crime was being committed," Proffitt said. "There was no doubt in their minds and they took action immediately. The blaring of the horn and the running over here actually stopped the man from continuing what he was doing."

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No more innocent days for children................. they are long gone. I remember my mother getting fed up with our childish antics and would throw bagged lunches at me and my brother and tell us to get out and not to come home until dinner time. We would promptly go next door and gather up Kevin and Lisa and head out to wherever our feet took us. Sometimes it was deep into the woods and rock hills 2 miles down the road or it could be 2 miles the other direction to the pond. Adventures awaited and we were out to conquer the world. How sad is it that children can no longer know this sense of absolute freedom. No parents around and our imaginations free to run. No one telling you not to climb the cliff, don't swing on that branch, don't get wet, don't throw that, don't pick that up........... Those hours were the best! We were free to do as we pleased and to be what we wanted. The only thing that limited us, was ourselves. Childhood days were glorious.............. not a care in the world.

Why have we allowed sickos and pervs to steal this from our children. I can't even imagine raising a child in this day and age. When Peter was growing up, by 8 he was able to wander the neighborhood with his friends, 1 block over and 3 blocks down, if you went inside a friends house you called me to let me know. I had wished that my son could have experienced a neighborhood like mine....not the cement playgrounds we had come to live in. That was 11 years ago........ and he is a boy....... but even today boys are just as much at risk. Why can't we teach criminals that want to prey on our children that this won't be tolerated. Why can't we maim them, castrate them, brand them with a "P" or just kill them?

Why can't we take back what belongs to our children......... innocence, imagination, and fun, all with no cares, and no worries.

How sad that children can't experience childhood the way we did. It makes me cry.