Ad Alaya Rahm -
Date: 12-05-04
From: Information forwarded by editors exbaba.com
Misguided devotees of Sai Baba are appearing on the Internet in a bid to defend their
guru of the allegations pertaining to sexual abuse and other issues. The issue
of Alaya Rahm, which has
been the subject of three media interviews, is the subject of their
disinformation of how this is an invalid case on account of Alaya’s
status as an adult at the time of his abuse.
In short, the age of consent for
sexual relations in Arkansas, where Alaya Rahm resides, is 16 and
thus he cannot claim to have been abused as a child since the abuse took place
when was 16.
Where they got this information from is unknown since an online copy of the Arkansas Code states quite clearly that a person under 18 is considered a minor:
16-56-130. Civil
actions based on sexual abuse.
(a) Notwithstanding any other statute of
limitations or any other provision of law that can be construed to reduce the
statutory period set forth in this section, any civil action based on sexual
abuse which occurred when the injured person was a minor, but is not discovered
until after the injured person reaches the age of majority, shall be brought
within three (3) years from the time of discovery of the sexual abuse by the
injured party.
(b) (1) A claim based on an assertion of more
than one (1) act of sexual abuse is not limited to the injured party's first
discovery of the relationship between any one (1) of those acts and the injury
or condition, but may be based on the injured party's discovery of the effect
of the series of acts.
(2) It is not necessary for the injured party to establish which
act in a series of acts of childhood sexual abuse caused the injury or
condition that is the subject of the lawsuit.
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Childhood sexual abuse" means sexual abuse which
occurred when the injured person was a minor;
(2) "Minor" means a person of less than eighteen (18)
years of age; and
(3) "Time of discovery" means when the injured party
discovers the effect of the injury or condition attributable to the childhood
sexual abuse.
History. Acts 1993, No. 370, § 1.
From the above it can be seen
clearly that Section C1 allows the case of Alaya Rahm to count as "childhood sexual abuse" on
account of Section C2.
Further information from the
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (NCCANCH) website
provides the following:
'Sexual
abuse'
means:
·
By a person 10 years of age or older to a person
younger than 18 years of age: Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or
sexual contact by forcible compulsion; attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual
activity, or sexual contact; indecent exposure; or forcing, permitting or
encouraging the watching of pornography or live sexual activity;
·
Between a person 18 years of age or older and a person
not his spouse who is younger than 16 years of age, or between a person younger
than 18 years of age and a sibling or caretaker, sexual intercourse, deviate
sexual activity, or sexual contact or solicitation; or attempted sexual
intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact.
There is
also a section on 'severe maltreatment':
There is
also a section on 'severe maltreatment':
'Severe
maltreatment' means sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, acts or omissions which may or
do result in death, abuse involving the use of a deadly weapon as defined by
law, bone fracture, internal injuries, burns, immersions, suffocation,
abandonment, medical diagnosis of failure to thrive, or causing a substantial
and observable change in the behavior or demeanor of the child.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/ and http://www.fairness.com/resources/relation?relation_id=35843
The NCCANCH is a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for
Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Sai Baba is certainly guilty of the last criterion for severe maltreatment
as the Rahm family's statements showed in the recent
‘The Secret Swami’ documentary that was produced by the BBC:
Tanya Datta: For the Rahm family the tragedy was coming to a head. Alaya’s parents were noticing changes in their son.
Marisa Rahm: He wasn’t looking happy even in
Al Rahm:
We were concerned about Alaya’s behaviour and
the way he was acting and so we decided we were going to confront him.
Well, to my surprise when Alaya said ok and he
started to tell the story, it was so much more than I knew anything about. And
that in fact he had been forced, sexually forced and abused by Sai Baba in almost every single interview he had ever been
in. [10.34.47-10.35.53]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/this_world/transcripts/secret_swami17_06_04.txt