HARRISBURG, Oct. 21, 2013 — State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams issued the following statement today about the significance of the death of the Fayette County, W. Va., father whose son became the tragic victim of teacher sexual abuse:
“I was deeply saddened by news of the passing of Roy Edward Bell. His son, Jeremy, has been a constant reminder as to why the work we’re engaged in now is important. Jeremy fell victim to a school-based predator – one who groomed, abused, and ultimately murdered him. It was a visceral example of why a proactive measure to curb this behavior is so urgently needed.
“Roy spent his remaining days seeking justice; not just for his son, but for all children and families so brutalized and victimized. He supported Senate Bill 46, the “Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation Act,” and even drove from his home in West Virginia to stand by my side last spring to express what a bill like this could have meant for him and his family, had it been law in 1997.
“In his memory, in the memory of his son, and for all the unnamed survivors of such crimes, it is my hope that we can finally end the practice of ‘passing the trash’ in Pennsylvania, and across this nation.”
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