Pioneering Protection: Trio of Child Advocates Host Open Discussion with State Rep. Aaron Bernstine to Push Legislature for PA Central Registry
By Emily Wright
RENOVO— In 2007, three passionate women formed friendships through a non-profit organization devoted to reforming child abuse and neglect. They’ve since joined forces and are advocating for a Bill to establish the Pennsylvania Central Registry, an online user-friendly public portal. Similar to Megan’s Law, this registry would enable the public to search for and view background information on individuals who have been convicted of child abuse.
Donna Kshir of Renovo, Lee Roberts, a Florida native who visits Clinton County several times a year, and Laurie Smith, a Canadian-American, held an open discussion online with PA State Representative Aaron Bernstine on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, to discuss how they can make their vision for the PA Central Registry a reality.
Donna Kshir is a child and animal rights activist, author, and radio personality. Lee Roberts is an author, child/animal rights activist, radio personality, and volunteer peer support specialist who formerly worked as a protection officer. Laurie Smith is a Canadian-American author and public speaker who resided in the U.S. for the first 30 years of her life but now lives in Canada.
When The Record asked how the three women collaborate and work toward seeing the Central Registry come to fruition despite the distance between them, Kshir said, “Thanks to the convenience of the internet, it is easy for us to spend time together or work together doing podcasts, writing books and videos, and providing educational tools to create public awareness for child abuse. However, we do travel together frequently, attending speaking engagements, book signings, and film festivals.”
Kshir, Roberts, Smith, and State Rep. Aaron Bernstein delved into the importance of creating the Pennsylvania Central Registry, which would protect children by tracking child abusers and providing crucial information to parents and guardians to safeguard vulnerable children.
For over nine years, Kshir and Roberts have been advocating for legislation to create the PA Central Registry. With the support of Rep. Bernstine, they are optimistic that a Bill will soon be passed into law, enabling them to start the process.
Bernstine represents the 8th Legislative District in the PA House of Representatives and is the parent of three children, two of whom he and his wife adopted. As a parent himself, the idea of implementing the Central Registry resonated with Bernstine, who emphasized the importance of awareness and the need for a registry similar to Megan’s Law during the open discussion.
Bernstine became involved with the initiative after receiving an email from Kshir about the registry. With children of his own and a passion for protecting and advocating for children, Kshir’s email caught Bernstine’s eye. When Bernstine read Kshir’s email about the PA Central Registry, his initial thought was, “Why isn’t this already in existence?” He then considered what could be done to make our Commonwealth a safer place for children. Recounting his thought process upon reading Kshir’s email, Bernstine said he questioned, “What are the things that we can do to make sure that parents, guardians, grandparents, and neighbors are aware of who is living near them that may intend to do their children harm?”
Bernstine pointed out that Pennsylvanians have access to Megan’s Law because its purpose is to spread awareness, and the same will be true for the PA Central Registry. “It’s for awareness. It’s not for punitive purposes, but for awareness,” he emphasized during the discussion.
Bernstine stressed that the Central Registry would be specific to individuals who have committed violent crimes against children that aren’t sexual in nature since those cases are already covered under Megan’s Law. He added that having Megan’s Law already established in Pennsylvania will be beneficial when it comes to getting legislation passed for the PA Central Registry. “It would literally be the exact same thing, except a different database would be used,” he said.
“I think it’s very, very important that people know who their kids are around. I think it’s important, especially in today’s day and age, that we see who our kids are associating with. Nobody protects your child better than you, and this will provide the opportunity to do just that,” Bernstein said.
Kshir spoke about what prompted her to begin advocating for the PA Central Registry. She shared that she used her experience as an educator and children’s rights activist to advocate for Conner’s Law in the state of Kentucky alongside Mashanna Bachuss-Waggoner, Conner’s mother. The pair set out to seek justice for Conner, a Kentucky-born toddler who was just two years old when he was brutally tortured and killed by Mashanna’s then-boyfriend.
Conner’s life was tragically taken by Ronald Saunders II, who was subsequently sentenced to a five-year prison sentence for the crime. Kshir and Bachuss fought for a harsher sentence, however, Saunders was released after just five and a half years. Within about one month of his release from prison, Saunders abused another child, this time a 15-month-old girl. Perhaps one of the most disturbing elements of the second crime was that the child’s mother was completely unaware of Saunders’ violent past and convictions.
After Conner’s Law was enacted into Kentucky law, Kshir began to receive phone calls from reporters asking for her insight. One day, she got a call that she suspected was another reporter; however, it turned out to be an individual who wanted to notify her that Saunders had been released from prison. Despite finding herself in a state of disbelief upon hearing the news, it was then that Kshir came up with the idea for the PA Central Registry.
During the discussion, Kshir recounted her initial thoughts upon hearing about Saunders’ release. “They have Megan’s Law. Why couldn’t we make a website and have people who are convicted of child abuse on that website?” she questioned. “After talking with Mashanna and then the second child’s mother, if they would have known that he had a violent past, dating clear back to the military, neither one of them would have ever gotten involved with him. Conner would be alive, and this little girl would not be scarred for life,” she said. “Then I really just started researching and grabbing the data. The statistics were unreal— the amount of children that were abused by a reoccurring offender, and it just basically started off of Connor’s law.”
Kshir told The Record that as she began researching the data and statistics surrounding individuals who have been convicted of child abuse or fatal child abuse, she discovered that there was a registry already in existence, however it is maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police and isn’t available to the public. “It was then [that] I began speaking with various groups, organizations, state representatives, senators, congressmen, and anyone who would listen in an attempt to gain support to open the Pennsylvania Central Registry,” she said.
Bernstine spoke about a similar proposed piece of legislation in Pennsylvania known as Markie’s Law. Markie’s Law is named after an 8-year-old boy named Markie Mason Jr., who was tragically murdered by a violent offender who had been released on parole. The goal of Markie’s Law is to protect the public and prevent similar tragedies by ensuring that violent offenders serve a longer sentence and are not eligible for early release on parole if they commit violent acts while incarcerated.
“Markie Mason was murdered by an absolute animal who was in prison. He then got out of prison on his earliest parole date, but while in prison, he had several violent offenses against him,” Bernstine explained. “He was literally convicted of these offenses while in prison and then got out his earliest release date, and a few months later, murdered Markie Mason,” Bernstine said.
The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives and the PA State Senate; however, former governor Tom Wolf vetoed it. “We’re not done with that, and we’re not done protecting our community from violent predators,” Bernstine asserted. “It’s something that I’ve been working on, truly since I’ve been in elected office, and it’s something that I’ll continue to work on.”
Getting a Bill passed and implementing the PA Central Registry is not without its challenges. Bernstine pointed out concerns that his constituents have raised, such as false accusations potentially being made against innocent parents. “You have to put things in the law that are done in a manner that ensures we’re not harming good parents from bad government,” he emphasized.
During the discussion, Roberts emphasized the critical need to implement the registry to prevent similar crimes from happening in the future. She emphasized that if the parents of the three young children had access to a user-friendly database to check for any history of violent crimes against children, it’s likely that none of them would have been harmed. “Being able to give another level of protection or information that parents need is critical,” she said.
Roberts spoke about some of the challenges the group has faced as they’ve worked towards spreading awareness and gaining support from legislators. “It’s been a long time coming to this point here today. Donna and I began this in 2015, and it’s hit a lot of brick walls, no answers, and many offers for support, but nothing further from there,” she said. “It makes me think, ‘How important is a child’s life? Are they not important?’ They’re absolutely priceless, and we’ve got to do everything we can to help protect them.”
Bernstine emphasized the importance of parents and guardians knowing who their children are associating with. He stated that this registry would allow them to be aware of any individuals with a violent background living nearby, potentially posing a threat to children. He highlighted that the information included in the registry wouldn’t be any different than what the public already has available if they dive deep enough online. “We have access to this data; it’s just not as easy to find, so we want to make it easier for people,” he explained. “What we’re trying to do is make [background information] easier for folks to see and to be able to do that through the use of a search engine.”
For now, Bernstine urges parents to research the background of anyone who will be around their children using the online resources we currently have available. “I think it’s important to see that even with simple Google searches, we’re able to find things. Always take extra precautions as it deals with who is around your children. I think that’s imperative,” he stressed.
Adding to Bernstine’s thoughts, Kshir expressed her feeling that not all cases of child abuse make headlines unless they’re high-profile cases, making it more difficult to search for background information on an individual. “I know about the Unified Justice System, and I know people can look it up, but if we have someone come into our community from out of the area that we don’t know, or someone from a different community inside Pennsylvania that has committed a violent crime against a child, we’re not going to know exactly where to look,” she said. “Even if you look up Ron Saunders today, you’re only going to find two or three news articles about him because after a while they kind of go away. So, really, this is a vital tool, and I think if we teach people how to use it, it can really make a difference.”
As the Pennsylvania Central Registry proposal advances through legislative channels, the participants underscored the importance of continued advocacy and public awareness. Bernstine referred to the next steps of the process as a “multi-point approach” which includes:
– Spreading awareness about the PA Central Registry
– Getting the Bill passed into law
– Notifying the public of the PA Central Registry’s availability through advertisements
“People need to know the tool is available and know how to use the tool. It needs to be intuitive, just like Megan’s Law is, and it will be,” Bernstine said. “Those are the things we will work collectively toward to achieve our ultimate goal.”
The discussion concluded with a call to action, urging community members and advocates to continue their efforts in spreading awareness and supporting the legislation. “People do need to use it once we have it, and the key is creating a greater awareness about that,” Roberts emphasized. “We need to do everything we can because [children] cannot speak for themselves. They have a voice, but nobody hears them, and that’s why as adults, we need to be their voice.”
Adding to Roberts’ statements, Kshir mentioned some alarming statistics. “Fifty percent of people who abuse will re-offend or re-abuse again. For every case of child abuse reported, one will go unreported, and there are 3.6 million cases of child abuse reported in the United States each year,” she stressed. “So kids don’t have a chance, and I want to give them that chance, and that was the whole reason behind this idea.”
Bernstine concluded with a resolute message: “Nothing is achieved individually; it’s about a team effort. This will be a team effort of advocates, a team effort of legislators, and a team effort of the public to get the things done that we need to do to make our community a safer place for kids across this Commonwealth.”
Establishing the Pennsylvania Central Registry will mark a pivotal step toward ensuring the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our society. Until the Registry is up and running, the group encourages the community to stay informed and support their ongoing efforts to protect children across the Commonwealth.
To listen to the open discussion with PA State Rep. Aaron Bernstine and learn more about the Pennsylvania Central Registry, check out Donna’s podcast “The Daily with Donna Kshir” by visiting https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-daily-with-donna-kshir-120505649/.
To listen to the co-hosted podcast “Real Talk on AU4H Radio (Advocates United for Healing)”, where Donna and Lee discuss social issues including women’s health, animal welfare, invisible disabilities, mental health, addiction recovery, child abuse, the missing, healing, and other relevant topics happening around the globe, visit https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-au4h-radio-real-talk-78312009/.
