Reading the painful details of the torture and disappearance of Aarone Thompson makes most of us want to avert our eyes.
But as the trial of Aaron Thompson in the death of his daughter continues, it’s become quite clear that too many of us did just that; too many adults looked the other way from this destructive, out-of-control family for too long.
If there is any lesson to be learned from the sad story of Aarone Thompson, it is that we must remember to take seriously our responsibility as a society to protect children from abuse.
Are there other Aarones out there right now?
Aaron Thompson faces 60 criminal counts in Aarone’s death and in the abuse of other children living in his Aurora home.
Though Thompson told police in November 2005 that his daughter had run away, prosecutors believe she died in the home and was buried in a field by Thompson and his now-deceased girlfriend, Shelley Lowe.
Aarone would have been 6 years old when Thompson said she ran away after not getting her wishes on a second cookie. Police believe she had been dead for as long as two and half years.
Throughout August and ending this week, witnesses for the prosecution — including the children — painted a vivid and grizzly picture of life in the Thompson-Lowe home.
The children described repeated, violent beatings that would have left painfully obvious marks.
These children were tortured. Witnesses said they were stripped, tied to a pole and whipped with electric cords, bats and belts. At times, other children were sent to fetch drinks while Thompson and Lowe took their turns.
Another punishment was to beat the children’s hands with a belt until they were swollen and bruised black.
The children’s infractions were the mere breaches of youth: bed-wetting, thumb-sucking, bad grades.
In all, seven children lived in the home besides Aarone.
Relatives inquired about the little girl, but obviously didn’t press the issue. Friends of Thompson and Lowe apparently didn’t either.
Social workers who sometimes were involved with the family didn’t notice or report the abuse.
Nor did neighbors or school teachers.
When police searched for Aarone, the family had but a single, blurry photo of the girl. Her only set of clothes was an outfit that belonged to a toddler. She no longer had a mattress, or even a toothbrush.
Stories like Aarone’s seize headlines and our attention, because they shock us. Yet they happen too often.
It can be frightening to get involved. It’s reasonable to not want to pry into other people’s business. It’s human to extend the benefit of the doubt.
But there are some cases too horrible for our silence to allow.
