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MASPAL is a new nonprofit organization. It was started by a group of local Missoula parents who want to do something to make our communities safe places for children to live and learn and grow. MASPAL consists of a coalition of parents who have either lost children to the hands of a murderer or whose children have been the victims of violent crimes and sexual abuse. Some of the perpetrators of these crimes are in prison. Many are out on parole or still at large. Since the inception of MASPAL, they have been joined by many volunteers who have been prompted by their own concerns to help the cause. Some of the first to become involved have been long time professionals in the fields of Family Law, Child Protection, Healthcare and Law Enforcement.

In Mineral County, Montana one morning, District Court proceedings consisted of four case sentencings. In the first, the husband and wife were accused of defrauding the government when she failed to include his income in her applications for public assistance. Funds had been dispersed and accepted and amounted to approximately $7000.00. They pled guilty and asked for the court to allow them to repay the money while on probation. The wife was placed on probation, left to care for their 5 children, and pay restitution. The husband was handcuffed and transported to the Montana State Prison. Three cases followed this case on that morning. In the first, a man admittedly had raped multiple 12-year-old girls. In the second, a man had admittedly molested and raped numerous boys, ages 7 through 9, and in the third a man was up on five counts of molesting 6 year old girls and admitted it. All three convicted child molesters walked from the courtroom free on probation. Their probation required that they participate in an outpatient sex offender program. These programs are designed to rehabilitate people with a sickness that rarely responds to treatment and has a high rate of re-offenders.

In a Missoula County District Court, a man was convicted for the third time for forcing boys and girls ages 2 through 10 to perform oral sex on him. In all three cases, he was initially charged with incest. The first two were pled down to sexual assault, which made him eligible for parole in only a few short years. He was then released and enrolled in a sex offender program as part of his parole. His next victim was violated for years before the crimes were uncovered, and the man was arrested again. On the third time he was charged, he was convicted of incest and sentenced to 40 years with 25 suspended. This man was up for parole in 18 months. Will his next victim live to testify?

MASPAL has a mission. Their mission is to protect the children. They will begin by providing support services for victims and families of victims. They will be actively involved in accessing information and gathering statistics in order to educate the public and help promote change. They will be promoting and encouraging the creation of special facilities beyond incarceration in which to house the sex offenders after their time in prison is complete. These facilities will be equipped to deal with the special issues of the sex offenders and will prevent the indiscriminate reintegration of those offenders back into society. It is the goal of MASPAL that through education and legislation, the public can be protected from those who prey on children.