Mark Greene asks, “Why is there a cultural bias against single men raising children?”
Did law enforcement officials who wrongly arrested celebrity photographer Paul Rusconi for child molesting and rape do so because he is gay or because he is a single male parent? Either way, it shows how quickly a man can have his children taken from him in our culture.
Rusconi had his twin daughters taken away based on the word of distant relatives and the girl’s nanny and her husband. The charges were based in part on a portrait Rusconi took of himself and his daughters in the bathtub. This intimate and loving portrait of the two infant girls resting on his chest triggered action by the authorities.
KTLA reports “The day he was arrested, June 17, 2011, Rusconi’s two daughters were taken away from him and given to his accusers, who had convinced authorities they were the best caretakers for the twins. Rusconi was held overnight in jail and then released on $220,000 bail.”
It took months for Rusconi to get his daughters back. He is now suing his accusers after being cleared of all charges.
KTLA reports, “Rusconi believes his situation as a single father made him vulnerable to the suspicions of others. And Rusconi believes the malicious accusations may have been motivated by the fact that he is gay.
‘They all called me a sexual deviant and a pervert,’ Rusconi says. ‘That’s all stemming from my sexuality.’
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Now we all know that 99.9% of parents, both men and women are great. We know this. But in the child welfare system of any major city, we sometimes hear of children who suffer horribly at the hands of mothers who are unfit to keep their children and yet were allowed to even though there were big signs of trouble. When reports surface of children dying, often it is after repeated visits by child welfare workers who failed to remove the child from the home. Paul Rusconi takes a loving photo with his daughters and has them yanked. What does this say about how we view single fathers in our culture? How quick are we all to a be skeptical of men as full time parents?
And even more chilling, what happens to single fathers who don’t have Rusconi’s resources and connections?
• Is there a guilty until proven innocent standard applied to gay or single male parenting?
• Are single fathers allowed to show physical affection toward their children in the same intimate ways women are?
• Is male comforting or holding contact with children presupposed by law enforcement to be sexual?
Read and view the horrifying story at KTLA.com