More than four years ago, Becky Wekenborg's daughter came to her and reported that a boy was "sticking his hands down her pants and touching her inappropriately."
On Wednesday, Wekenborg told the state Senate's Seniors, Families and Children Committee she "called the Child Abuse Hotline and made a report. ... Over the next several days, I met with a caseworker from Social Services and also a Cole County deputy to discuss what happened."
But, after a few more days, Wekenborg testified, "They issued an "unsubstantiated' determination."
She said the contact occurred while the daughter was visiting her father, and that the boy was part of the father's new life.
Her daughter at the time was 4 and the boy was 7.
"At that point, I had my daughter start seeing a counselor, because I completely believed her that this happened," Wekenborg testified. "Her dad called her a liar and said that it didn't happen - and believed the little boy - and even spanked her for tattling."
The daughter now is 8, and the abuse continued over the years, Wekenborg said, as she and her ex-husband fought legal battles over the divorce and custody decrees.
"I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars in the last 4½ years," Wekenborg said. "I was just in court last month - I'm still fighting for this."
But the state Children's Division, the Juvenile division and area law enforcement did little to help, she said - because they can't.
Wekenborg testified in favor of a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, that would require the Children's Division of the state Social Services department to use a "family assessment" and services approach any time they're asked to respond to a report of child sexual abuse caused by another child.
Currently, the state agency and law enforcement officers only have a clear authority when the abuse is caused by someone who has "care, custody and control" over the victim, such as an adult, a babysitter or an older relative.
"We currently have a grave situation that needs to be rectified," Riddle told the committee. "A gap exists in the system for reporting, and assessing, situations where juveniles are sexually abusing other juveniles."
Emily van Schenkhof, executive director of the Missouri Kids First advocacy group, told the committee: "This is the most important bill I've ever worked on. This is the bill that I am most excited about.
"This is the bill that I believe has the most potential to change lives in the state of Missouri and to, really, do a better job of meeting the needs of our children."
Van Schenkhof said Riddle's bill is the "culmination of, probably, three years of discussion on what we can do to prevent child sexual abuse. ... Youth with problem sexual behaviors, and young people who commit sex offenses against other children, have tremendous rehabilitative potential."
She estimates there are about 600 cases a year like Wekenborg's.
Wekenborg testified the boy who touched her daughter eventually went to a counselor and admitted he'd been abused.
But Wekenborg said, after more than four years fighting the issue, "I have a little girl who's now said she's not going to tell anyone if this happens again, because everybody thinks she's a liar.
"She thinks nobody believes her - even though the court has said that they do believe that it happened.
"She feels like nobody believes her because nobody has helped her."