DEAR ABBY: I am an intelligent 35-year-old professional woman. Trying to recover from the shocking discovery that my 7-year-old son had been sexually molested repeatedly by a former live-in lover has left me and my son scarred and bitter.
After the bizarre revelations of my 7-year-old began to surface, subsequent investigation revealed that the man was on parole from prison for repeated sexual molestations. Now my son is likely to face years of therapy and counseling. I have great guilt that, as a single parent, I was not more aware.
Perhaps your warning single parents of this peril could prevent more of this awful danger. As a single parent, what should (I) we be on the lookout for? -- HEARTSICK
DEAR HEARTSICK: You obviously did not know the man well enough to be aware of how dangerous he was. No one (man or woman) should leave a child (boy or girl) with a person one knows only superficially.
A good way to judge a person's character is by the company that person keeps. Beware of the new friend who has no friends, relatives or co-workers.
Also, how good is that person's word? If you catch him in a little lie, chances are he will lie about more important things.
Before living with someone, you should know that person very, very well.