 JANUARY 7 • 2021 | 31

Today, he commutes 
between Salt Lake City and 
Jerusalem, where his family 
lives.

BYSTANDERS AND 
ENABLERS
Guiora distinguishes between 
bystanders and enablers. 
Bystanders are physically 
present and have specific 
knowledge about a crime. “
All 
we want the bystander to do 
is to dial 911,” he said. The 
enabler, however, is somebody 
who knows the victim is in 
peril and either does nothing 
or actively discourages the 
victim from reporting the 
crime. In most of the victims 
he interviewed, he discovered 
that there were not only a few 
enablers, but “armies” of them.
In fact, the “armies” com-
parison came from Lindsey 
Lemke, former Michigan 
State Gymnastics Team cap-
tain who Nassar had sexually 
assaulted for years. At the 
point when she realized she 
was not being “treated” by a 
doctor but was, in fact, being 
molested, she went to Coach 
Kathie Klages for help. 
Klages, rather than helping 
Lemke, threatened to talk to 
her parents, urged Lemke to 
think about how this accusa-
tion would impact Nassar’s 
family and, finally, ended the 
conversation with a threat. 
“She says to Lemke, ‘You 
know, Lindsey, I remind you, 
scholarships are given, schol-

arships can be taken,’” Guiora 
said. Klages is not a bystand-
er. She’s an enabler. 
On Aug. 4, Klages was 
sentenced to serve 90 days in 
jail for lying to police during 
their investigation. 

CRIMINALIZING 
BYSTANDERS
And that brings the story 
of Guiora’s book to the next 
phase. He is not content to 
simply name and shame the 
enablers. He wants to help 
criminalize the behavior. So 
far, 10 states have bystander 
laws and he’s helping to push 
one through in Utah. He said 
he made a promise to the 
victims he interviewed for 
the book that he would be 
involved in as many different 
ways as possible to ensure 
that something like this could 
not happen again. 
“They trusted me … and 
one of the ways, absolutely, is 
to be involved in the legisla-
tive process.” It won’t be easy 
he said, since bystanding is a 
crime of omission rather than 
commission. But he said he 
owes it to those who helped 
him with his book. Besides, 
he’s not going anywhere any-
time soon.
“I have very few skills,” 
Guiora said. “What I do have 
is, I’m 63, thank God. Knock 
on wood, I’m healthy.
“I’m locked in on this 
thing. And this is what I’m all 
about.” 

“THERE WAS ONE ISSUE THAT 
HAD NEVER REALLY BEEN 
ADDRESSED — AND THAT WAS 

THE BYSTANDERS.”

— AMOS N. GUIORA

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