What do I do?

[hopefuldreamer]

If you suspect child abuse...take some kind of action by notifying authorities. It's better to have people mad at you because nothing was going on than for them to be happy while abusing kids.

I agree with that.

The only thing I'd be concerned about is reporting him, and instead of stopping it happening, just making him more careful in future.

Plus, he might convince himself that one of the girls told someone and that's why he's being questioned... Which could obviously lead to a disaster for them.

The hardest thing about situations like this is that in order for anything to really be proven, one of the girls has to admit it.

And they might be too used to it to realise it's not right, or too afraid to tell anyone the truth.

You might end up in a situation where even the girls swear blind there is nothing going on.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a limited amount you can do IMO.

Yes, everyone on here is saying 'do something'.

But I've not heard what that 'something' is, beyond telling authorities - which as I've pointed out, could be fruitless or backfire entirely.

At the end of the day, you just have to figure it out your own way, doing what you think could help. Go with your gut.

 

[POWdER-man]

Yeah, if the girls are 14 and 12 they are definitely in that age range where they're going to start drifting toward wanting more independence. Maybe it's why they give him looks when he treats them like they are still little kids.

Maybe find someone in your family, or maybe you, who can pull the girls aside and maybe ask them if something is strange. I mean if the rest of the family thinks there is something up then it's best to take some sort of action.

Heh, my previous post didn't go through but yeah this is basically my thoughts.

An exception though, someone like your mother, grandmother (a woman as if it is true they probably don't trust men) should take them aside and see if they can get them to confide with them. This should be your next action, not just going to the authorities.

Be VERY careful on what you decide in the end because if you do just go to the authorities (and he ends up being completely innocent) you will not only destroy a family, you will label him a child molester in the community despite his innocence, and you will end up hurting those girls' innocence by putting them through this for no reason beyond a "feeling".

As well, don't listen to anyone here, including myself about this. We don't have enough details, facts, or involvement to effectively evaluate the situation. I am sure you want more input but you should be talking to your family, not us about this.

You say that 98% of them have this suspicion but none of them want to take action. Maybe it's just that they don't want to go to the authorities without valid reasoning. Get someone to talk to those girls first if you can, which may confirm your suspicions or completely eliminate them.