Considering the amount of attention given to the priest sex-abuse scandal in 2002, one can be forgiven for being under the delusion that the mainstream press actually gave a whit about the sexual abuse of children. Nothing could be further than the truth.

The most horrendous acts of sexual child abuse are being reported almost on a daily basis, but they make only fleeting appearances in the news and almost never on the front pages.

For months in 2002, the New York press inundated the public with sordid details of the allegations by victims of abuse that sometimes dated back 50 years.

Although the majority of the cases involved homosexual priests abusing adolescent boys, the press repeatedly referred to the accused as pedophiles.

Just last month, more than 60 aliens with sex crime convictions were arrested in a roundup targeting foreign-born child sex offenders.

Martin Ficke is the head of immigration and customs enforcement for the New York Office of the Department of Homeland Security. He was quoted in the Daily News as saying, “These are the worst of the worst.”

Their crimes included rape, sodomy and sexual abuse of children, one as young as 6 months old. Can you believe that? A 6-month-old!

The New York Times reported it in Section B, on Page 3.

The arrests were the result of Operation Predator, which began last July and is designed to deport criminals convicted of sex crimes against children.

While 3,700 immigrants nationwide have been arrested, the government has only been able to deport 500. Why? Lengthy appeals and legal reviews are the reason behind the low deportation rate.

The public is simply not that outraged by crimes against innocent children and again I have to ask, why not?

While this case last month involved legal and illegal immigrants, many abuse cases slip by underreported by the mainstream press because offenders have good legal representation and misguided champions of free speech, like the ACLU.

Why doesn’t everyone recognize the name of Jeffrey Curley? That’s the name of a 10-year-old boy from Cambridge, Mass., who was raped, choked to death with a gasoline-soaked rag, stuffed into a cement-filled container, and thrown into a river in 1997.

His attackers, thankfully, were caught and sentenced to life in prison.

During the trial, the men, Charles Jaynes and Salvatore Sicari, were revealed to be members of the disgusting North American Man-Boy Love Association, which advocates sex with minors and, it is alleged, has instructed its members on the sexual rape of little boys.

Jeffrey’s parents have sued Nambla, and guess who is representing this vile organization – the ACLU, which claims, “The lawsuit involved here, were it to succeed, would strike at the heart of freedom of speech.”

So free speech is harmless, eh? In the trial, Jaynes was revealed to be a timid pedophile who became emboldened after he joined Nambla.

He fueled his perversion through the group’s Web site and e-mails filled with pornographic images of children and especially a Nambla publication, “The Rape and Escape Manual.”

Nambla, founded in 1978, has managed to disguise its activities as advocacy protected by the First Amendment.

It created a nonprofit company, Zymurgy Inc., as a front for delivering offensive material involving underage youth, and when this fact was uncovered, the New York state attorney general filed to remove its tax-free status.

Judge Robert Lippmann rejected this motion and made a decision to allow Zymurgy to retain this status. Secretary of State Dennis Vacco filed an appeal.

In 1996, the New York State Senate presented a bill to dissolve Zymurgy, Inc. It passed overwhelmingly, but 19 members of the state Assembly voted “no.”

When I saw the name Frank Barbaro listed as one of the 19, I was shocked, because he is running for Congress in my district of Staten Island. I contacted his press office and he sent this response to my inquiry:

“I strongly supported the Appellate Court Decision to reverse Judge Robert Lippmann’s order that allowed Zymurgy to maintain its non-profit status. In this case, our constitution, with it’s separation of powers and right to due process, served us well: Zymurgy, the fake corporation set up by NAMBLA, was stripped of its tax exempt status and forced to reveal its true identity.

“It is appropriate for the courts to rule on questions of fraud, but it is dangerous for a Legislature to do so. That is why I voted against Senate Bill 7879. I believe that the outcome of this case illustrates that our system does work.”

Mr. Barbaro has a rather liberal voting record, but I simply cannot understand how anyone, conservative or liberal, would view this as a case of fraud instead of the endangerment of innocent children.

The major television networks seem to be amazed that Fox News Channel is doing so well in the ratings, but it was Fox’s Bill O’Reilly who has been exposing the Nambla/ACLU connection.

What will it take to dismantle Nambla? Why can’t its membership be as subject to exposure as any criminal organization? What will it take for the press to pay attention?

I know – let’s find a Roman Catholic priest who’s a member. That should do the trick.