A southern New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with murder after he smothered his 4 week old son with a pillow last Thursday. Erik D. Griffin of Burlington City, stated he placed the pillow over his son’s face because the infant would not stop crying. Griffin fled the home after realizing the boy was no longer breathing. The child was found later in the day by his maternal grandmother, who attempted to resuscitate him, but was pronounced dead later at Burlington County’s Lourdes Medical Center in Willingboro.

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http://www.examiner.com/top-news-in-atlantic-city/nj-man-charged-murder-of-his-4-week-old-son

VICIOUS, BRUTAL ATTACK ON 4-YEAR OLD WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS

Holding a picture of her “sweet angel baby,” Tina Lane and others in the packed courtroom watched Aaron Laconsello’s every move as he appeared on camera to answer charges against him. Laconsello, 18, also known as Aaron Michael Hooper, was formally charged Friday with:

• First-degree murder in the stabbing death of Dakota Lane, 4, in his home. Lane was stabbed multiple times with a pair of scissors.

• Assault and battery with a deadly weapon in an attack on Dakota’s mother, Stephanie Lane.

• First-degree burglary for having entered the Lane home at 705 N. N St., without permission and while it was occupied.

Laconsello said he could not afford an attorney, and Special District Judge Robin Adair said he will ask the state’s capital case indigent defense team to represent Laconsello. Adair set the case for a sounding docket at 9 a.m. Nov. 29. At that time, a date will be set for a preliminary hearing for testimony to be given. Adair ordered that Laconsello continue to be held without bond.

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http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x892106678/Teen-charged-with-first-degree-murder

Chester, PA — Jorge Alvarado-Barbosa, an 18-year-old cafeteria worker Chester Community Charter School was arrested on assault charges Wednesday after he allegedly punched an 8-year-old boy in the mouth Monday afternoon. According to police, Alvarado-Barbosa was taking out the trash when he saw the child sitting on a rock wall outside. Alvarado-Barbosa reportedly walked over to the child and said, “I put your brother in the headlock.” Obviously unimpressed, the kid replied, “I don’t care.” At that point, Alvarado-Barbosa started screaming at the child, calling him a bitch. He then grabbed the kid, put him in an arm lock and punched him in the face with a closed fist. Alvarado-Barbosa then took the boy, still in an arm lock, and walked him over to his teacher. The teacher took the child to the principal’s office and reported the incident. Portions of the attack were captured on the school’s video surveillance, but the alleged punch was not. Now, you would think the principal would have been on the phone with the police and the kids parents, right? You’d be wrong. According to the kid’s dad, school officials did not inform him of the incident, he heard about it several hours later from his older son. “They didn’t call the police; they didn’t notify the authorities; they didn’t even send him to the nurse,” said the victim’s father, Valdez May. “They left him to clean his own self up.”

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/11/15/18-year-old-school-cafeteria-worker-accused-of-punching-third-grader/

St. Albans, VT – Misty Smith, 34, is being held on $1 million bail for allegedly drugging, kidnapping and sexually assaulting three of her 11-year-old son’s friends. Smith was arrested on Wednesday after one of the alleged victims was reported missing by his parents. The 11-year-old boy was seen heading to Smith’s home after school Tuesday afternoon, and when he failed to show up at home, his parents and police canvassed the neighborhood. The boy’s parents visited Smith’s home and asked her three separate times if she had seen the boy – each time, Smith denied having any knowledge of his whereabouts. When an officer questioned Smith about the missing boy that evening, she played stupid once again. Hearing noises coming from an upstairs bedroom, the officer asked if he could take a look. In the bedroom, he found the missing boy and two other 11-year-old boys.

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/11/15/woman-accused-of-drugging-molesting-kidnapping-pre-teen-boys/

Dallas, TX — Authorities say that after 34-year-old Miguel Torres Sr. wrecked his Ford Expedition late Thursday night, he just up and took off, leaving three of his four children behind. Torres reportedly slammed into a light pole and lost control of the vehicle, sending it spinning. His 5-year-old daughter, Mia, was thrown from the SUV, car seat and all, and landed in the middle of the street. Torres kept driving. He stopped at a park about a mile away, took his 11-month-old daughter Emma from the vehicle and beat feet – leaving his 6- and 9-year-old sons inside the SUV. The 9-year-old, who was not injured, was able to flag down help for his brother Thomas, who suffered a serious gash to the head.

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/11/15/father-allegedly-ditched-injured-kids-after-crash/

Officials Say They Wanted To Investigate Themselves

MUNCIE, Ind. — School officials said they didn’t call police after a Muncie Central High School student reported she was raped because they wanted to investigate her story themselves.The 16-year-old girl told staff members she was raped inside a bathroom at the school just after noon Tuesday, 6News’ Joanna Massee reported.School officials said they called the girl’s guardian but opted not to contact police, even though there was an officer in the building at the time. After reporting the rape, the girl said she was told the write a report about the incident and was kept in the principal’s office for two hours.Police didn’t become involved until about four hours later when a worker from a troubled children’s center took the girl to a hospital to be examined.

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http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25763754/detail.html?taf=ind

TOLEDO, OH – The Toledo Police Department (TPD) says it is working several tips to locate a man who sexually assaulted a seventh grader on her way to school Friday. TPD is directing all on duty patrols to local schools when kids are walking back and forth to classes until the attacker is caught. School leaders say the 13-year-old had to walk four more blocks to reach East Broadway Middle School to tell administrators about the attack. Toledo Public Schools (TPS) leaders sent parents a letter about the attack, but say student safety is not the district’s responsibility before kids arrive at school.

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http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=13429575

The Chronicle looked at the sentences handed down in categories that give the judge discretion on punishment, while at the same time selecting cases that have the greatest effect on the average person. These include: aggravated assault, burglary, child molestation, cruelty to children, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine and theft by taking. Mandatory minimum sentences for crimes such as murder and armed robbery, which take the discretion out of a judge’s hands, were not included. Aggravated assault aptly fits the description of a crime that has a great impact on a person. It is often a murder attempt that doesn’t result in death.

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http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2010-11-14/superior-court-judges-sentencing-offenders-varies

Nearly a quarter of the homicides in Sangamon County have gone unsolved in the past decade, mainly because witnesses refuse to provide information about the killings, investigators say. A review of law enforcement data dating back to 2000 shows Springfield police still are looking for leads on 20 open cases. The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office is seeking to close one unsolved killing.

** Interactive map with profiles of unsolved murder victims **

The cases range from drug- and gang-related violence to vehicle hijackings to robberies gone wrong. The dead range in age from 18 to 69. Really, the only prevailing theme among the murders is that 70 percent involved guns. “You never know what you’re going to come across with these,” said Springfield Police Department Deputy Chief Cliff Buscher. “It runs the gamut.”

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http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x1682973189/21-Sangamon-County-murders-unsolved-over-past-10-years

BEDFORD, PA — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say an evangelist from Lexington has been arrested and charged with assaulting an 11-year-old girl a few years ago. State police in Bedford County say the Rev. Walter Donald Bradshaw was arrested Tuesday at his home in Lexington. He is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail pending extradition to Pennsylvania. He is charged with rape, rape of a child, and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child. Police say 61-year-old Bradshaw was a traveling evangelist and met the family at a revival four years ago.

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http://www.news-record.com/content/2010/11/14/article/lexington_preacher_charged_in_sexual_assault_of_girl_11

Every time the former Catholic priest and Lake Worth resident Neil Doherty enters the news, it seems like more (alleged) victims come a’tumbling from the woodwork. Last week, Doherty was hauled off to the poky for a violation of the terms of his bail — he had left his house, which was a no-no, apparently to attend a funeral. This was not the first time his ankle monitor had reported him straying, and finally the police took notice.

With the (alleged) serial-abuser Doherty languishing in jail, another (alleged) victim filed suit against the ex-priest, telling a story similar to those of the many, many other boys Doherty has (allegedly) abused. In this case, the (alleged) victim was a 14-year-old runaway hanging out in a trailer park, whom Doherty first assisted, then befriended, and then (allegedly) plied with pot, booze, and cocaine. And then Doherty (allegedly) had sex with him.

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http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2010/11/neil_doherty_strikes_again.php

At the end of their rope, some parents sedate their babies

At the end of their rope, some parents sedate their babies A frazzled mother on a crowded flight tries to coax a screaming baby to sleep as surrounding passengers stare —some in empathy, some in barely disguised annoyance. When the child doesn’t calm down, the parent discreetly pulls a bottle of children’s Benadryl from a diaper bag and administers a small dose.

Surveys and parental testimonials suggest that this scene is repeated every day in the skies over America and in other settings.  But the use of the antihistamine, known generically as diphenhydramine, to sedate babies is controversial, with at least one study suggesting it is a form of child abuse.

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http://toledoblade.com/article/20101114/ART16/101119763/-1/ART