Children in crisis: Cleveland County ranks high in reported child abuse, low in graduation

SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA — Cleveland County children are worse off than children in nearly three-fourths of other North Carolina counties. Cleveland County ranks 72 out of the state’s 100 counties in a recent report highlighting 10 wellness indicators, according to “A Roadmap to Need” report released by the Public School Forum’s Center for Afterschool Programs. Cleveland County scored lower than Gaston County, which ranked 62nd, but higher than Rutherford County, which ranked 92nd, according to the report. The report ranked counties on indicators including, graduation rates, the number of children in Department of Social Services custody and number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect.

“We are using this as roadmap in a call to action for policy makers and funders to serve as a tool on where we need more investments for children services across the state,” said Jamie Knowles, director of the program that issued the report. Knowles said the report signifies there is a critical need for children’s services in communities. And working together at the local and state levels can create change.

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http://www.shelbystar.com/news/cleveland-51425-ranks-county.html

Parents Arrested For Attempted Murder, Child Abuse Of Their 9-Month-Old

Girl Found Safe, Arrest Made in Missing Family Case

Mother, son and family friend still missing

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — A sheriff in central Ohio says a 13-year-old girl who was missing with her mother, brother and a friend has been found bound and gagged in the basement of a man’s home about 10 miles from her house. Knox County Sheriff David Barber said Sunday that Sarah Maynard’s mother, Tina Herrmann, is still missing, along with her 10-year-old brother, Kody, and her mother’s 41-year-old friend Stephanie Sprang. Barber says 30-year-old Matthew Hoffman was arrested on one count of kidnapping at his home in Mount Vernon, about 40 miles north of Columbus. He says reports that a body bag had been taken from the home are false.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-ohio-mom-kids-missing,0,1257055.story

The author of a guide book for pedophiles, which created a storm of protest after being offered for sale on Amazon, has been questioned by detectives.

Officers in Colorado say they are investigating whether Phillip Ray Greaves II has done anything illegal. They have also revealed they are monitoring the author’s home following threats against him on a local website. Greaves attracted condemnation on both sides of the Atlantic after his self-published “code of conduct” for paedophiles appeared on the online retailer’s site. Amazon initially defended its actions before blocking sales. Hundreds of customers posted critical comments on its website and a group on Facebook called for a boycott of its services. In television interviews Greaves questioned whether children actually suffered in child abuse cases and said some offenders should simply be fined.

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http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Author-Of-Paedophile-Guide-Book-Sold-On-Amazon-Is-Questioned-By-Police-In-The-United-States/Article/201011215803564?lpos=World_News_First_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15803564_Author_Of_Paedophile_Guide_Book_Sold_On_Amazon_Is_Questioned_By_Police_In_The_United_States

(Reuters Legal) – The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami was accused on Friday of covering up the activities of a U.S. priest facing child sexual abuse charges and described by a victim’s lawyer as a “serial predator.” A Florida man filed a complaint in Florida state court seeking damages “in excess of $5 million” from the archdiocese. He alleges the archdiocese is liable for employing a priest who allegedly sexually molested the man when he was a teenager.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AB4VP20101112

Man used a knife, wooden club and car during the attack.

A 49-year-old Canyon Country man was arraigned in Newhall Superior Court on Friday and is facing nine felony charges, including the alleged attempted murder of a child.  Preston Brandon was arrested on a warrant Thursday in connection with an alleged crime that occurred Oct. 22, according to a complaint from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Brandon has been charged with attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of child abuse and one misdemeanor count of assault and battery.

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http://www.the-signal.com/section/36/article/36529/

A Fernley mother is in jail after allegedly plunging a kitchen knife into the chest of her sleeping 7-year-old son Thursday night, saying it was at the urging of God, police said.  Jeannine Ravenna Brandt, 40, is being held in the Lyon County Jail on suspicion of felony battery with intent to kill and child abuse.

According to Lyon County Detective Lt. Bryan Veil, Brandt’s husband called officers to the home on Primton Way in the Villa Mobile Home Park about  11 p.m. on a report of an accidental stabbing.  According to the police report, Brandt’s husband reported his wife was “sleepwalking and stabbed son with knife.” When deputies arrived they found Brandt in her bedroom and the boy lying in his bed screaming. The knife had been removed from his chest by his mother before police arrived, said Veil.

“When deputies found her she had her knees on the floor and was bent over her bed,” said Veil. “She told us she did it because God told her to do it.” Veil said she also called the child the “anti-Christ.”

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http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20101113/NEWS/101119881/1001&parentprofile=1058

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man is facing child abuse charges after allegedly beating two children with a rod, according to court documents. One victim alleged Sun J. Kim beat him with a 2-foot wooden rod after he lied about his grades, according to charging documents. Kim is accused of beating the child before and after school Nov. 4. A second boy, the victim’s brother, also alleged Kim beat him Nov. 2. In addition to child abuse, Kim has been charged with reckless endangerment and assault.

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http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20101113/NEWS01/11130342

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco man is trying to get an initiative on an upcoming city ballot that would make circumcision a crime. Lloyd Schofield, the author of the measure, calls circumcision ?genital mutilation.? His proposed measure would “make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18,” ?Tattooing a child is banned as a felony and circumcision is more harmful than a tattoo,? said Schofield.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-circumcision-ban,0,4885555.story

Girl Found Dead In Compton

COMPTON ( KTLA) — A 2-year-old girl died at a hospital Friday afternoon after she was found unresponsive at a home in Compton. Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were called to the 500 block of Crane Street, near Alondra Blvd around 3:45 p.m. The cause of death is unknown at this time. The girl’s name has not been released.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-2-year-old-dead-compton,0,4168196.story

A 3-year-old boy had to get surgery after he was brutally beaten by a man known to him. According to the magistrate’s complaint, the toddler received bruising to his stomach and the abuse was so severe that a surgeon noticed that the child’s intestine and other portions of his stomach had been torn. The child also had bruising and swelling on his forehead, his eyes, and leg.

27-year-old Vanderray Barcinas Mundo was arrested and charged with family violence, child abuse and aggravated assault. According to court documents, the boy’s mother told police that she had observed injuries on her son on three prior occasions.  Police have not charged the child’s mother with any crimes yet. She told police that Mundo would babysit her son when she went to work.

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http://www.kuam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13489438

BRENTWOOD, Pa. — A French teacher at Brentwood High School and her husband have been charged with abusing their infant son, but their defense attorney said the boy merely suffers from a condition that makes his bones brittle.Stephanie Faust, 31, and her husband, Scott, are charged with aggravated assault and child endangerment because of broken bones and head trauma Children’s Hospital doctors discovered in June when their son was just 10 weeks old.The couple also has a 2-year-old daughter who has no injuries.Their attorney, Patrick Thomassey, said the baby has a rare brittle bone disease and hasn’t been abused. The attorney said the condition “always ends with these unexplained injuries, and people will go to jail.”

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http://www.wpxi.com/news/25758883/detail.html

LOS ANGELES—A top official says Los Angeles County’s child welfare service says a crisis is brewing because of a backlog in abuse investigations. In a report this week, county Chief Executive William Fujioka said shifting workers to handle the backlog of more than 10,000 cases has pulled them from other duties such as foster care placement.

Fujioka says that appears to be creating a crisis for some critical tasks in the Department of Children and Family Services. The Los Angeles Times says nearly half of the child abuse probes have exceeded the state’s two-month deadline.

The department handles 170,000 child abuse hotline calls a year. Nearly 70 youngsters have died of abuse or neglect since the beginning of 2008 after being referred to the department.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16594246?nclick_check=1