Government Outlaws Drop-Side Cribs

The cribs are blamed for more than 30 deaths over the past 10 years.

WASHINGTON — It’s the end of the traditional crib that has cradled millions of babies for generations. The government outlawed drop-side cribs on Wednesday after the deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers in the past decade and millions of recalls. It was a unanimous vote by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban the manufacture, sale and resale of the cribs, which have a side rail that moves up and down, allowing parents to more easily lift their child from the crib. The new standard requiring cribs to have fixed sides would take effect in June. The move by CPSC would also prohibit hotels and childcare centers from using drop-sides, though those facilities would have a year to purchase new cribs.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-drop-side-cribs-outlawed,0,7033508.story

Authorities arrest suspect in Dutch child abuse case

(CNN) — A substitute preschool teacher suspected of molesting up to 50 children has been arrested in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the international police organization Interpol said. Dutch prosecution officials have said the 27-year-old man, known as “Robert M,” confessed to abusing dozens of children and had images of child sexual abuse at his home, according to a statement Monday from Interpol.

An investigation started after the image of a young boy was identified by his family following its broadcast on Dutch television on December 7 at the request of Dutch national police, Interpol said. The victim’s image was part of a series depicting the sexual abuse of a child under age 5 seized during an operation in the United States by officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Interpol said. The series was added to the International Child Sexual Exploitation database (ICSE) at Interpol’s general secretariat in Lyon, the police organization said.

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http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/15/netherlands.child.abuse.case/

Florida is number ONE for the most reported child abuse deaths. Louisiana is among the states with the highest frequency of child deaths related to abuse and neglect, according to an analysis highlighted Tuesday by a coalition of prosecutors and other child advocates. The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths named Louisiana among 12 states with disproportionate numbers of cases that the consortium’s members said are preventable if the United States makes the issue a priority.

Official government statistics for 2008 put the number of abuse and neglect deaths among children at 1,740. Michael Petit, president of the Every Child Matters Education Fund, said the coalition believes the number is at least 2,500. The government’s numbers are based on official reporting by coroners and law enforcement agencies.
Coalition estimates cite academic research that suggests the deaths are under-reported. Besides Petit’s group, the consortium comprises the National Children’s Alliance, the National District Attorneys Association; the National Association of Social Workers and the National Center for Child Death Review.

Government statistics show that Louisiana had 246 abuse and neglect deaths among children from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, the number was 30 or 2.71 deaths per 100,000 children. Florida had the highest rate at 4.62 deaths per 100,000. Rhode Island reported no such deaths in 2008.

Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Vermont and Wyoming all reported fewer than 1 death per 100,000. Among the state’s with populations closest to Louisiana, Alabama’s rate was 1.78, South Carolina was 1.97 and Kentucky was 2.18, all lower than Louisiana.  The national rate was 2.4, more than double the rates in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, and triple the rate in Germany.

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http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/12/louisiana_among_top_12_states.html

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) – The Knights of Columbus was sued on Tuesday by two men who said they were sexually abused as children by a leader of a youth group run by the Roman Catholic fraternal organization. The federal lawsuits allege that Knights of Columbus officials knew a leader of the Columbian Squires youth group in Texas was molesting children but did not make any effort to stop him or remove him from the position. The suits are believed to be the first child sex abuse claims filed against the Catholic group, said Jeffrey Herman, the attorney representing the two alleged victims.

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http://wsau.com/news/articles/2010/dec/14/lawsuits-accuse-knights-of-columbus-of-child-abuse/

Eleven arrested in Logan County child molestation inquiry

Accused pedophile magistrate Richard Dutton Brown dies

Mr Cruel’s victim Sharon Wills wants closure after childhood abduction

Morcombe coronial inquest continues

Violence shadows those on the streets

BARTLESVILLE — A $500,000 bond has been set for a 20-year-old Bartlesville man charged with felony child abuse involving 2-month-old twins, one of which suffered skull fractures and bleeding in the brain. Bartlesville police arrested Chester Tanner Cooper, who is the father of the twins, on Monday after he admitted using force on the infant boys over a four-day period. District Judge Curtis DeLapp set bond for Cooper during his initial appearance on the charges Tuesday. Bartlesville police were called to Jane Phillips Medical Center on Monday when one of the boys arrived in the emergency room with serious head injuries, a court affidavit stated.

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http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20101214_11_0_BARTLE949706

County’s child abuse, neglect cases rise, report says

WATERLOO, Iowa — The rate of reported cases of child abuse and neglect rose 50 percent in Black Hawk County between 2000 and 2009, according to a report issued by an Iowa child advocacy group. Kids Count, a study by the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines reveals some good news and bad news in the Cedar Valley. The 50 percent rise in reports in child abuse and neglect in Black Hawk County outpaced the statewide rise of 35 percent.

Michael Crawford, director of Iowa Kids Count, said multiple factors, including economic stress, could contribute to the rise, but added that he noticed a similar rise in areas affected by flooding in 1993. He said the flood of 2008 could have had a similar effect. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were a reason for it now,” Crawford said.

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http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_9509a0fe-ab1a-5458-b537-c6d9cad91f57.html

Man wanted in 2006 child abuse case arrested in Philippines

A man wanted on charges of rape and child abuse filed against him in 2006 was captured in the Philippines and is headed back to Hampton Roads. David Wayne Greth was living in Portsmouth when the parents of two girls learned they had been abused, according to the “America’s Most Wanted” website. Police investigated, but before he could be arrested, Greth disappeared. He was featured in The Pilot’s Crime Line listings in October 2006 and on “America’s Most Wanted” in December 2006.

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http://hamptonroads.com/node/580019

NEWPORT NEWS–Police have charged a man with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. The child’s mother called police on Sunday after she saw an assault happening, police wrote in a news release. The girl, who police believe was abused since age 5, was assaulted in a Denbigh residence and knew the man, police wrote.

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http://hamptonroads.com/2010/12/newport-news-man-charged-sexual-assault-girl?cid=rltd

Vacaville police arrest teen in sexual assault, stabbing of 13-year-old girl, baby

VACAVILLE, CA – Police arrested a 14-year-old boy who allegedly broke into a home, sexually assaulted and stabbed a 13-year-old girl and stabbed her 18-month-old brother while they were home alone early Sunday morning. Vacaville police received a 911 call from a residence on the 1200 block of Balsam Way around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, said police spokesman Sgt. Mark Donaldson. The 13-year-old girl told police she and her younger brother had been stabbed. She fled her house to call for help from a neighbor’s house.

“To have the presence of mind, with the multiple stab wounds that she had, and the presence of mind to take her brother, get out of the house and take her cell phone with her, to call the police – a courageous young lady and she saved both of their lives,” said Vacaville police officer Dennis Crouse.

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http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=111648&catid=2

COLUMBIA, SC – Just when I thought our ‘incest’ tag was being neglected, a political science professor at Columbia University was charged with incest after being accused of having a consensual, three-year sexual relationship with his daughter. David Epstein, 46, was allegedly giving his 24-year-old daughter a bit of hot beef injection between 2006 and 2009. It is also being reported that the pair exchanged some twisted text messages back and forth. University spokesman Robert Hornsby said that Epstein “is now on administrative leave and will not be teaching students.”

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/12/13/professor-accused-of-a-consensual-sexual-relationship-with-his-daughter/

Germany – I rarely have time to post foreign crimes as I like to focus on the ones in the US first — and God knows there is no shortage — but there was no way I could let this one pass by. A German father has been arrested and charged with castrating the man dating his teenage daughter. Helmut Seifert, 47, was not real happy when he found out that his 17-year-old daughter was dating 57-year-old Phillip Genscher. So he went to Genscher’s home and with the help of two of his co-workers, forced Genscher to take off his pants and then removed his manjigglies with the aid of a bread knife. “Genscher was fully conscious,” the London’s Telegraph reports.

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/12/14/german-father-arrested-charged-with-using-bread-knife-to-castrate-daughters-boyfriend/