South Africa has the world’s highest incidence of rape; a girl born there today has a one in three chance of finishing school, and a one in two chance of being raped. The stories behind these statistics are explored in the documentary Dispatches: The Lost Girls of South Africa, to be screened next Sunday at 9pm on Channel 4.

Like a third of the 200,000 children who are raped in South Africa every year, Fuzeka, 12, was attacked by a close relative. Staring straight ahead, she recounts how her father indecently assaulted her, and told her that when he slept with her he would use a condom as he is HIV positive.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-africas-shame-the-rise-of-child-rape-1974578.html

A 60-year-old Santa Rosa School District bus driver has been arrested on suspicion of molesting a 13-year-old boy at a Sacramento motel in February.

Detectives with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department’s Child Abuse Bureau arrested Petaluma resident Richard “Butch” Guillen on Thursday in the parking lot of the Bodega Bay Marina while he was transporting schoolchildren on a field trip, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release.

Davis County prosecutors claim the 4-year-old boy died May 9 following four days of abuse by his stepfather and mother. He had recently arrived in Utah to spend the summer with his mother as part of a child custody agreement.

His death has struck a chord in thousands of people. By Saturday, three Facebook pages dedicated to his case had a combined total of nearly 32,000 fans.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.sltrib.com/D=g/ci_15094513

WILLIAMSON – A Williamson man remains behind bars for the felonious abuse of his infant son Monday.

Williamson Police Department Lt. C. D. Rockel said 25 year old Justin Tyler ”Rooster” Russell of Williamson remains in Southwestern Regional Jail facing charges of child abuse resulting in serious injury.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.williamsondailynews.com/view/full_story/7443459/article-Local-man-jailed-for-alleged-child-abuse?instance=home_news_lead

The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center says it cannot keep up with the growing number of children who need counseling after suffering physical or sexual abuse.

Even after adding another counselor, the center – which handles Dallas cases referred through Child Protective Services – has had to place children on a waiting list because of increases in the past five months, particularly in March.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-childabuse_16met.ART0.Central.Edition1.a1aec7e.html

L.A. County’s child welfare agency has a backlog of some 3,700 cases open 60 days or more. Department and union officials say they’re ‘at a breaking point’ with current staffing levels.

Los Angeles County’s child welfare system has failed to complete investigations into child abuse hotline tips involving more than 18,000 children within the time mandated by the state, according to county records.

Because of the backlog, state regulators recently extended L.A. County’s deadline for completing investigations from 30 days to 60, but Department of Children and Family Services officials have been unable to meet the new timeline as well. Some 3,700 cases — many involving multiple children — have been open two months or longer without determining whether abuse or neglect is taking place in the home.

READ MORE HERE:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/15/local/la-me-child-abuse-20100516

But it was at a neighborhood Safeway store in northern California where the sex slave problem became a terrible reality for one family. In 2008 Vicki Zito’s daughter was abducted there, then forced into unthinkable acts.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.ktla.com/news/extras/ktla-sex-slaves-sweeps,0,3561067.story

According to investigators, the friend, who drove the teenage prostitute to meet Taylor late at night on Wednesday, May 5, told police that “they didn’t have sex, she’s lying and he’s innocent.”

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lawrence-taylor,0,2940159.story

Hazleton, Pa. (The Weekly Vice) – Barbara Reimiller, a 33-year-old Pennsylvania woman was charged Friday on allegations she beat her 8-year-old son with a metal pipe, fed him dog food and locked him up for hours without a bathroom.

According to police, an investigation was launched after an 8-year-old boy’s father brought him to the station after suffering nearly a year of torture and abuse.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.theweeklyvice.com/

Avondale, AZ – Brian Willner, Agua Fria High School’s special-education director, is being held without bond after a 15-year-old special-needs student accused him of raping her. Authorities believe the assault took place on school grounds sometime between March 23rd and April 9th.

According to the police report, Willner excused the teen from class and took her into his office. Once there, he pinned her down and proceeded to rape her.

READ MORE HERE (along with other child abuse headlines):

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2010/05/13/special-ed-teacher-accused-of-raping-special-ed-student/

Martin Anthony Smith, 45, was being hunted by police probing a string of serious sex crime allegations.

The fugitive’s arrest followed an international appeal to trace him.

Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers, which led that plea, said Smith, a medium who had appeared on television, was apprehended in Barcelona Friday – more than two years after he skipped bail in the UK.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/tv-psychic-from-carlisle-held-over-child-rape-1.706517?referrerPath=sport/reds

OREGON CITY — A man convicted of what prosecutors called one of the worst cases of child abuse they had ever seen was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Clackamas County Judge Ronald Thom set the sentence for Derek Piskorski, the maximum possible for the crimes, and what prosecutors had asked for.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/26-years-for-man-who-put-boy-in-freezer-93696779.html

Father charged with murder by child abuse in 3-month-old son’s death

A 21-year-old Las Vegas man accused of beating and biting his 3-month-old son has been charged with murder by child abuse in the boy’s death. An investigation revealed the infant suffered blunt force abdominal trauma and multiple injuries consistent with human bites, police said.

Medical personnel advised officers that Angel had a non-displacement fracture to the head, a laceration to the liver and internal bleeding that could have been caused by his extensive injuries.

The police report also said the infant had three small bruises on the forehead, bruising to both inner thighs, additional small circular bruises on the back, abdomen and head, as well as a small laceration to his right earlobe and adult-sized bite marks on his right arm, lower chest, right ankle and lower back.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/may/12/father-charged-murder-child-abuse-3-month-old-sons/