Father Now Says He Was “Only Joking”

A South Side father who allegedly posted a Facebook photo of his 22-month-old daughter bound and gagged was just joking around and the whole case has been “blown out of proportion” by the Internet, his attorney and family said today. Andre Curry, 21 — who has no criminal background — was charged with aggravated domestic battery, a felony, after turning himself in to police on Tuesday.

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BELLFLOWER, CA– Sheriff’s investigators arrested the coach of the Bellflower High School girls basketball and track teams Tuesday, saying he sexually assaulted a former student over a period of four years. Bryan Shepherd, 47, of Long Beach, was a coach at the school for the past five years, according to a news release issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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LONDON — Researchers in the UK say they found traces of cocaine on 92 percent — roughly 9 out of 10 — public baby changing tables. The study was conducted by journalists from Real Radio, a station in North West England, the Huffington Post reports. They used specialized wipes to test changing tables in shopping centers, hospitals, churches, supermarkets and department stores, among other places.

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SANTA CLARITA, CA– A 19-year-old Santa Clarita man is facing 29 felony counts of sex with minors after he was arrested last week by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators. Michael Downs allegedly had sex with at least 14 girls under the age of 18 in 2011 after meeting the girls on Facebook. Deputies arrested him last week.

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Shouting “no” and putting her hands at arms’ length away from her face, Monique Heilemeier demonstrated how children should react when they feel threatened or scared. The action, taught to area children during child safety presentations, shows strong body language so potential abusers “know that you’re poised to get away,” said Heilemeier, director of the Children’s Advocacy Center, which is operated by the Family Service Agency.  READ MORE HERE

CHILD MOLESTATION STATISTICS

CHILD MOLESTATION STATISTICS

PEDOPHILE STATISTICS

PEDOPHILE STATISTICS

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS

CHILD MOLESTATION EFFECTS

CHILD MOLESTATION INFORMATION (A–Z)

REPORT SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE/MOLESTATION

Thousands of photos and videos were taken by an international paedophile ring and distributed over the internet of the “horrific” child abuse of two young children in the UK and one in Australia, a British court has heard. A sentencing hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court was told that Melissa Noon and her partner Robert Hathaway met the three other defendants, Lee Parson, Stephen Fraser and Simon Hilton, over the internet to carry out the abuse. A six-week trial heard that two young children were abused by the group in the UK, which used a nudist website as a guise for their perversions.

FRANKFORT, KY. — At a packed committee hearing, Kentucky legislators berated the state’s top child-welfare officials Monday for failing to accurately report child-abuse fatalities.And one lawmaker called for the resignation of the cabinet secretary who oversees Kentucky’s child-welfare programs, saying the state was withholding information.

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Order prompted by Penn State, Syracuse University scandals

MADISON— Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Monday signed an executive order requiring any state university employee to report any possible child abuse or neglect to an outside agency, or the police, who will be required to investigate, which virtually eliminates any opportunity to sweep the abuse under the rug.

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Family, prosecutor say abused child not likely to survive

MICHIGAN– A 4-month-old Canton boy isn’t expected to survive injuries that led to criminal charges against his father, who has admitted he “messed up bad” following allegations he pushed the infant’s head against the floor of a residence on Michigan Avenue near Sheldon.

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In 2008, World Vision and other groups worked with Congress to pass an important piece of legislation that protects a basic human value. The law prohibits our government from funding militaries that use children. Unfortunately, it also allowed some loopholes, and for the second year in a row, the Obama Administration has used that opportunity to continue funding militaries using child soldiers. The State Department’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report finds that six countries use children in their national militaries. Yet, the US currently gives aid to five of those six countries. In October, the administration offered a partial waiver to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a full waiver to Yemen.

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EMINGTON, Ill.– Five people, including three children, were found shot to death at a home in the small Illinois town of Emington in what authorities are calling a murder-suicide. County coroner Michael Burke identified those killed as: 30-year-old Sara McMeen, 29-year-old Daniel Warren, 8-year-old Skyler Lemke, 7-year-old Ian Lemke and 10-month-old Maggie Warren.

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Students Cope With Classmate’s Suicide; Other In Critical Condition

LAS VEGAS — Grief counselors were sent to the schools of two teens who shot themselves Wednesday in unrelated attempted suicides. A 13-year-old girl remains in critical condition, but 10-year-old Kameron Asgari died. Asgari’s classmates at Jydstrup Elementary met with counselors to help them come to grips with what happened. Asgari was well liked and had many friends. Grief counselors say the students are now coping with the loss.

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