A search of a missing schoolgirl’s laptop sparked a major child abuse operation that has netted 240 online predators to date. Arrests have been made in 15 different countries after what began as a simple missing person’s inquiry. Police investigating the 13-year-old’s disappearance found she received 76 sexual emails from men over the course of just one month. She was traced within hours but her laptop held the key to tracking down hundreds of offenders.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hnLqu_43yhtZ7hu3LnC3Kfh6z-4A?docId=N0725801297678517271A

One in four people in the UK, aged between 18 and 24, claims to have experienced severe violence, sexual abuse or neglect as a child, says the children’s charity the NSPCC. The study also says a million secondary school pupils have faced “severe maltreatment” during childhood. Children in poorer households and those in homes with separated parents are significantly more likely to face violence and abuse, says the charity.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12449643

Tokyo, Japan— She is a precocious little girl, in pigtails and rainbow rimmed glasses, all spark and determination. The 11- year-old attacks origami with the mission to build a flying bird. Creating an object of beauty contrasts with the ugliness this child has suffered at the hands of her own parents. The director of Nonohana-No-ie orphanage nods at us, signaling this girl is one of the of abused children who reside at this protective facility. Seventy percent of the children here, between the ages of 2 and 18, are victims of abuse and neglect so severe the police removed them from their parents’ custody.

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http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/02/14/japan.child.abuse/

Sharon Broadhead, whose three children and a friend died in a mobile home fire in Pahrump last week, was arrested Saturday on man­slaughter and child abuse charges, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office announced. Broadhead, 29, was booked on $35,000 bail. She faces four counts of manslaughter and three counts of child abuse by neglect causing death, and is expected to make an initial court appearance Monday.

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http://www.lvrj.com/news/mother-of-children-killed-in-pahrump-fire-arrested-charged-with-manslaughter-116092449.html

BROCKTON, Mass. – Someone digging through a dumpster made a gruesome discovery Sunday night when they found the dead body of a young woman inside it. Police arrived after the person called 911 anonymously to report their find  and found the body of 25-year-old Maria Avelina Palaguachi-Cela inside the dumpster. Tragically, after doing a little more digging inside the trash bin, they also found the body of her 2-year-old son, Brian Palaguachi.

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http://www.dreamindemon.com/2011/02/15/mother-toddler-found-dead-in-dumpster/

Lynn Haven, FL —- A. Crawford Mosley High School band director, Jamie Birdwell, 37, has been charged with four counts of exhibiting obscene material to a child. The hands-on (cos he can’t keep his hands off) band director has long been pestering male students for nude photos, especially close ups, and having them strip. Birdwell told his victims that they were like “sons” to him.

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http://deadkidsofmyspace.com/

COMPTON– A 22-year-old gang member was convicted Monday in the 2009 murder of a star Narbonne High School football player. Arlon Watson, of Compton, was found guilty of first-degree murder 18-year-old Dannie Farber Jr., as well as other gun and gang charges, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Watson was arrested Jan. 27 on outstanding warrants by Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives. He was later charged in the May 24, 2009 killing of Farber.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-football-player-shot,0,3482991.story

GEORGIA–The state’s child welfare agency is investigating the deaths of four children within three weeks who had prior contact with the agency, officials said Friday. The children died in separate instances, and the police are investigating several of the deaths. None of the children were in the care or custody of the state Division of Family and Children Services at the time of their deaths, spokesman Lisa Marie Shekell said. DFCS officials are investigating the degree of contact that the children had with the agency, which handles cases of child abuse and neglect.

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http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-dfcs-investigating-four-835754.html

Alsea School District Superintendent Jon St. Germaine and teacher Stacy Knudson pleaded no contest Friday to charges that they failed to report child abuse. Both entered into diversion contracts, which would allow the charges to be dismissed after a successful completion of a four-month program. The diversion program requires each to perform 30 hours of community service, pay $150 in fees and write a letter to the Benton County District Attorney’s Office demonstrating that they understand their roles as mandatory reporters and the importance of reporting abuse.

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http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_8488ef46-3695-11e0-9be3-001cc4c002e0.html

Child abuse in its various forms affects every community. In the past 10 days, we’ve watched the unfolding story of a one-time Wynola resident who was convicted of molesting three young girls. This week, Oprah Winfrey ran the story of twin sisters molested by their father and brothers for years in their own home in Kansas.

How can you know when your children might be at risk—from a loved one, a stranger, a friend, or someone esteemed in the community because of the position held? How do you go about talking to your children? What do you do if you learn that questionable or illegal activity has occurred? And how do you help your children recover? … How do you recover yourself?

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http://ramona.patch.com/articles/how-to-protect-your-child-from-molestation

Iowa’s 51,960-name child abuse registry could get an overhaul in the wake of complaints that the list damages reputations and job prospects for the accused before they’ve had a fair hearing. “There are too many innocent people on that registry list,” said Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines. “This isn’t about letting people guilty of child abuse off the hook. Those people shouldn’t be anywhere around children.”

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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110212/NEWS10/102120336/1039/LIFE/?odyssey=nav|head

South Carolina–A 31-year-old EMT worker has been charged with solicitation of a minor and dissemination of obscene material to a minor after police accused him of soliciting sex online from someone whom he believed to an underage child. Corey Damon Crocker, of Pendleton, reportedly sent both graphic pictures and engaged in sexually explicit conversations as well with an undercover officer in Greenville who had been posing as the minor online.

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http://deadkidsofmyspace.com/