On Sunday, January 8th, @ 2pm, Dreamcatchers Talk Radio will sit down one-on-one with the author of “Stolen Innocence” and “Living for Today,” Erin Merryn. Erin is well known for her crusade to get “Erin’s Law” passed. This law is intended to prevent child sexual abuse by having schools educating children on sexual abuse in a child friendly manner. Governor Quinn signed “Erin’s Law” on February 14, 2011.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday expanded the FBI‘s more than eight-decade-old definition of rape to count men as victims for the first time and to drop the requirement that victims must have physically resisted their attackers. The new definition will increase the number of people counted as rape victims in FBI statistics, but it will not change federal or state laws or alter charges or prosecutions. It’s an important shift because lawmakers and policymakers use crime statistics to allocate money and other resources for prevention and victim assistance.

READ MORE HERE

MEN’S HELP & RECOVERY RESOURCES:

http://www.malesurvivor.org/

http://www.taalk.org/TAALK-A-THON2

http://survivorship.org/2012conference.html

http://www.10thanniversarycelebration.blogspot.com/

http://www.cyberrecovery.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1673

http://www.recovery-man.com/sexual-recovery.htm

At first it seemed a miracle to the parents of a 14-year-old autistic child in Michigan whose search for a means of communication for their daughter appeared finally answered. Despite Julian and Tali Wendrow’s daughter said to have never developed mentally past the age of two, facing difficulty matching pictures without help and rarely speaking a word, with the help of an aid holding her hands above a keyboard, Aislinn was typing.  READ MORE HERE

An Alabama schoolteacher who was jailed on charges of sexually abusing a fourth-grade female student, revealed to police that had molested more than 20 other girls over his 25-year career. Alabaster police said Daniel Montague Acker Jr., 49, was charged with three counts of sexual abuse, and additional charges were possible.  READ MORE HERE

SANTA MONICA, CA — Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl he met on a mobile chat application. Santa Monica Police say Brian Anthony Marks, 31, met the victim in September of 2011 on a mobile texting application, similar to a chat room. They say that Marks “developed an ongoing sexual relationship with the victim.”  READ MORE HERE

LA PUENTE, Calif. — A former high school teacher?s aide has been sentenced to 18-years in prison for sexually abusing two special education students. 45-year-old Oscar Enrique Santos of La Puente was convicted in November of 21 felony counts including oral copulation of an incompetent person, oral copulation of a person under 18 and sexual battery by restraint.  READ MORE HERE

UPDATE: Suspected Child Molester Arrested in Las Vegas

Age Of Consent Chart For The United States – 2012

READ MORE & VIEW MAP HERE

“Breaking the Silence on Child Abuse: Protection, Prevention, Intervention, and Deterrence”

On December 13, I had the honor of participating in an important moment for the child advocacy field. As one of six panelists to testify in front of the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), Subcommittee on Children and Families, I joined my fellow child abuse intervention experts in shining a light on issues surrounding child sexual abuse in our country. The purpose of the hearing, titled “Breaking the Silence on Child Abuse: Protection, Prevention, Intervention, and Deterrence,” was to examine how well our federal laws, such as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, are working to protect our nation’s children from abuse and neglect. The hearing also examined related issues, including the prevalence of child sexual abuse committed by adults in entrusted organizations, the effect abuse has on children and their families, why adults may fail to report known or suspected abuse, and local and state efforts aimed at protecting, preventing, intervening, and deterring child abuse.  READ MORE HERE

COLUMBIANA, Ala. –Daniel Montague Acker, Jr, is in the Shelby County jail charged with three counts of sexual abuse. He is the son of Shelby County Commissioner Daniel Acker, Sr. Acker, Jr, was a fourth grade teacher for 25 years, he drove a school bus for 15 years and had been a substitute bus driver since he retired in 2009. Alabaster police say a former student, who is now roughly around the age of 13, filed a complaint against Acker, Jr. In that complaint she claims Acker, Jr. molested her. READ MORE HERE

 

TRENTON (NEW JERSEY) — An Assembly panel has approved a bill to remove the state’s two-year statute of limitations on lawsuits for child sexual abuse. Under current law, adult victims of childhood abuse have two years to bring suit against individuals or institutions from the point when they realize it damaged them. The measure (S2405) would allow them to file suit no matter how much time has passed, against individuals and institutions – public, private, for-profit and non-profit. READ MORE HERE

Ten years ago today, the FBI searched the townhouse of Scott Tyree in suburban Washington D.C. and found 13-year-old Alicia Kozakiewicz bound to a bed. She had been missing for 4 days. Now, a decade later, Alicia speaks with us about her experience of being deceived and groomed online by this predator over a period of 8 months, only to be abducted by him and taken to his home on New Year’s Day, where she was raped, beaten, and tortured.  READ MORE HERE