OPRAH SHOW : 200 ADULT MEN WHO WERE MOLESTED COME FORWARD

Mother campaigns for thousands of rape victims who have been forgotten by the justice system

• Mother Carol Bart, 52, is speaking out for rape victims, saying thousands of rape kits sit untested on shelves for months and even years
• Between 180,000 and 400,000 rape kits remain untested across U.S., one estimation says

UNITED STATES–One rape victim who was forced to wait 24 years for her rape kit’s results is now taking action to make sure other women in her predicament aren’t subject to the same backlog. Carol Bart, 52, was kidnapped in 1984 – her assailant repeatedly raped her at knife point before letting her go. Though she got a rape kit, which took samples of her attacker’s DNA, the kit sat on a shelf collecting dust for nearly a quarter century.  When it was finally tested, the DNA produced a hit, but the five-year statute of limitations had already come and left, leaving little justice for Ms Bart, who had suffered decades of anguish.  READ MORE HERE

George De La Torre Junior Elementary School in Wilmington, CA

WILMINGTON, CA — Another L.A. Unified teacher is being investigated for allegedly inappropriately touching at least one student. The latest allegations concern a teacher at George de La Torre Junior Elementary and could involve up to ten children, authorities said. The unidentified teacher has been removed from the classroom while an investigation is conducted. But the teacher has not been fired, and no arrests have been made.  READ MORE HERE

ARCADIA, CA — Authorities are looking for a convicted sex offender suffering from dementia who was last seen a week ago. James Randall McCain, 58, has been missing since March 12 at about 4 p.m. He was last seen at his apartment building on Huntington Drive near Michillinda Avenue. READ MORE HERE

STUDIO CITY, CA– Police are searching for a man suspected of shooting the mother of his two young children in the head, and then fleeing with the kids. Police responded to a call around 4:50 a.m. from the Sportsmen’s Lodge, located at Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon. The female victim was the one who called 911, authorities said. READ MORE HERE

WATCH VIDEO COVERAGE HERE

21-month-old Maaliyah and 6-month-old Zyler

A child has been saved from the care of beasts. Mary Horsely, 50, will be imprisoned at least 20 years for binding her 21-month-old niece, Alexis Salaz, in duct tape, and abandoning her in a cold shower leaving the child unconscious and brain dead. Although acquitted of attempted murder, Horsely has been found guilty of torturing her niece, Alexis, by putting tape over her eyes and immersing her in cold water–rendering the child brain dead in her final act of malice.  READ MORE HERE

ST. JOHNS, MI — A St. Johns woman faces potential prison time after her 10-year-old daughter was found dead at home last fall. Kathleen Parker, 47, is charged with second-degree child abuse, a felony punishable by up to four years imprisonment. Parker’s daughter, Vienna, was found dead at home, an apartment in the 400 block of East Higham Street, on Sept. 22, 2011.  READ MORE HERE

The software giant, along with a Swedish technology company, is providing photo-identification technology free of charge to law enforcement to help detect and thwart child abuse. Microsoft is giving law enforcement PhotoDNA, a digital tool that sifts through massive amounts of online images to help identify instances of child pornography and rescue victims. The software giant announced this morning that it, along with NetClean, a Swedish maker of technology to combat the spread of child porn, will give away the image-matching software to help law enforcement agencies detect new images of child abuse online. That then helps those agencies focus their efforts on tracking down abusers. READ MORE HERE

On June 27,1997 Dodge city police officers responded to a call 20 month old Colton Downtain was having difficulty breathing. Colton was transported to Western Plains Regional Hospital where he died the autopsy preformed showed he did NOT DIE OF NATURAL CAUSES! On December 5,2011 Contact was made with the detective and i could get no information unless I go into his office. How does this happen 14 years without Justice?  READ MORE HERE (and) HERE

Buried amid rape kit backlog: Justice for Victims

DETROIT — For nearly two decades, Carol Bart’s untested rape kit collected dust in a police evidence room. Her attacker, who kidnapped her from outside her Dallas apartment and repeatedly raped her at knifepoint, had spent time in prison by coincidence, but not for sexually assaulting Bart. Bart, now a 52-year-old mother of four, fears that among the thousands of backlogged, untested kits pulled from a Detroit police evidence room are stories of women similarly violated only to be forgotten by a justice system that seemingly has placed its priorities and resources elsewhere. READ MORE HERE

Christine Ackerman said she often finds it difficult to talk to people about the sexual abuse she endured as a child. But Ackerman, 31, said she had no trouble talking to Pilot, the horse she came to know in a program called EAST or Equine Assisted Survivors of Trauma.

The program is a partnership of the Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center and Central Kentucky Riding for Hope at the Kentucky Horse Park. Its creation stems from a desire to expand the riding program’s mental health programming at the Kentucky Horse Park and the rape crisis center’s commitment to offer cutting-edge healing opportunities to survivors of sexual violence. READ MORE HERE

Gender nonconformity linked to child abuse

Girls who dress or act like boys, and boys who act feminine may be more likely to be abused and end up with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a U.S. study. Researchers whose findings appeared in the Pediatrics medical journal said that parents or other adults who are uncomfortable with gender nonconformity may treat children differently, sometimes violently, or be convinced that they can change their feelings and behavior. READ MORE HERE

——————————————

Childhood Gender Nonconformity Linked To Higher Abuse Risk

Children who do not conform to their gender-expected behaviors and interests are at a higher risk of being abused and facing subsequent traumas, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital Boston reported in the journal Pediatrics. Childhood gender nonconformity refers to a phenomenon in which children, before puberty, do not conform to psychological or sociological patterns expected of their gender, or their identification with the opposite gender. Examples include a preference for playmates of the opposite sex, choosing not to take part in activities thought suitable for their gender, and a propensity to cross-dress.  READ MORE HERE

——————————————

Defying gender norms linked to childhood abuse, PTSD

For Malic White, growing as a child actor meant frequently challenging what it means to be a girl or a boy. But it wasn’t until White identified as transgender during high school that the question of self became difficult and complex. “My family was okay with me being queer,” said White, who is graduating from the University of Chicago in June with a bachelor of arts in gender studies and creative writing. “But being trans is difficult for them to identify with because I don’t represent my gender in a binary way.”  READ MORE HERE

——————————————

Childhood Gender Nonconformity Ups Abuse Risk, Study Says

Childhood gender nonconformity- when a prepubescent child identifies with the opposite gender- is an issue with which society is becoming increasingly more aware and accepting. Not always, however- as demonstrated by the recent nationwide controversy surrounding one trans girl’s struggle to join her local Girl Scout troop. And the outpouring of both support and sadly, scorn, seems to be indicative of a larger scale lack of acceptance when it comes to children who don’t conform to gender norms- eschewing toys, activities, clothing and playmates associated with their gender. In the past, studies have linked early gender nonconformity with a child later identifying as gay or transgender (although this is more frequently not the case), but a new study out of Harvard School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital Boston has also linked the phenomenon with higher risk of abuse. READ MORE HERE

TOMBOY

Derived from the term “tomcat” for a male cat, the Tomboy is a major character archetype, and yet is also a somewhat vague concept. A Tomboy is a girl, usually a young one (the implication being that she will “grow out of it” *), who has tastes and behaviors usually associated with boys. Because these associations are culture-dependent and tend to change, what exactly constitutes a “Tomboy” is somewhat subjective. Historically, any girl interested in science, mechanics, or combat has been called tomboyish; today, calling these pursuits “unfeminine” is considered by many to be old-fashioned at best. However, even where gender roles are relatively lax or fluid, choices made regarding media consumption, recreation, and fashion, remain segregated for the most part. Thus the Tomboy remains a current figure, and a popular one for various reasons: A woman might chafe at how “femininity” limits her own choices and find a like minded heroine empowering; boys might find a girl who likes the things they do more relatable.  READ MORE HERE

KINGFISHER — A former Hennessey police officer was given a 45-year sentence after pleading guilty to a felony count of child sexual abuse. Patrick Clay Stackhouse, 29, was ordered to serve all but five years of the sentence by District Judge Paul Woodward. Stackhouse was facing a minimum of 25 years in prison, maximum of life and a fine of $500 to $5,000 for the abuse of an 8-year-old girl that lasted about two years. READ MORE HERE