Couple shot dead, son aged 12 drowned in scalding bath

• Sobbing child was tied up and gagged before being murdered in bath ‘because he could identify them’
• The three men assaulted the father with a golf club and blade before shooting both adults
  
• Family dog had stomach cut open
• Trio worked for the family and said killings were revenge for being badly treated

Even in a country that sees 44 murders a day, this case has left the public horrified. A gang of robbers gunned down a father, raped and murdered his wife. Then, in a final act of sickening brutality, they drowned the couple’s 12-year-old son in scalding bath water. Amaro Viana was murdered to prevent him from identifying the three housebreakers who carried out the raid in suburban South Africa. The gang included the family’s gardener and the son of a domestic servant. It was claimed they were motivated by the way they had been treated by the Viana family. READ MORE HERE

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KILLERS: From left, Sipho Mbele, David Motaung and Patrick Petrus Radebe smiled in court as they admitted to their sick crimes

MONTEREY COUNTY — An Amber Alert has been issued after authorities believe a 16-year-old girl from Northern California was abducted and may be enroute to Mexico. Eunice Serrato, 16, was last seen in San Ardo on Saturday. Sheriff’s investigators believe she was abducted by two male family members driving a blue Chevrolet Tahoe who are believed to be armed and dangerous.  READ MORE HERE

Jason Daniel Gandy, 35, from Houston, Texas, was arrested on Wednesday for taking a 15-year-old boy to London to sexually exploit him. According to chron.com, Gandy was charged with transportation of a minor for a commercial sex act. This charge could put him in prison for up to ten years and a fine up to $250,000. READ MORE HERE

LAFOLLETTE – A former LaFollette police officer indicted on 44 felony counts of child sex crimes has been added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top Ten Most Wanted List. The investigation of Michael Shane Baker, 39, began in Georgia several months ago. Baker is accused of having inappropriate contact with an underage girl through the Internet, webcams and text messages between August and December 2011. The indictment says Baker allegedly got the girl to engage in sexual activity and simulated sexual activity. READ MORE HERE

QUINCY, PA —  A man in south-central Pennsylvania confronting his wife about custody arrangements for their daughter fatally shot three people, then fled with the 4-year-old girl before the two were found about 250 miles away in Ohio, authorities said Saturday. The man, Kevin Matthew Cleeves, was trying to contact his wife Friday to make arrangements to pick up his daughter Leia, but his wife didn’t answer the phone, so he went to a home in Quincy Township, the (Waynesboro) Record-Herald reported, citing court records.  READ MORE HERE

OXFORD, Mass. – A man who had recently separated from his wife shot his two children, killing his 7-year-old daughter, before committing suicide, prosecutors said. A family member called police Saturday night after finding the bodies of 41-year-old Daryl Benway and his daughter, Abigail, in the master bedroom of their two-story Oxford home, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said. READ MORE HERE

At Childhelp, they have always believed that sports help children heal. The psychological and physical benefits of fitness are well documented, and there are so many areas where organized sporting activities allow children that have been abused and neglected to work through obstacles. Accomplishments on the field raise self-esteem, problem solving on the court can renew confidence and teamwork rebuilds trust. “Trust” is a key word in recovery and the relationship between a child and his or her coaching staff should be based on the essential belief that an adult authority figure is someone of understanding, integrity and security. At our residential treatment facilities, staff members work closely with our little survivors to help them kick the soccer ball farther (as their troubles roll away from them), toss the football a little straighter (while learning they can visualize their lives going any direction they please), swim an extra lap (because through hard work anything is possible) and shoot the basketball a little higher (hopefully closer to their dreams). Through trust, the children in our care believe their futures can be brighter.  READ MORE HERE

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Parents work hard to protect their children from harm of any sort. We feed them well, teach them to watch out for vehicles in crosswalks and offer counsel to get them safely through childhood. But what can we do when the danger lurks not in shadowy corners and fast automobiles but in the most trusted place away from home? We live in a very small community and our local elementary school has about 300 children total, including prekindergarten classes. The walls throughout the school are painted with colorful murals, the library is the heart of the school and every teacher knows every child by name. READ MORE HERE

Children Tortured, Raped and Executed in Syria

Reports out of Syria show horrific abuses or children from both sides of the conflict, including abduction, rape and extreme torture. It is estimated that  between 500 and 1,300 children have been killed in the conflict to date. Rob Williams, chief executive of War Child, which is providing emergency assistance to Syrian children refugees in Lebanon, said: “The Syrian conflict must now rank as one of the worst for the depth and scale of abuses against children. ”  READ MORE HERE

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UNICEF alarmed by reports of violence against children in Syria

Grim toll on Syrian children: UN report cites torture, execution

Stop the violence in Syria – Emergency Alert – Save the Children

The father of a young girl who was raped while camping with her family five years ago expressed his satisfaction after an arrest was finally made in the case, and also anger that the crime happened in the first place. Reginald Juntunen, 24, was booked into the Lewis County Jail on Thursday for investigation of rape of a child, rape, child molestation, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and assault, after a DNA match connected him to the crime.  READ MORE HERE

A marine is now charged with rape and a fellow marine is charged as an accessory after Onslow County deputies say they took girls to a hotel and they were reported missing. Chandler Bible is charged with first degree rape and Ethan Lee is charged with accessory after the fact.  READ MORE HERE

Attorneys representing a 17-year-old boy accused of killing another teen told jurors Friday that their client has suffered from various mental disorders since he was a child and some of this mental problems can be linked to sexual abuse. But prosecutors told jurors defendant Alex Medina, of Ojai, is a malingerer and manipulator who trying to get out of a long prison sentence for first-degree murder.  READ MORE HERE

As long ago as 1932, the MP Colonel Wedgwood (direct descendent of the famous potter) spoke in parliament on the ‘horrible practice of female circumcision’ that he had seen in Kenya and questioned any acceptance of ‘their customs…their cruelties’. It’s a practice that involves the partial to complete removal of a girl’s external genitals which inevitably has a severely damaging impact on her physical, sexual and mental health.  READ MORE HERE

A convicted child rapist sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl after spiking her Fruit Shoot drink with vodka while on bail for another sex attack on a youngster. Twisted Samuel Omar, 64, was given the opportunity to offend again after his court case for a vile attack on a young girl was delayed because of government funding cutbacks.  The pedophile had been due to stand trial in May for sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl last July and superimposing her face onto pictures of topless models. READ MORE HERE

WOODSTOCK, Ill.—  The nephew of infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy is facing his own legal woes as he stands trial in McHenry County this week on sexual assault and abuse charges. Raymond Kasper, 49, is accused of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a girl under the age of 13.  READ MORE HERE