SUN VALLEY, CA — Police are investigating a third report in recent weeks of a man exposing himself near a school in Sun Valley. The latest incident happened Thursday morning around 7:30 a.m. near Francis Polytechnic High School. A teenage girl was walking to school when she said a man in a red compact car called out to her and exposed himself. Police believe he may be connected to a string of sexual misconduct cases, including assaults and attempted kidnappings of nearly a dozen young women and girls in the past year. READ MORE HERE
After weeks of torment, a Colorado third-grader finds himself chastised for taking a stand. Nathan Pemberton, 9, endured weeks of bullying before deciding to fight back Wednesday – an act that got the West Elementary School student suspended. Deborah Pemperton, Nathan’s mother, feels the suspension is a misdirected reprimand, arguing that her son had done nothing wrong. READ MORE HERE
A mother and her daughter were found dead after being brutally attacked. Ignacia Martinez, 38, and her daughter Karla Martinez, 10, were found dead after the mother’s 9-year-old son went to school and informed officials that they were dead at home. According to Fox 5 Vegas, Ignacia and Karla were both beaten and raped to death, Arturo Martinez, the husband and father, was also found in critical condition. READ MORE HERE
A little girl was not just beaten to death, but she was bitten to death. 2½-year-old Armaney Cotton was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon at St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center after her mother, Brittany Cotton, 19, dropped Armaney off at her boyfriend’s house where the infant was allegedly beaten and bitten to death in what officials are calling a homocide. READ MORE HERE
On April 23, Dreamcatchers Talk Radio host and Executive Director Patricia “Tricia” McKnight will sit down one-on-one with the author of “Stolen Innonce” 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 Feburary 14, 2011. READ MORE HERE
Testimony reveals tumultuous life of Baby Gabriel’s parents
PHOENIX — The woman who wanted to adopt missing baby Gabriel Johnson in the weeks before his disappearance is on trial. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Tammi Smith of Phoenix forged adoption papers, and committed custodial interference in December of 2009. Gabriel Johnson was 9-months-old when his parents split. Logan McQueary, Gabriel’s father, was the first witness called against Smith at trial. READ MORE HERE
Online pedophiles are abandoning known grooming practices and striking up highly sexualised conversations with their prey within just two minutes. The internet has become so awash with potential victims that sexual predators are now making an immediate pass at children and simply moving on to the next one if unsuccessful. They are also branching out into gaming platforms, such as Xbox Live, to target youngsters, particularly boys. READ MORE HERE
Jury hears how 18lb girl, 4, ‘was starved, beaten and drugged to death by her mother’
A four-year-old girl who weighed just 18lbs when authorities found her starved, beaten and drugged body tied to a bed was so emaciated that every rib was visible, a jury has heard. Marchella Brett Pierce was tied to her SpongeBob SquarePants bed with a skipping rope when she died in September 2010, prosecutors in the case against her mother and grandmother said. READ MORE HERE
A woman remained in jail Wednesday after she said there were snakes and lizards on her 3-month-old baby and then stood on a sea wall holding the boy, authorities said. On Tuesday, the manager of a Clearwater building called authorities after she found 39-year-old Lydia M. Chako in a flooded apartment. Chako was inside, throwing items around and saying she thought there were lizards and snakes on the baby, Clearwater authorities said. READ MORE HERE
Creek County, OK – Tommy Braden, a 24-year-old Oklahoma man has been jailed after he allegedly raped his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter. According to the Creek County Sheriff’s Office, Braden called 911 Friday morning telling police that someone broke into his mobile home and raped his “little girl.” When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the girl covered in blood from the waist down. They also found the family dog dead of apparent stab wounds. READ MORE HERE
Port Richey, FL – Chekayla Ariel Dampier, an 18-year-old Florida woman was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly scorched off her baby son’s nipple because he wouldn’t stop crying. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Dampier became frustrated when her 7-week-old son wouldn’t stop crying. In retaliation, Dampier placed the infant into a wash tub and ran scorching hot water over his head and body for several minutes. Forensics experts estimated the water temperature to be approximately 142 degrees. READ MORE HERE
A Canadian man has been arrested, accused of coercing a 12-year-old girl to perform sex acts online by pretending to be pop star Justin Bieber. Toronto resident Lee Moir, 34, was arrested after police posed as a young girl and arranged to meet him. The 12-year-old girl and her family live in New Jersey, where Essex County Assistant Prosecutor John Laurino said the girl believed Moir was Bieber and started a relationship with him, e-mailing back and forth. READ MORE HERE
Search Resumes For 1979 Missing Child Etan Patz In SoHo Basement
NEW YORK — It was one of biggest stories to ever captivate New York City and beyond, and on Thursday the NYPD and FBI resumed the search for Etan Patz, a 6-year-old child who went missing in 1979. Federal and local authorities were searching the basement of a building on Prince Street in SoHo, just feet from where Patz was last believed to have been seen. READ MORE HERE
These questions lie at the heart of the memory of childhood abuse issue. Experts in the field of memory and trauma can provide some answers, but clearly more study and research are needed. What we do know is that both memory researchers and clinicians who work with trauma victims agree that both phenomena occur. However, experienced clinical psychologists state that the phenomenon of a recovered memory is rare. Also, although laboratory studies have shown that memory is often inaccurate and can be influenced by outside factors, memory research usually takes place either in a laboratory or some everyday setting. For ethical and humanitarian reasons, memory researchers do not subject people to a traumatic event in order to test their memory of it. READ MORE HERE
Rainn speaker , Renee Belinda Cooper opens up the understanding of repressed memories with child sexual assault. Most children will repress the memories of the attacks in one to ten days. And the memories tend to come back in adulthood with headaches and flashbacks (see part 1 and part 2 below):
DREAMCATCHERS FOR ABUSED CHILDREN, INC. is an official non-profit 501(c)3 child abuse & neglect organization. Our mission is to educate the public on all aspects of child abuse such as symptoms, intervention, prevention, statistics, reporting, and helping victims locate the proper resources necessary to achieve a full recovery. We also cover areas such as bullying, teen suicide & prevention, children\'s rights, child trafficking, missing & exploited children, online safety, and pedophiles/sex offenders.