‘I’d forgive his kidnapper’: Ben Needham’s dad desperate for answers on missing son

Tormented Simon Ward is still desperate to discover what happened to tot Ben who disappeared in 1991

Ben Needham’s dad has said he could forgive a childless couple if they had abducted his son. Tormented Simon Ward, 42, is still desperate to discover what happened to tot Ben who disappeared in 1991. Simon said: “It sounds strange but if Ben was abducted for a childless couple and they have him, I’d feel some sympathy. “They obviously wanted a child to love, so I’d understand that. READ MORE HERE

An Indiana special education teacher has been fired for allegedly slapping a student. The teacher, 42-year-old Gail Marie Huff, was fired from Attica Elementary School after a unanimous vote by the five-member school board to cancel her employment contract. Huff says she did nothing wrong. READ MORE HERE

LAS VEGAS — Prosecutors brought a murder charge against a 50-year-old woman accused of stabbing a young girl to death in an undeveloped Las Vegas-area housing tract and later slashing a casino co-worker while that woman dealt blackjack at a Las Vegas Strip resort.  READ MORE HERE

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VICTIM, JADE MORRIS (Below)

JUST RELEASED: This report presents national data about child abuse and neglect known to child protective services agencies in the United States during federal fiscal year 2011. Child fatalities are the most tragic consequence of maltreatment.For FFY 2011, a nationally estimated 1,570 children died from abuse and neglect.The number of reported child fatalities due to child abuse and neglect has fluctuated during the past 5 years, from 1,608 in 2007 to a high of 1,685 in 2009, and a low of 1,545 in 2011. READ MORE  HERE

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Duane John Charged With DUI Manslaughter For Crash That Killed 5 Children, One Adult In Mississippi

Duane John was charged with six counts of DUI?manslaughter Monday in the deaths of his five children and an adult in a wreck that occurred early Saturday morning, according to Neshoba County Sheriff Tommy Waddell. John, 34, was released from Neshoba County General Hospital Monday morning and charged by the Sheriff’s Office in the afternoon, Waddell said. John was in the county jail on a $150,000 bond, said Waddell.

The victims, all members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, were trapped inside. The five children who died are: Dasyanna John, 9; Duane John, 8; Bobby John, 7; Quinton John, 4; and 18-month-old Kekaimeas John. Dianne Lewis Chickaway, 37, also died.  READ MORE HERE

LOS ANGELES — A woman accused of throwing her baby from the fourth floor of a hospital parking structure pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in court Wednesday. On August 22, 2011, Sonia Hermosillo arrived at Children’s Hospital Orange County with her 7-month-old son, Noe Medina Jr. After parking her car, Hermosillo allegedly removed a special helmet her son wore to reshape his head, and then pushed him from the parking garage. READ MORE HERE

A man brought his newborn baby into a strip club. Kenneth Rowe Junior, 26, entered the Daytona Beach bar strip-club drunk with his newborn baby Saturday night and was arrested soon after. The cops were called when Rowe asked a clerk to watch his child as he stepped out to have a “cigarette.” READ MORE HERE

DETROIT – A Detroit mother has been charged with murder in the death of her 8-year-old daughter. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday that 26-year-old Semeria Greenenot Demeria Greeneis charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse. Her daughter, Tameria Greene, was found stabbed in the chest Dec. 30. READ MORE HERE

OTTAWA — The mother of a boy killed by Clifford Olson praised the Conservative government Sunday for announcing new income support for parents who take time off work when their children are murdered or go missing. Under the new federal program, the parents of children under the age of 18 who die or disappear as the result of a probable criminal offence will get up to $350 per week for up to 35 weeks as long as the applicant earned $6,500 in the previous calendar year or the previous 52 weeks and take leave from their job. READ MORE HERE

LOUISVILLE, KY – A man is facing murder charges after his girlfriend’s child died. According to the Jennings County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. a 911 call reported a baby had fallen off of a kitchen counter and was unconscious. When officers arrived at the home they began CPR on the 18-month-old and then airlifted her to Kosair Children’s Hospital. READ MORE HERE

Megachurch Worker’s Excuse for Raping Child: ‘No One Is Perfect’

Chris Denman, formerly employed at a Tulsa, Okla. megachurch with a 17,000 member congregation, was sentenced to 55 years in prison today after pleading guilty in a Tulsa courtroom to raping a 13-year-old girl at the church. Denman was a janitor at the Victory Christian Center in Tulsa. Two other girls and five other church employees are also embroiled in the sexual scandal at Victory Christian Center. READ MORE HERE

Risk Factors That May Identify Child Abuse

A survey of around 26,000 adults found three factors raised the risk for physical child abuse by 15 times. Healthcare professionals can help keep an eye out for these risks. “It appears that children from homes with parental addictions, parental unemployment and parental divorce are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Such knowledge will hopefully improve the targeting of screening for childhood physical abuse,” said the lead author. READ MORE HERE

A mother who abandoned her four young children in a hotel room to go out partying has been banned from having any more babies. Kimberly Lightsey agreed not to have any more children in return for avoiding five years in jail. A judge in Bartow, Florida offered the 30-year-old the unique plea deal as a condition of her probation. READ MORE HERE