CYPRESS, Texas—A 16-year-old girl walked half a mile for help after she was assaulted and raped in a wooded area northwest of Houston, officials said late Tuesday. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the victim left her home around 11 p.m. after arguing with a family member. She was walking near Cypress Woods High School when the suspect ambushed her. The man grabbed her, dragged her into a field and beat her with a blunt object. He then sexually assaulted her. The victim pretended to be dead. READ MORE HERE

A nine-year-old girl named Dafne from Mexico had given birth on January 27th to a baby girl weighing 5.95 lbs. The 17-year-old father of the child is no where to be found.  Dafne’s mother believes that the father ran away to escape charges of rape and sex abuse.  READ MORE HERE

Yeah, post a video of yourself committing assault and see how that goes for you. Chase Christa, a 16-year-old student from Pasco County, FL, was viciously attacked by a 17-year-old classmate on a school bus, who later posted a video of the beating on her Facebook page. According to News Chief, the fight allegedly ensued after Chase had stood up for a friend of hers, who was being harassed by the 17-year-old attacker earlier that day in the cafeteria. READ MORE HERE

UPDATE: The 10-year-old who was strangled by his mother died Thursday, Tucson Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Widmer said. The boy was strangled Jan. 30. The mother of the boy told police in the ensuing 911 call that she had choked her son. The boy remained in the hospital until Thursday, where he succumbed to his injuries, Widmer said. Family members of a 10-year-old boy strangled with a cord are praying for his recovery. The boy’s mom is in jail charged with attempted first degree murder and child abuse. READ MORE HERE

ARE SCHOOLS DOING ENOUGH TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN? ~ “BULLYCIDE” RATES ARE CLIMBING

Resolving a complaint about bullying often comes down to whom you believe. Not in the case of Kiefer Allan, a 15-year-old Sunlake High student whose harassment by a schoolmate was captured on a surveillance video, recorded as they rode home on the school bus one day last year. “He’s literally sitting on him,” said state Sen. Mike Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican, who viewed the video. “It’s clear that young man was bullied on that day, and probably other days.” The 22-minute video, obtained by News Channel 8 under Florida’s public records law, shows Kiefer minding his own business as a boy approaches and sits on him. Another boy tries to restrain Kiefer’s legs. They joke about sexually assaulting the much smaller Kiefer. They are surrounded by a rapt audience. The raw video is painful enough to watch, but the back story adds to the outrage for Kiefer’s family and friends. READ MORE HERE

Bully Facts & Statistics

Bullying and Suicide – Bullying Statistics

Student bullying on increase, federal statistics reveal

NOTE: Dreamcatchers for Abused Children does NOT condone this sort of punishment and disagrees with the school’s decision 100%. Playing make-believe and role-playing is a normal part of childhood. This seems very excessive  and a bit on the paranoid side on the school’s part. What kind of message is this sending to this child? 

7-YO Boy suspended from school for tossing IMAGINARY grenade during recess while pretending he was ‘rescuing the world’

A seven-year-old boy from Colorado has been suspended from school after he lobbed an imaginary grenade on the playground while pretending to be a hero soldier. Alex Evans, of Loveland, said he was playing a make-believe game called ‘rescue the world’ during recess at Mary Blair Elementary School, which resulted in his removal from class after officials said he broke a key rule. The second-grader explained that he tossed an imaginary grenade into a box containing made-up forces of evil, and made the sound ‘pshhh’ to indicate that the explosive had detonated. READ MORE HERE

• Figures show a rise in reports of incidents relating to online grooming
  
• Children Exploitation and Online Protection Centre received three a day

Parents must monitor their children’s Facebook accounts to protect them from online predators, a top child protection expert has said. The deputy children’s commissioner said parents should stop children uploading pictures of themselves kissing, showing their flesh or wearing any sort of revealing outfit. Sue Berelowitz threw her weight behind calls for greater family control of online risks by saying that parents should warn their children that once a picture is online, there is a danger it will be shared with anyone from classmates to strangers.  READ MORE HERE

Torment of mother whose daughter, five, was ‘raped’ and tortured to death by celebrity cleric ex-husband

The mother of a five-year-old Saudi girl who was tortured to death by her ‘celebrity cleric’ father, has said she wants him brought to justice. Lama al-Ghamdi died in October having suffered multiple injuries including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm as well as extensive bruising. It has been alleged that she had also been repeatedly raped and that the injuries she sustained from the sexual abuse had been burned. READ MORE HERE

Logan Ivey was hit as many as 26 times by a shop clerk’s belt after he threw a cookie at her

A dollar store employee has been arrested for allegedly taking off her belt and beating a customer’s eight-year-old son after he ran around the shop and threw a cookie at her. Emilia Graciela Bell, 39, has also been fired from her clerk position at the Dollar General in Wrightsville, Georgia after bosses and police reviewed surveillance footage which caught the attack. While authorities have not yet released the video, they said it shows Bell hitting Logan Ivey as many as 26 times as he screamed and tried to squirm away. Wrightsville Police Chief Paul Sterling said Logan was running around in the store when he was confronted by Bell. READ MORE HERE

Head of Tennessee’s CPS Agency Resigns

The embattled commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services has resigned amid an investigation into at least 151 children who died while in their care in a three and a half-year period. Gov Bill Haslam announced Kate O’Day’s resignation on Tuesday in a news release while stating no mention of the investigation nor any admitted wrongdoing. ‘She was concerned that she had become more of a focus than the children the department serves,’ Haslam said in the release. He wasn’t immediately available to comment. READ MORE HERE

When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day. It’s a staggering figure, but it doesn’t shock advocates who say that the sporting event attracts more traffickers than any other in the U.S. “The Super Bowl is the greatest show on Earth, but it also has an ugly underbelly,”Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told USA Today in 2011 when his state was gearing up to host the event. “It’s commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States.” READ MORE HERE

FOX Files: Sex Trafficking At The Super Bowl

Sex trafficking and the Super Bowl

Kidnapper, JIMMY LEE DYKES, Killed — Boy in center of Alabama hostage standoff freed

A 5-year-old boy who was being held hostage in an underground bunker in Alabama for nearly a week has been released while his abductor is now dead, authorities said Monday. In a press conference Monday night, FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson told reporters the little boy had endured a lot and that he was receiving medical treatment. “The boy is laughing, joking, playing, he’s eating; he’s very brave, he’s very lucky, and the success story is that he is out safe and doing good,” he said. READ MORE  HERE

Alabama Hostage Standoff Ends: Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead, Child Safe After Secret Surveillance

Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead: 5-Year-Old Hostage Rescued In Alabama

Breaking Negative Patterns of Family Dysfunction

Every family has strengths, but some families also have weaknesses. Research has shown that adults raised in dysfunctional families frequently report difficulties forming and maintaining intimate relationships, maintaining positive self-esteem, and trusting others; they fear a loss of control, and deny their feelings and reality. It’s true—our early influences can leave behind deep grooves—both good and bad— that we tend to carry around for the rest of our lives. Dysfunction can be a difficult cycle to break, but it is possible. In my work with families, I refer to this process as “pioneer parenting”. For all pioneers who have been the first to enter new territory, the road is often long and bumpy, but the destination points can be incredibly rewarding and the legacy is definitely priceless. READ MORE HERE

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Can You Break the Cycle of Generational Dysfunction?

Breaking the Cycle: Prevent Family Dysfunction 

Breaking the Dysfunctional Family Patterns

Breaking the Cycle of Dysfunction

Police: Images on computer show man raping children

Images on a computer seized from a Bedico man allegedly show him committing the crime of aggravated rape of children, authorities said Friday. Investigators said they are trying to identify the children, but it could end up being a multistate case. Among numerous images of child pornography are two that show Robert Eugene Swan, 50, engaging in alleged felony sex acts with children who appear to be under the age of 10, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said. One of them could be under a year old, he said. READ MORE HERE