Man Filmed Attacking Teen With Axe

A Utah man faces aggravated assault charges after police say he swung an axe at a teenage boy. The boy received minor injuries in the alleged attack, which was filmed by a neighbor. Witnesses say Phelan Silas, 23, went home and grabbed an axe following an argument about the boy’s driving. In raw footage of the incident, Silas can be seen swinging the axe at the boy twice. READ MORE HERE

On the evening of August 24, a vicious crime against a child occurred in Shanxi Province Linfen City Fenxi County. A 6-year-old boy was abducted into the wilderness where the perpetrator then cruelly severely injured his eyes. According to media reports, the boy’s father explained that on August 24th, 6-year old Xiao Binbin of Shanxi Fenxi County had been playing outside, [but was later] found in the wilderness not far from his home. Xiao Binbin had been drugged and unconscious, his face covered in blood, with both his eyes dug out. READ MORE HERE

SPRINGFIELD, MO — A southwestern Missouri man was charged in federal court Thursday with sexually exploiting a 4-year-old girl to produce child pornography. This criminal indictment resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); in cooperation with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force (SMCCTF); the police departments of Duneweg and Sarcoxie, Mo.; and the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department. Tony Lasiter, 31, of Duneweg, Mo., was charged via federal criminal complaint in Springfield. READ MORE HERE

A former BBC engineer who downloaded tens of thousands of child porn images and stashed many of them on computer equipment stored at his work was jailed for 20 months yesterday. Darren Shearer, 26, spent five years collecting a catalogue of indecent images and videos including 270 pictures at the most serious level 5 category. Many of the images were discovered on a computer hard drive at the BBC’s Mailbox studios in Birmingham where he worked as an outside broadcast engineer. READ MORE HERE

What Parents Should Know About Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is any interaction between a child and an adult (or another child) in which the child is used for the sexual stimulation of the perpetrator or an observer. A central characteristic of any abuse is domination of the child by the perpetrator through deception, force, or coercion into sexual activity. Children, due to their age, cannot give meaningful consent to sexual activity.

Child sexual abuse includes touching and non-touching behaviors:

sexual kissing
inappropriate touching or fondling of the child’s genitals, breasts, or buttocks
masturbation
oral-genital contact
sexual or digital (with fingers) penetration
pornography (forcing the child to view or use of the child in)
child prostitution
exposure or “flashing” of body parts to the child
voyeurism (ogling of the child’s body)
verbal pressure for sex

READ MORE HERE

READ MORE HERE — CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

WANTED FOR ALLEGED ATTEMPTED RAPE OF A CHILD

The San Jose Police Department is currently seeking Gabino Armendariz Lopez on a warrant charging him with an alleged attempted rape of a 12 year old girl and a completed child molest against the same girl. Lopez was last known to live in the east side of San Jose and worked as a janitor and landscaper. He told relatives that he was fleeing to Mexico. A $500,000.00 Ramey Warrant is on file for Lopez’s arrest. READ MORE HERE

A former Parent-Teacher Association president is being accused of filming child pornography in an elementary school.  The FBI arrested 37-year-old David Navarro on suspicion of child pornography charges Friday in North Mason County, Washington.  The feds learned about the video from authorities in Australia and Denmark who found a video depicting an 8-year-old girl engaging in sexual acts. READ MORE HERE

3-month-old boy dies after father ‘leaves him in boiling car on 100F day for over an hour to smoke marijuana with co-workers’

A Phoenix father has been charged with manslaughter and child abuse for allegedly leaving his 3-month-old son to bake in a hot car while he smoked marijuana with co-workers.   It over 100 degrees at midday on Wednesday when 31-year-old father Daniel Gray left his infant son Jamison in the car outside of his work. Gray says he was checking in at the sports bar where he works as a kitchen manager, when he lost track of time. READ MORE HERE

A 9-year-old girl was beaten and nearly killed in the women’s bathroom of a Florida Best Buy, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Police have arrested 29-year-old James Patrick Tadros. The Sheriff’s Office says Tadros lured the girl into the women’s bathroom of a Jacksonville Best Buy where he then punched, kicked her and put a plastic bag over her head while holding her down in the toilet. READ MORE HERE

Mona Nelson, Accused of Torching Boy to Death, Found Guilty

A woman accused of using a blowtorch to kill a 12-year-old boy has been found guilty of capital murder. She will now spend the rest of her life in prison with no chance of parole. Mona Nelson is accused of killing Jonathan Foster back in 2010. The Durham Elementary fifth grader was reported missing on December 24. His badly burned body was found four days later. READ MORE HERE

SEATTLE, WA — A dozen men filed a broad new lawsuit against the Boy Scouts and former adult leaders Thursday, saying that abuse occurred regularly in Washington state sites such as a popular camp outside of Seattle. The case accuses 13 different people of abuse — the largest number of such defendants in a case filed against the Boy Scouts of America, according to the attorneys. Those named in the filing include a scoutmaster accused of repeatedly abusing two boys, a camp cook accused of raping a boy, and a business manager accused of abusing a boy in a tent. At least one of those accused denies the allegations and says he was out of the country when the alleged abuse happened. READ MORE HERE

MARIETTA, GA — The mother of a baby fatally shot in his stroller in coastal Georgia has taken the stand for the second day. Sherry West gave tearful testimony Tuesday about the killing of her son at a suspect’s murder trial. When proceedings ended for the day, she was still being cross examined by the defense. DeMarquise Elkins is charged with murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. READ  MORE HERE

Back to school spells sports and after-school activities for kids, but what about those days you come home from work late and your tween doesn’t have anything scheduled? For many parents, allowing preteens to stay home alone is a big, nervous decision. With a few essential safety tips in place that establish a routine for your tween, after-school will be fun with little worry for you.

1. Build a trust network with your neighborhood watch group.

Before the school year starts, choose neighbors your child is comfortable with contacting so she has someone to call or easily visit if she needs someone or gets scared. Contacting your local neighborhood watch group is an ideal, safe source you can establish a trust network with. Nnwi.org is a national neighborhood watch association dedicated to helping communities promote safety. They offer great resources to help parents talk to neighbors about organizing “safe” places in the neighborhood if kids run into trouble.

2. Keeping kids busy keeps them out of trouble.

If this is your child’s first time staying home alone, they may be overwhelmed by the excitement of the idea. Allow your child to relax with personal downtime after school, but encourage them to complete homework or practice their band instrument as an incentive to have free time to hang out later at night. Scholastic.com offers interactive, self-guided arts and crafts activities that are learning tools but are fun enough to keep tween-aged kids from getting bored.

3. Have an emergency plan and then practice it.

Experts agree that staying safe when home alone is more about boosting confidence than causing them to be scared of potential intruders or emergencies. Do it yourself home security installation, which is conveniently connected to cellular phones, home phones and the Internet, can empower your tween to feel secure. Along with making sure smoke detectors and emergency services phone numbers are stored in your child’s phone, be sure your child understands to leave the house immediately when a smoke alarm goes off and head to the designated neighbors house to call 911.

4. Stick to the same route home everyday.

If your tween walks home, practice the route with her before school starts and insist she takes this same way every day. If she rides the bus, have her ride it every day. The National Safe Routes To School Partnership suggests your child say “No thanks” to unplanned rides from friends’ parents to avoid unpredictable situations such as accidents that could compromise safety. The same route ensures you can predict how long it will take your tween to arrive home safely.

5. Keep the phone mostly off-limits.

Unless you have caller ID, it’s a good idea for kids to avoid answering the phone. Tweens can be easily persuaded by potential intruders to expose personal information unknowingly. A dedicated cell phone for emergencies with family and friend’s numbers programmed can be helpful and more secure than the home phone. Mychildsafety.net offers more tips to share with kids when answering the phone.

Author: Albert Lester

LAS VEGAS — A California man is under arrest charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a student at a Las Vegas middle school. According to Metro Police, the 13-year-old victim was locking up her bicycle at Woodbury Middle School, near Sandhill Road and Harmon Avenue, at about 6 a.m. Wednesday. She catches a bus there to K.O. Knudson Middle School.  Police said the suspect grabbed her, pushed her into a dark place and assaulted her several times. He used a knife during the attack, police said. READ MORE HERE