Detectives: Rhea County child’s death worst case of child abuse seen

SPRING CITY, TN — It’s been four days since 5-year-old Landon Robbins was found dead inside a Rhea County home. Two suspects have been charged in connection with Landon’s death. 5-year-old Landon Robbins’ mom and her boyfriend were charged with aggravated child abuse over the weekend, but Tuesday officials said they had enough evidence to hand down a felony first degree murder charge on both. Veteran Rhea County detectives say this is the worst case of child abuse they’ve seen.

RELATED LINK | Funeral plans for Landon Robbins

Parents sue elementary school for $1.7 million

A former principal is being sued after allegedly beating a five-year-old elementary school pupil with a paddle, leaving him badly bruised and terrified to return to classes, it emerged today. Elizabeth Boyd, ex-principal of the Sunbright Elementary School in Tennessee, is being sued for $1.7 million by parents Sandra Hall and Jason Williams over the treatment of their son Lukas last year.  The couple said that although they had given verbal permission for their son to be gently swatted if he misbehaved, they claim Dr Boyd hit the boy eight times with a paddle because he had thrown some crayons. READ MORE HERE

James Bulger killer secretly released from jail and given FOURTH new identity

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Jon Venables – one of the child killers of James Bulger – has been secretly freed from prison, it was revealed today. The 31-year-old, who was released from his life sentence for the brutal murder of the toddler in 2001, was locked up again three years ago after being caught with child porn on his computer. But it has been claimed today that he was released last week and given a fourth new identity – with the cost of protecting Venables believed to have passed £1million. The Sun reports that James’s family was only informed of Venables’ release yesterday. READ MORE HERE

Jon Venables release ‘fills me with terror’, says father of killed toddler James Bulger

The Effects of Sexual Crime

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms = pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities (regardless of the outcome), indecent exposure of the genitals to a child, displaying pornography to a child, actual sexual contact against a child, physical contact with the child’s genitals (except in certain non-sexual contexts such as a medical exam), viewing of the child’s genitalia without physical contact (except in nonsexual contexts such as a medical exam), or using a child to produce child pornography. SEE MORE HERE

An Aiken man arrested after police investigated a 2-year-old boy’s injuries is now facing homicide charges after the child’s death. Aiken County sheriff’s investigators arrested Ivory James Blackshire, 28, last week on a charge of inflicting great bodily injury to a child, a statement from the sheriff’s office said. READ MORE HERE

COLUMBIA — The father of 5-week-old twins was arrested Sunday night after both children ended up in the hospital with serious injuries, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Officers responded to Palmetto Health Richland around 7 p.m. Sunday night. After speaking with doctors, nurses and the infants’ parents, officers arrested the father, 45-year-old Michael Livingston, and charged him two counts of ill treatment of children, sheriff’s department spokesman Sgt. Curtis Wilson said. READ MORE HERE

Las Vegas, NV — The man accused of beating a five-month-old child is now being charged with murder. Police said the baby had severe head injuries after being beaten by 31-year-old Anthony Casey. Casey was arrested after a short standoff at his residence near Hacienda Avenue and Lindell Road last week. READ MORE HERE

Man accused in Vegas child’s abuse death due in court

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro found hanged in prison cell

Ariel Castro, the man who has been sentenced to life in prison for holding three Cleveland women captive for roughly a decade before their rescue this year, was found hanged in his cell and is believed to have committed suicide, Ohio officials said. Castro, 53, was found in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient Tuesday evening, a prison spokeswoman told the Associated Press. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. READ MORE HERE

JoEllen Smith of the Ohio Department of Corrections released the following statement.

Inmate Ariel Castro was found hanging in his cell this evening at 9:20 pm at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient. He was housed in protective custody which means he was in a cell by himself and rounds are required every 30 minutes at staggered intervals.  Upon finding inmate Castro, prison medical staff began performing life saving measures. Shortly after he was transported to OSUMC where he was pronounced dead at 10:52 pm. A thorough review of this incident is underway and more information can be provided as it becomes available pending the status of the investigation.

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro found dead, prison official says

Ariel Castro found hanged in prison cell – USA Today

Ariel Castro found dead in prison cell – CBS News

WARREN, OH – The Trumbull County grand jury has handed up secret indictments against one woman and two men from Warren with child endangering. 29-year-old Colleen M. Stytle, 25-year-old Joseph L. Boone, and 25-year-old Robert A. Branch were each indicted on four counts of violating the Ohio statute making it a felony to torture or cruelly abuse a child. Online Trumbull County court records do not give details of the alleged crimes or victims, but lists New Year’s Day of this year as the date of the offense. READ MORE HERE

CEDAR PARK — A former Central Texas High School football player charged last month with aggravated sexual assault in an incident involving a 4-year-old boy has been named in a new complaint stemming from an alleged incident involving another 4-year-old. Gregory Kelley, 18, a high school senior in Leander, remains free on bond. READ MORE HERE

Pilot abused his position at British Airways to molest hundreds of girls at African orphanages while claiming he was doing charity work

British Airways pilot used his position to abuse hundreds of vulnerable children in African schools and orphanages, the Daily Mail can reveal. First Officer Simon Wood, 54, claimed he was carrying out charity work for the airline while molesting scores of young girls during his stopovers in Africa. Dressed in a bogus captain’s uniform, he would use the airline’s good name – and even BA branded toys and colouring books – to lure children out on day trips and to five-star hotels used by the airline, where he would abuse them. READ MORE  HERE

VALINDA, CA –  An 8-month-old infant who drowned inside a home in the San Gabriel Valley community of Valinda, was left unattended in a bathtub with two young siblings, authorities said Saturday. The baby’s mother was bathing the infant with its 1-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother when she stepped away for 10 to 15 minutes, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Irys Alvarez told the Los Angeles Times.  READ MORE HERE

A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped regularly after she was placed in a child shelter house in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district. The girl was sent to the shelter house in June when her mother was detained on a drug charge. The mother was released from prison last week and contacted the shelter house to get her daughter back. They were reunited on Thursday afternoon. The mother told police that later that night the girl became sick, so she took her to Banglamung Hospital early Friday morning. READ MORE HERE