MINNEAPOLIS  — A 24-year-old man has been sentenced for abusing a 2-year-old in Apple Valley to the point of being partially paralyzed. On Wednesday, Carlton Lewis plead guilty to felony punishment of a child and neglect. He was then sentenced to 120 days in jail with credit for 56 days served. Police received a report on April 23 that 24-year-old Ashley Marie Roff, and her boyfriend, Lewis, were abusing two girls, leaving bruises on their bodies. READ MORE HERE

Increasing public awareness of child abuse through media coverage, documentaries, films, study discussion programs and setting up Child Help lines throughout the world has focused attention on the many children who suffer from the abusive behavior of some despicable adults. The emphasis has been justly directed towards the children and much of the available resources are being poured into the training of social workers, mental health professionals and police to provide effective intervention when childhood abuse is disclosed or reported.

While the concentration of resources and focus on children is necessary and of fundamental importance, it is sometimes ignored by both professionals and the public that children who are currently, or until relatively recently, being abused, will eventually grow up into adults. Those children who have benefited from positive therapeutic intervention may have been able to repair much of the damage resulting from child abuse so that they are able to lead healthy and well adjusted adult lives, but those who were not provided with positive therapeutic intervention, or who never disclosed the secret of the abuse, may remain deeply scarred. The hidden scars of childhood abuse may stay with these victims throughout their lives.

The scars of childhood abuse are often deeply buried, or hidden, and cannot be seen on the surface. They often penetrate deep inside the psyche of the child where they have the propensity to influence and direct behavior both in the childhood and adulthood. This often results in destructive behavior patterns and inhibit the survivor from being able to live a free, mentally healthy or satisfying life. Many survivors feel permanently scarred and damaged by the abuse, and believe themselves to be unable ever to heal from the experiences, much less lead a happy or normal life.  HAVOCA wants to challenge these ideas and provide the help, support and guidance necessary to help victims start their healing journey. HAVOCA believes every victim of abuse can become a survivor, and every survivor has the ability to become a thriver!  READ MORE HERE

When you grow up in a dysfunctional family, you experience trauma and pain from your parents’ actions, words, and attitudes. Because of this trauma you experienced, you grew up changed, different from other children, missing important parts of necessary parenting that prepare you for adulthood, missing parts of your childhood when you were forced into unnatural roles within your family. For some of you, it has led you to attempt to flee the pain of your past by alcohol or drug use. Others of you feel inexplicably compelled to repeat the abuses that were done to you on your own children or with your own spouse. Others of you have felt inner anxiety or rage, and don’t know why you feel as you do. You were innocent, and your life was changed dramatically by forces in your family you had no control over, and now you are an adult survivor of that trauma. This article will discuss what these families are like, what is the impact of growing up in these families, and what you can do to begin the process of healing. READ MORE HERE

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Understanding Dysfunctional Relationship Patterns in Your Family

32 Ways You Know You Grew Up In A Dysfunctional Family

Understanding and Dealing With a Dysfunctional Family

Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families | Psych Central

Death of 5-year-old Sun Prairie boy ruled a homicide

The death of a 5-year-old Sun Prairie boy in a suspected case of child abuse has been ruled a homicide. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the child, who died Thursday, as Brayden Turnbill. Brayden’s death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy Friday. The Medical Examiner’s Office said additional examinations would continue into next week. “Our police department, along with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, continues to investigate this incident and continues to place extensive resources into the investigation,” Sun Prairie Assistant Police Chief Scott Faust said Friday. READ MORE HERE

NASHVILLE, TN — Tennessee’s first execution in nearly five years — and the first using a new single-drug method — has been scheduled for January. Department of Correction spokeswoman Dorinda Carter told The Associated Press on Thursday that 55-year-old Billy R. Irick is to be executed Jan. 15. According to the state Supreme Court clerk’s office, the execution order was filed Tuesday. Irick has been on death row since 1986 for the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl. READ MORE HERE

HUNTSVILLE, AL – The foster mother of three small children has been charged with one count of Aggravated Child Abuse and two counts of Torture and Willful Abuse of a Child after a co-worker alerted authorities. Meghan Calandra Hargress, 28, was booked into the Madison County Jail on Friday morning.  Huntsville Police spokesman Harry Hobbs said she was the foster mother of three small children, two girls and one boy. READ MORE HERE

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — An ex-Texas soldier who blamed post-traumatic stress disorder for sexually assaulting a 3-year-old boy has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Former Army Sgt. Wade Allen Perkins acknowledged to authorities that he coerced his girlfriend, also a former soldier, into sex acts with the child. READ MORE HERE

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PTSD prompted child porn, sentenced sergeant says

Two Soldiers In Texas Charged In Child Porn Case

Body of newborn baby girl found found dead on conveyor belt at recycling plant

An investigation has been launched after the body of a baby girl was found on a conveyor belt at a recycling plant, according to reports. The youngster’s corpse was discovered by a worker who was sorting recycled cans and plastic at the site. She was wrapped in a blanket when she was found at Burtec Waste Industries near Los Angeles, Sky News reports. The baby’s age has not yet been confirmed but she is believed to have been a newborn. READ MORE HERE

A Colombian mother has been caught selling her 12 young daughters’ virginities for just £125 each, police said. Margarita de Jesus Zapata Moreno, 45, was detained in Bogota earlier this week after one of her girls, now 16 and pregnant, contacted police. The teen was angry after her mother ordered her to abort her child, it is claimed.  Tito Cornelio Daza, 51, reportedly the biological father of the girl’s baby, was also arrested. Univision reports that Zapata, who has a total of 14 children, would sell their virginities once they turned 12-years-old. READ MORE HERE

BELMONT, N.H. —The family of a 2-year-old girl who died after falling down a flight of stairs at her Belmont home is seeking answers. The girl fell at her home on Concord Street on Wednesday and died this weekend, officials said. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is involved in the case but would not say if the death is suspicious. Belmont police would not comment about the case this weekend. READ MORE HERE

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Havana E. O’Flaherty, 2 – Obituary

2-year-old Belmont girl dies as result of injuries

There are a growing number of states that have enacted laws restricting the activities of sex offenders on Halloween. The type of restrictions imposed on sex offenders during Halloween hours generally range from “no passing out candy” to “no driving after dark”, among other things. While the laws are primarily meant to protect children from potential threats by former sex offenders and child predators on Halloween, critics believe these Halloween restriction laws infringe on an individual’s fundamental rights — at least on one “scary” day of the year. –  READ MORE HERE 

Ohio doctor admits he killed pregnant woman with heroin overdose and ‘did inhumane things to her corpse’

A former Ohio doctor accused of killing a pregnant woman last year by injecting her with heroin after she answered a Craigslist ad pleaded guilty today for her death and that of her nearly full-term unborn child. Ali Salim, 44, entered the pleas in Delaware County Court, north of Columbus, ahead of his trial scheduled for next week.  He faces 37 years in prison at a December sentencing. READ MORE HERE

Mother reveals 14-year-old’s heartbreaking poem she wrote about bullying shortly before being found dead at home

The words are harrowing and haunting. For the mother of the tormented teenager who wrote them, they must have been unbearable to read. The poem printed here was written by 14-year-old Izzy Dix, who killed herself in September after suffering months of cruel taunts from fellow school pupils and internet trolls. Yesterday her grieving mother Gabbi released the work to the public in the hope that her daughter’s words might make other potential bullies think twice about their behaviour and perhaps prevent further tragedy. READ MORE HERE

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MOTHER AND HER BOYFRIEND CHARGED WITH BOY’S MURDER

It’s been at least 20 years since the death penalty was sought in a Rhea County, Tenn., court, according to District Attorney Mike Taylor. But, he said, that’s what a number of Rhea County residents want for Jessica Robbins and Bradley Adcox, the couple accused of abusing Robbins’ 5-year-old son Landon, ultimately to his death. “I have received some calls from probably around a dozen people supporting the prosecution, saying ‘We want to see justice done.’ Words to that effect,” Taylor said. READ MORE HERE