HANCOCK COUNTY, MS — A Hancock County woman is out on bond after being arrested for allegedly trying to sell her 4-month-old baby boy. Investigators said Bobbie Stojic, 23, offered to sell her baby boy to a Louisiana woman for $5,000. This case marked a first for the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and sent shock-waves through the community.  “Miss Stojic had posted an ISO, ‘In Search of,’ on Craigslist for baby clothes. She was contacted by a young lady over in Louisiana. A relationship had been built between Miss Stojic and the individual over in Louisiana,” said Investigator Brandon Normand, with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. READ MORE HERE

Washington State police were able to catch Ryan Firoved thanks to help from his girlfriend, who set him up after he bragged to her about having sex with children. A King County jury convicted Firoved of attempted first-degree child rape and Superior Court Judge Douglass North sentenced him to 10 years in state prison after he was caught trying to rape his girlfriend’s daughter. When 37-year-old Firoved showed up to a motel room hoping to find his girlfriend’s child, he was greeted by police. READ MORE HERE

Oxford, MS — News Channel 3 has confirmed a woman and her son have been murdered in Oxford, MS. Police say Dr. Carol Lavett Gary and her 12-year-old son Patrick Earl Gary, Jr. were found dead apparently from gunshot wounds. Dr. Gary was principal at Davidson Elementary School in Water Valley, MS. Both were found dead in their home in the South Oaks subdivision in the 200 block of County Road 301. Oxford police say they are questioning several people including some family members, but there are no suspects. READ MORE HERE

Serial child abuser Stephen “Rossi” Walsh to apply for bail

Notorious Dublin criminal and serial child abuser Stephen “Rossi” Walsh will apply for bail pending appeals against his separate convictions for rape, indecent assault and defilement of a child. Walsh (65) formerly of Belgrave Road, Rathgar in Dublin, is currently serving a 10-year sentence imposed by Mr Justice Paul Carney in February 2010 for raping a nine-year-old girl twenty years ago. READ MORE HERE

BULLYING FACTS & STATISTICS (provided by: http://www.standforthesilent.org/)

The numbers continue to rise every month…
– It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Source: National Education Association.
– American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Dan Olweus, National School Safety Center.
– 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.
– 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
– 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
– 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
– 1 out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.

– 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

– Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools.

– 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying

– Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers.

– Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings.

– 87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.”

– 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.

– 61% of students said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home.

– 54% of students said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school.

– According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.

– Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.

Bullying can take many forms but it usually includes the following types of behavior:

• Physical – hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or any other form of physical attack. Damage to or taking someone else’s belongings may also constitute as physical bullying.

• Verbal – name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, remarks or teasing, using sexually suggestive or abusive language, offensive remarks

• Indirect – spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumours, sending abusive mail, and email and text messages (cyber bullying).

• Cyber Bullying – any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium. There are 7 types including:

1. Text message bullying

2. Picture/video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras

3. Phone call bullying via mobile phones

4. E-mail bullying

5. Chat-room bullying

6. Bullying through instant messaging (IM)

7. Bullying via websites

Bully Related Suicide
Suicide remains among the leading causes of death of children under 14. And in most cases, the young people die from hanging. (AAS)

A new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. (Yale School of Medicine)

Suicide rates among children between the ages of 10 & 14 are very low, but are “creeping up.” (Ann Haas, Director of the Suicide Prevention Project at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

The suicide rate among young male adults in Massachusetts rose 28 percent in 2007. However, that does not reflect deaths among teenagers and students Carl’s age. (Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, in a report released April 8, 2009)

• Since 2002, at least 15 schoolchildren ages 11 to 14 have committed suicide in Massachusetts. Three of them were Carl’s age. (“Constantly Bulled, He Ends His Life at Age 11,” by Milton J. Valencia. The Boston Globe, April 20, 2009)

• Suicide rates among 10 to 14-year-olds have grown more than 50 percent over the last three decades. (The American Association of Suicidology, AAS)

• In 2005 (the last year nationwide stats were available), 270 children in the 10-14 age group killed themselves. (AAS)

BULLYING & HOMOSEXUALITY

In a 2007 study, 86% of LGBT students said that they had experienced harassment at school during the previous year. (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network — GLSEN)

Research indicates that LGB youth may be more likely to think about and attempt suicide than heterosexual teens. (GLSEN)
In a 2005 survey, students said their peers were most often bullied because of their appearance, but the next top reason was because of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. (“From Teasing to Torment: School Climate of America” — GLSEN and Harris Interactive)

According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 students…

• Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation

• Nearly half (44.1 percent) reported being physically harassed

• About a quarter (22.1 percent) reported being physically assaulted.

• Nearly two-thirds (60.8 percent) who experienced harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school

• Of those who did report the incident, nearly one-third (31.1 percent) said the school staff did nothing in response

Kindergartner, 5, ‘repeatedly sexually assaulted classmate in school bathroom’

A five-year-old child has been accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting another child of the same age in the local school bathroom, police said today. Tamara Wilson, from Houston, Texas, said her son came home from River Roads Lutheran School last month and described how another five-year-old performed oral sex on him. He said it wasn’t the first time it happened. The children were unsupervised at the time. ‘He was having nightmares, waking up screaming in the middle of the night,’ Wilson said. ‘I was devastated, I was in shock, I had him repeat it two-three times.’ READ MORE HERE

The paternal grandmother of a 10-year-old Georgia girl whose emaciated body was discovered burned in a trash can over the weekend said the system had failed the child. Eman and Tiffany Moss, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, have been arrested and charged with murder, concealing a body, and child cruelty after police say they had starved to death their daughter, Emani, and then set her body on fire to cover up the crime. Police reports released since Saturday, when Emani’s malnourished remains were found in a garbage bin outside her home in suburban Atlanta, indicate that the 10-year-old tried to run away from home and showed up at school with bruises and welts. READ MORE HERE

A Texas man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting at least 15 young girls aged under seven-years-old. Police arrested Tad Jeremy Costin after computer memory cards containing hundreds of images of child pornography were found in boxes at his former home in Dayton. Investigators then allegedly found six hard drives and 80 CDs containing further abuse pictures at his address in Pearland.  Detectives say pictures included ones of him assaulting young children. READ MORE HERE

She was only 15-years old when she was drugged, kidnapped by an ‘abusive’ 22-year-old boyfriend

The riddle surrounding the woman who was discovered in Mexico nine years after going missing took a bizarre twist today after police cast doubt on claims she’d ever been kidnapped. Family and friends of Connie McCallister – now 25 – have repeatedly told how their loved one was abducted by her abusive Mexican boyfriend, drugged and smuggled across the border, aged just 15. They say they have had absolutely no contact with her until she finally got in touch in mid-September, revealed she had split up with the older man she had gone to Mexico with and was now married with three children and was working on a farm in an undisclosed location.  READ MORE HERE

A one-time Playboy model has been arrested today in connection with a massive child porn bust.  Julia Lack, 26, of Pearland, Texas, was arrested on Thursday and charged with one count of child pornography possession.  Her boyfriend Tad Jeremy Costin, 41, was arrested on November 1 in a case involving potentially thousands of images of a man taking part in sexual acts with children. READ MORE HERE

Police arrest 2 in slaying of family

JACKSON, Mississippi — A second suspect was arrested and charged in the abduction and killing of a Mississippi couple and their 7-year-old son, authorities said Thursday. Cedric D. Mason, 30, of Jackson, was arrested late Wednesday on two counts of capital murder and two counts of kidnapping, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. Authorities said they are still trying to piece together exactly what happened. READ MORE HERE

Three members of Mississippi family found shot to death in wake of mysterious fiery car crash; suspect in custody

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states that as of 2012, there are nearly 750,000-registered sex offenders throughout the nation and more than 100,000 offenders are lost in the system. Some of the ways a sexual predator can find your child is through chat rooms, blogs, social networking, discussion boards and email. This is troubling when paired with a report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau stating that more than 60 percent of children aged 3 to 17 years and 82 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds access the Internet.

Know How a Predator Seduces Your Child

• The first thing a predator does is show your child attention. He listens to and expresses sympathy for your child’s problems.
• He may offer gifts.
• He stays abreast of the music and hobbies that children enjoy.
• He may evaluate your child to determine if they can meet outside of the Internet.
• He will ease them into sexual conversations or gradually start showing them sexually explicit material.

Minimize Your Child’s Risk of Becoming a Victim

Use current news stories to discuss potential online dangers with your child. Let him or her know that they can talk to you about anything.

Pay attention to age limits on the social networking sites as they are there for your child’s protection. The majority of sites require users to be at least 13 years of age. Have your child choose a gender-neutral name to use online.

If your kid accesses the Internet elsewhere, find out what precautions those establishments and friends’ parents use to protect children’s safety while online.

Do not allow your children to have their own email until you feel comfortable about it. Have them use the family email address. Eventually, you can request that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) create a separate email address for them, so they’re mail can still remain in your email account.

If your child still encounters an online predator, do not blame him or her. The offender is always at fault. may

You can purchase the software like Mobistealth

She should not release information related to her age or location, including her school, grade, extra-curricular activities or any websites that could indicate where she lives, as a report from the California State Assembly Republican Caucus explains.  There are also safety settings built into the Windows programs (7, 8 and Vista), be sure to use them.

If she is going to use a chat room, she needs to remain in the public area. A private chat room may be referred to as a whisper area. These rooms are especially dangerous because chat monitors are unable to read these conversations. Security measures should also exist beyond the computer screen; you’ll want to purchase one of the best security systems available so your kids can stay safe at home, whether online or not.

If You Believe Your Child is a Target

• Look for pornographic files or sexual communication on your child’s computer.
• Always monitor their live electronic communications including instant messaging, email and chat rooms.
• If your child receives sexually explicit pictures or an individual solicits them through any online source, contact your police department and give them all the documentation related to these instances.

Ocala, FL – Michelle Lucus, a 46-year-old Florida woman, was jailed Wednesday after she allegedly molested a friend’s 6-year-old son inside a gas station restroom. According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, a trip to the local gas station became a living nightmare for a 6-year-old boy when she reportedly pulled him into the gas station’s restroom and performed a sex act on him. READ MORE HERE

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies arrested an Osceola County woman they say forced her teen daughters to be prostitutes. Officials received tips of what 50-year-old Paula Howard of St. Cloud was accused of doing so they set up an undercover sting on Thursday. READ MORE HERE