More disturbing stories of priests’ molestations of children — and questionable actions by church leaders — emerged in 12,000 pages of once-confidential personnel files. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles posted the documents on its website Thursday night, an hour after a Los Angeles judge ended 5-1/2 years of legal wrangling over the release of the files with an order compelling the church to make the documents public within three weeks. Victims, their lawyers, reporters and other members of the public spent hours Friday poring through records that stretched back to the 1940s and provided details about the scope of abuse in church ranks never before seen. READ MORE HERE

A Washington state man is accused of punishing his 4-year-old stepdaughter by hog-tying her and shooting her with a pellet rifle more than 36 times. The severe scolding was discovered when the tot’s grandmother saw red marks “all over her body” and alerted police Jan. 13, said a court document, according to Q13 Fox News. Initially, the woman thought the welts were a sign of chicken pox. Stetson Tedder, 26, of Lynwood was arrested Thursday with bail set the following day at $25,000, the Everett Herald reported. He made bail, but couldn’t be reached for comment Sunday. READ MORE HERE

The parents of a Colorado boy are so fed up with the bullying their son endures, they’re considering suing the school district. Jeff and Theresa West feel helpless as their sixth grader son, Bailey, leaves the house every day. They say Bailey is traumatized by bullying every day Pleasant View Elementary in Golden, Colorado.  And, they say, their son is desperate for a way out.  READ MORE HERE

Danniella Westbrook reveals she needed parenting help when addicted to drugs

At the height of her drug addiction Danniella Westbrook would have happily given away her son. However, the former EastEnders actress was not acting selfishly and admits that she would only have handed her little boy over to social services for his benefit. The 39-year-old former heroin addict has been clean for the last 12 years and believes that helping vulnerable children is her true calling in life. READ MORE HERE

Foreign pedophile gangs are targeting YOUR children

Vulnerable British children are being targeted by pedophiles overseas who hack into their Facebook and Twitter accounts, a top police officer has warned. Peter Davies, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said foreign predators access children’s social networks then blackmail them into carrying out sexual acts while they watch via webcams. The prevalence of the internet has created the risk of forms of child abuse that did not previously exist, said Mr Davies, who has emphasized the need for parents to be vigilant of their children’s online activity. READ MORE HERE

• James Bulger was two years old when he was killed on February 12, 1993
• Here his father Ralph tells his version of the events for the very first time

I love to watch the damselflies skimming the water like low-flying helicopters above the ocean. Today is no exception as I sit on the river bank watching the warm summer sun glint off their sparkling turquoise bodies before I return to watch my fishing rod. It couldn’t be more tranquil – yet it’s a stark contrast to the turbulence in my head. I’m thinking how my young son would have loved this day out, trying to spot the grasshoppers and sharing ham sandwiches and crisps with me. I always planned to teach James to fish when he was a bit older, to buy him his own little rod and tackle box, but I never got the chance. Now, my fishing trips are when I try to make sense of everything. A small slice of peace in a messed-up world. READ MORE HERE

On his blog on Friday, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was ill-equipped to deal with sexually abusive clergy when he took over the archdiocese in 1985 and quickly sought to develop policies and consult with leaders in other dioceses.

LOS ANGELES — The public rebuke of retired Cardinal Roger Mahony for failing to take swift action against abusive priests adds tarnish to a career already overshadowed by the church sex abuse scandal but does little to change his role in the larger church. READ MORE HERE

Father Decapitated His 7-YO Son — Left Corpse On Side of the Road

The perpetrator believed that his son wasn’t a real person. Jeremiah Wright, 31, of Thibodaux, LA, is due to attend a hearing that will deem whether or not he is fit for trial. According to The Daily Comet, Wright had decapitated his 7-year-old son in 2001 and has since been under mental health evaluation. READ MORE HERE

A real-life, sick version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. A Georgia high school teacher, DaNita Wilson, 32, was accused of having sex with seven of her students; and one of them was only 15-years-old. Wilson was arrested and charged with seven counts of sexual assault with more charges pending. READ MORE HERE

Jackson County authorities have accused a 30-year-old woman of second-degree murder, child abuse and first-degree child endangerment in the death of a 3-month-old infant whom she baby-sat during an overnight visit. Prosecutors charged Sonya Nerissa Perry of Grandview on Monday in the death of Stephon McCoy, who was taken off life support by his parents on Jan. 17. A physician at Children’s Mercy Hospital told police that Stephon suffered multiple injuries consistent with being shaken, according to court records. READ MORE HERE

MI Report: Cases of child abuse, neglect jump 92 percent in Ingham County

LANSING, MI — The rate of confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in Ingham County jumped 92 percent from 2005-2011, according to a report released Thursday. Kids Count in Michigan, an annual report compiled by the Michigan League for Public Policy, ranks child well-being in each county and in the state as a whole. READ MORE HERE

Related: Statewide trends in Kids Count report show worsening well-being for Michigan’s children

A jury on Wednesday convicted a priest and teacher in a pivotal church-abuse case that rocked the Philadelphia archdiocese and sent a church official to prison for child endangerment. The verdict supports accounts by a 24-year-old policeman’s son that he was sexually abused by the Rev. Charles Engelhardt and sixth-grade teacher Bernard Shero in about 1999, when he was 10 years old. The accuser’s 2009 complaint describing abuse by two priests and the teacher led to Monsignor William Lynn’s landmark conviction last year for endangerment. Lynn is serving three to six years in prison for his role transferring an admitted pedophile priest to the accuser’s parish in northeast Philadelphia. READ MORE HERE

He’s been plagued by stories and rumors about the strict upbringing of his nine children for most of his life. But Joe Jackson has now admitted to physically disciplining son Michael and the rest of his family, claiming that he doesn’t regret ‘being tough.’ Speaking during Piers Morgan Tonight, which aired on Wednesday, the Jackson patriarch also claimed that he doesn’t believe that there’s any such thing as beating a child but that they ‘will remember’ being punished. READ MORE HERE

Mother pleads guilty to allowing daughter, 6, to be sexually abused by different men in exchange for drugs and money
A 36-year-old mother faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to allowing her daughter, six, to be sexually abused by different men for drugs and money. Authorities say Dalina Nicholas, from Jacksonville Beach, is charged with four counts of child neglect and faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. Nicholas agreed to testify against four other people charged in the case. She won’t be sentenced until those trials conclude. READ MORE HERE