The case against a junior high school teacher accused of sexting a 13-year-old girl has been dropped, but not for lack of evidence. It was dropped because courts and prosecutors say the Texas law banning adults from sex chat with minors violates the right to free speech. An appeals court ruled that a teacher can participate in a certain level of sexting with a student, and it’s not against the law. “They dropped the ball,” said defense attorney Jim Shaw. “They dropped the ball.” Shaw says although Texas legislators tried to write a law that would stop sexually explicit texts messages from an adult to a child, they didn’t get it right. READ MORE HERE

Day 4 of search for escaped sex offender Eric Eugene Hartwell, GPS ankle bracelet cut off Friday

DENVER – Today is day four of the search for convicted child rapist who cut off his GPS bracelet and disappeared in Denver. Eric Eugene Hartwell, 51, was convicted of raping a child in 1991 and attempted indecent liberties in 1996. According to the state sex offender registry, he is registered in Denver at 2765 S. Federal Blvd., unit 307. That address corresponds to an Independence House location where offenders live.

On Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service said they have received about a dozen tips about Hartwell, but they have not yet found him. “Yesterday, a federal arrest warrant was issued and the United States Marshals Service is actively seeking Hartwell,” said Charlie Ahmad of the U.S. Marshals Service. “We believe him to be extremely violent. We are bringing significant resources to bear and we need the public’s help to get Eric Hartwell in custody as quickly as possible,” Ahmad added.

Anyone with information on Hartwell’s whereabouts is asked to called the United States Marshals Service’s 24-hour tipline at 1-877-WANTED2. A reward is being offered for information leading to his capture. He is wanted for violating both state and federal parole conditions. “Hartwell is known as a violent sexual offender who preys on young females. Hartwell is known to change appearance frequently by growing facial hair,” according to a federal wanted poster. Hartwell is described as a white man who is 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 205 pounds. He has blue eyes, blond or strawberry-blond hair and has a tattoo on his right hand. READ MORE HERE

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURTHOUSE — The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office dropped 266 charges of sexual abuse against a Norristown man in court on Monday, according to a press release from the man’s lawyer. Michael Simpkins, 46, of Norristown, pleaded guilty to simple assault and recklessly endangering a person in front of Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchik-Alloy. She sentenced Simpkins to time served and he will be under court supervision in probation for the next three years. READ MORE HERE

ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida — A grandmother is facing a charge of child abuse after the St. Augustine Police Department said a grandchild left in her care had purple bruising up and down her back. Authorities said the child was at Webster Elementary School and was acting withdrawn and quiet. When staff asked the child was was wrong, the child said her back hurt. Police report that while the child was in the nurses clinic, a staff member saw 4-inch by 2-inch bruising on the child’s back. READ MORE HERE

A Delaware mother who gave birth to a child after her uncle molested her has spent months fighting to limit the man’s contact with the child and to have the man charged with sex offenses. It is a protracted fight that sheds light on how Delaware officials handled sexual abuse claims. The struggle the mother has faced to gain sole custody of her child and to see charges brought against the relative she said raped her when she was 17 continued last week, as Delaware Family Court heard arguments over her request to undo earlier orders granting the man significant custodial and parental rights over the child born from the assault. READ MORE HERE

College students with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) drink more alcohol than their peers, according to a new study published earlier this year in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. In addition to the problems normally associated with alcohol abuse, the students’ heavier drinking also exacerbates their PTSD symptoms, the study found. “The study doesn’t identify what traumas led to the students’ stress disorder, but it’s safe to assume a good portion of them are survivors of child abuse and/or neglect,” says Rayne E. Golay, psychotherapist, child advocate and award-winning author of The Wooden Chair, a novel that illustrates the post-traumatic stress in the wake of child abuse and neglect. READ MORE HERE

The Relationship Between Parental Alcohol or Other Drugs & Child Maltreatment

The relationship between parental alcohol or other drug problems and child maltreatment is becoming increasingly evident. The risk to the child increases in a single parent household where there is no supporting adult to diffuse parental stress and protect the child from the effects of the
parent’s problem. The following is a summary of what is know by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. READ MORE HERE

MORE ARTICLES:

Alcohol Abuse as a Risk Factor for and Consequence of Child Abuse

Child maltreatment and alcohol – World Health Organization

Childhood Trauma and Adult Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol misuse and child maltreatment 

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TULSA, Oklahoma – A Tulsa man is in jail Saturday for allegedly abusing his son and girlfriend’s daughter.  A police officer was assigned to investigate a domestic in progress at 26303 W. 16 Ct., officials say. When the officer got to the home he met Robert Edward Wixson Jr. and his girlfriend, Mindy Nelson. READ MORE HERE

2 Philly Priests Removed Due to Child Sex Abuse Allegations

PHILADELPHIA — The archdiocese of Philadelphia had permanently removed two more priests from the ministry over allegations of child sexual abuse, officials said. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced Sunday in a statement the removal of the Rev. John P. Paul, formerly of Our Lady of Calvary Parish, and the Rev. James J. Collins, 75, a former professor of religious studies at Holy Family University in Northeast Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. READ MORE HERE

ALBUQUERQUE – A 24-year-old woman is facing child abuse charges after allegedly trying to give her baby away outside an Albuquerque pharmacy. KOAT-TV reports Laura Lopez appeared in court Saturday and will be held on $15,000 bond. Police say a substance abuse counselor heard Lopez trying to give away the infant in front of a pharmacy on Central Avenue. Police say the baby was covered in a sticky substance, which was the result of a severe case of pink eye. READ MORE HERE

Sitting in his wheelchair beside his parents Tuesday night, Billy Travis flails his arm and lets out a small squeak. Mother Kim Travis immediately responds, checking him and making sure his head is positioned OK, saying something like “Oh I know,” with a cheerful tone. The 7-year-old is likely having a seizure — one of five larger ones he has in an hour and a half — and isn’t registering a word of what Kim has said due to a traumatic brain injury suffered nearly three years ago. Kim and her husband Bob know the outlook for Billy is grim and that he will never respond the way their other children do, but they’re still doing everything they can to keep him comfortable. READ MORE HERE

The trial of a man who has admitted to the murder and mutilation of his girlfriend and her two young children looks to have been jeopardized by the way police handled his arrest. Edward Covington, 35, is facing the death penalty for the grisly killings of Lisa Freiberg, 26, and her children, 2-year-old Savannah and 7-year-old Zachary, inside their home in Lutz, a small town in Hillsborough County, Florida. Covington admitted to murdering the three during a crack cocaine and vodka-induced rage on Mothers Day, 2008, according to Tampa Bay. He confessed to doctors that he ‘ripped’ his girlfriend in half. Covington, who is bipolar, also said that he cut off her son’s male organ before killing him. READ MORE HERE

A search was underway Sunday for a group of men who beat and raped a female student from the University of California Santa Barbara, authorities said. The 19-year-old was attacked between 11 p.m. Saturday and 4 a.m. Sunday, according to a statement from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. The crime occurred somewhere between the UCSB campus and Isla Vista, the statement said. READ MORE HERE