They found her in the back of a car, drunk. She was with a man who was found with pornographic photos of her on his phone. She was 12. This child, only known as Child H, is just one of an estimated 1,400 children who were sexually exploited in Rotherham, England, between 1997 and 2013, according to a new report. Like many others, Child H was identified by authorities for being at risk of sexual exploitation at a young age. At the age of 11, she reported to police that she and another child had been sexually assaulted at the hands of adult men. READ MORE HERE

The former acting director of cyber security at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was convicted by a federal jury in the District of Nebraska today of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child pornography, and accessing a computer with intent to view child pornography in connection with his membership in a child pornography website. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg of the District of Nebraska and Special Agent in Charge Thomas R. Metz of the FBI’s Omaha Division made the announcement.  Timothy DeFoggi, 56, formerly of Germantown, Maryland, is the sixth individual to be convicted as part of an ongoing investigation targeting three child pornography websites.   The three websites were run by a single administrator, who has since been convicted in the District of Nebraska of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise in connection with his administration of the sites. READ MORE HERE

In June, a teacher at Heart2Heart Montessori School snapped pictures of toddlers strapped with duct tape to a nap mat 

Distressing photos show a toddler boy strapped to his nap cot at a Texas daycare that is currently under investigation for child abuse. The saddening photos were taken at Heart2Heart Montessori Cchool by teacher Hannah Tidwell, who witnessed facility owner Pamela Decker carrying out the abusive act on a 2-year-old boy. Tidwell then sent the pictures to the boy’s parents, Kristi and Brad Galbraith, saying their son was one of two boys and a little girl restrained during nap time. The Star-Telegram reports that when Tidwell confronted Decker about the act, she said: ‘Do not say anything about this. I know this [is] illegal but felt it was necessary.’ READ MORE HERE

Girl told police she saw another child bound in back of alleged suspect’s van

CHICAGO — Chicago police say they are investigating the alleged kidnapping attempt of an 11-year-old girl who reportedly says a man tried to force her into his van in Englewood Monday. The victim, who managed to escape, told police she saw another young girl inside the alleged suspect’s van with her hands and feet duct-taped. The child allegedly told police the other girl was screaming for help.  READ MORE HERE

25 Tips to Keep Kids Safe from Abductors

According to experts, the goal is to teach children basic safety skills without instilling unnecessary fears. “The last thing you want is for your child to live in constant fear, and be untrusting of most everyone,” explains Julia Cook, author of Smarter Than the Scoopers, a book written for children to provide them with the skills and confidence needed to make right choices in their daily social interactions. Child Watch of North America, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and recovery of missing, abused and exploited children, offers these important tips for children and their parents: READ MORE HERE

26 Tips to Keep Your Kids Safe from Abduction

Preventing Abductions

Enable Safety To Prevent Child Abduction

A Los Angeles-area woman and her boyfriend have pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges related to the 2013 death of her 8-year-old son, Gabriel Fernandez, who was routinely “abused, beaten, and tortured more severely than many prisoner of war,” according to a deputy district attorney who spoke to the Los Angeles Times. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 30, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguierre, 37, of Palmdale, Calif., are accused of torturing the child for eight months, calling him gay, beating him when he played with dolls, striking him with belts and baseball bats, forcing him to eat cat feces and his own vomit, dousing him in pepper spray, and locking him inside a cabinet with a sock stuffed in his mouth and refusing to let him out to use the bathroom, according to court records and testimony from the child’s older siblings.  READ MORE HERE

The unidentified Moroccan beauty queen has reportedly been accused of funding a fake association that exploits homeless children in the production of child pornography, as well as using them as human shields in several political demonstrations and conflicts with the police. According to Egypt’s Yaoum7, the fake association that goes by the name “Biladi” or my country was co-founded by an American woman and her husband. The American couple are said to have stripped over 20 children and videotaped them naked in a minor pornographic production. READ MORE HERE

Mayor de Blasio pledged a “full investigation” Monday into the death of a toddler who died while in the apartment of a licensed child care giver in the Bronx over the weekend. Athena Skeeter, a 40-year-old child care professional licensed by the state, was charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the Saturday death of Cardel Williamson, who suffered blunt force trauma to the head and torso, authorities said. READ MORE HERE

Mother arrested after slamming daughter’s head into wall

OKLAHOMA CITY – A 25-year-old mother is being charged with child abuse after she allegedly slammed her child’s head against the wall. On Aug. 22, authorities were called to the Willow Cliff Apartments after a security guard was called to an apartment on a disturbance. When the security guard arrived, he says he noticed swelling on the child’s head. READ MORE HERE

Jury Rejects “Sexsomnia” Claim

Caleb Ruh, a 29-year-old Flagler County man accused two years ago of molesting a 7-year-old girl in his care, was found guilty of lewd and lascivious molestation in a jury trial that ended late this afternoon. Ruh faces life in prison and will be designated a sexual predator. He will be sentenced on Sept. 29 by Flagler County Circuit Judge J. David Walsh. Ruh was represented by public defender Regina Nunnally, who argued at trial that Ruh suffered from “sexsomnia” and committed the acts while asleep. READ MORE HERE

Four undergraduate students at North Carolina State University are attempting to produce a nail polish that will reveal the presence of “date rape drugs” such as Rohypnol and GHB by changing color in their presence. “With our nail polish, any woman will be empowered to discreetly ensure her safety by simply stirring her drink with her finger,” the Undercover Colors Facebook page says. “Through this nail polish and similar technologies, we hope to make potential perpetrators afraid to spike a woman’s drink because there’s now a risk that they can get caught,” the page continues. “In effect, we want to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators. We are Undercover Colors and we are the first fashion company empowering women to prevent sexual assault.”  READ MORE HERE

Special nail polish may help detect date-rape drugs

This nail polish may detect date-rape drugs – CNET

AUSTRALIA — A man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a 10-month-old baby boy burst into a roadhouse in Western Australia’s north with the baby, who was not moving, in his arms, a Perth court hears. Mervyn Kenneth Douglas Bell is on trial in the Supreme Court over the assault and murder of the infant, who the court has been told had injuries “literally from his head to his feet”. The court has been told Bell had driven the boy almost 1,000 kilometres from Broome to the Fortescue Roadhouse near Karratha in Western Australia’s north, where he sought help for the lifeless child, but the baby died a short time later. READ MORE HERE

The Connecticut medical examiner has ruled the death of a 15-month-old boy who was left in his father’s car in July a homicide. The cause of Benjamin Seitz’s death was hyperthermia because of environmental exposure, the state medical examiner said on Wednesday. On July 7, Kyle Seitz was supposed to drop his son off at day care in Ridgefield, Connecticut, but the drop-off never occurred, his wife, Lindsey Rogers-Seitz told CNN last month. READ MORE HERE