? I Was Sexually Assaulted As A Child And Didn’t Remember for Years

Charles was sobbing violently when I came upon him in the woods. The sight of it still haunts me, all these years later. He was tall and blond, popular with the girls and one of the best all-around athletes. And I… I was the boy who liked comic books. We’d both spent multiple summers at that sports camp, passing our days in some form of competitive activity played out over acres of partially manicured Maine forest. We were 13 at the time, and I liked him, so when I saw him so visibly upset and so uncharacteristically vulnerable, I did what many adolescent boys might not have done: I leaned in. READ MORE HERE

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License revoked after child molestation charges

EVERETT, Washington— An Everett optometrist’s license has been permanently revoked after state health officials say he sexually abused a 10-year-old girl during an exam. Authorities said John P. O’Brien and the girl were alone in an exam room at Eye Doctors LTD in August when he removed her shirt, touched multiple parts of her body and then took cellphone photos of her face and breasts. READ MORE HERE

Former salon owner gets 30 years for child molestation

PERRY — A hair stylist and former Centerville salon owner was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole for molesting two teenage boys and sexually exploiting a third in the summer of 2011. Matthew Caleb Pierce, 35, was found guilty by a Houston County jury Nov. 20 of six counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of child molestation, two counts of sexual battery, one count of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of distribution of controlled substances. READ MORE HERE

A former drummer for Cake and Norah Jones has been sentenced to 15 years to life in a California state prison for molesting a 3-year-old girl in 2009. The musician – 48-year-old Peter Ivan McNeal – must also register as a sex offender for life by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Fred Wapner. READ MORE HERE

JACKSON, Wyoming — The governors of Wyoming and Michigan are trying to speed up extradition of a 94-year-old Michigan man investigators say molested children at a Wyoming youth camp decades ago. Bill Bricker faces three counts in Wyoming of immoral acts with a child. Two men and one woman claim Bricker molested them when they were children at the Teton Valley Ranch Camp in the 1960s and 1980s, Teton County sheriff’s officials allege. Bricker was a volunteer at the camp at the time. Now, citing his age and failing health, Bricker’s attorneys are fighting his extradition to Wyoming.  READ MORE HERE

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian court sentenced five janitors Monday to up to eight years in prison over the rape of a kindergartner at an international school in Indonesia. The custodians contracted to work at the Jakarta International School were arrested in April following reports from parents of a 6-year-old boy who claimed to have been sodomized. Police said a sixth suspect committed suicide while in custody after drinking bathroom cleanser. READ MORE HERE

Coming out as a gay athlete takes courage — just ask Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. In his first television interview since being cut from the Dallas Cowboys, Sam opens up to Oprah about the painful experiences he endured as a child. One of eight children, Sam grew up in the small town of Hitchcock, Texas. Of his five brothers, one was killed, and another was declared dead after going missing. Sam says his remaining older brothers were always getting into trouble and known around town as the “damn Sams.” READ MORE HERE

The stress of holiday shopping can bring the worst out of some people. Diana Hendren, 49, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been arrested for allegedly choking her granddaughter while shopping at JC Penny. The alleged incident took place last Sunday. An employee at the store came upon Ms Hendren trying to throttle her granddaughter and called 911. READ MORE HERE

NEW LONDON, North Carolina – A 77-year-old Stanly County man is charged with nine counts of child sex offenses regarding an alleged incident involving a victim under the age of 13. On December 21, investigators with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office took a report regarding the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. A suspect, 77-year-old Wayne Arland Kent, was developed through the course of the investigation. READ MORE HERE

MADISON COUNTY, Kentucky – New details released in a Madison County criminal abuse case are nothing short of disturbing and on Tuesday, the couple accused of committing the crime appeared in court. Julio Valledares and Linda Richmond of Berea are now facing 11 counts of criminal abuse after allegedly physically and mentally torturing a 9-year-old girl for nearly a year. During that time frame, Gary Blevins lived across the street from the family “Nobody knew what was going on. If someone would’ve known what was going on, they would’ve put a stop to it,” Gary Blevins said on Tuesday, just hours after the indictment came down from the grand jury. READ MORE HERE

CLARKVILLE, Tennessee — A babysitter has been charged with murder in the death last year of a 2-month-old in her care. Sheilla Linares of Fort Campbell, Ky., was arrested Friday on federal charges of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. She is accused of abusing Thomas Castellon II of Clarksville on or about Dec. 3, 2013; he died of his injuries four days later. READ MORE HERE

BEDFORD, Virginia — A Virginia mother accused of strangling her two-year-old son with a stuffed animal will go before a judge. Shana Witt was found competent to stand trial, according to a report on WDBJ7.com. Jordan Smith, 2, was found dead in Witt’s home back in February. The child’s father, Michael Smith, had already pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges. He has not yet been sentenced for the crime. READ MORE HERE

Around the world on Christmas Eve, millions of children will excitedly fall asleep, “…nestled all snug in their beds… while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads” (as the poem by Clement Moore says).  Many others will go to bed terrified, or at the very least uneasy about what the next day might bring.  Christmas is a “big forever year”. By that I mean we often remember our Christmases in isolation (particularly our childhood Christmases), almost as though they are a separate life in themselves.  For some the “forever years” of Christmases past bring back nostalgic memories of fun with family and friends, whilst for others the memories are not so rosy.  We all know that Christmas can also bring some major stress and children often end up in the firing line of adult anxiety. READ MORE HERE

A young married couple who plotted to abuse children as part of a pedophile love triangle are facing jail after police uncovered ‘horrific’ texts and indecent images of children and animals. Kevin Barnett, 28, suggested drugging youngsters so he could enact his sick desires and his wife Susan, 28, said she would be willing to comfort a child as it was raped, a court heard. The pair were found guilty of arranging the commission of a child sexual offence and a second woman, Nikita Moore, 22, was convicted of conspiracy to commit child sexual offences with Barnett. Moore had even discussed having a baby with Barnett, from Barrow, Cumbria, for them to abuse together – although prosecutors conceded this particular ‘horrific’ exchange was just fantasy. READ MORE HERE