What Is Child Abuse?

Child abuse is when an adult—usually a parent, family member, caretaker, or someone else close to the family—hurts a child or teen, makes that youth feel worthless, has sexual contact with him or her, or does not provide adequate food, care, or shelter. Child abuse can happen to all types of kids and in all types of families. And it isn’t something that only happens to little kids: 32 percent of 14- to 17-year-olds in the United States have been abused or neglected in their lifetimes, and 28 percent have been sexually victimized.

From time to time, all parents and children have problems, but most parents and adults do not abuse children. There is no single reason why people abuse others. Some adults abuse children because they themselves were abused when they were children. Others just can’t handle their feelings in a healthy way; they might be worried about something, like a problem at work or not having enough money to pay their bills, and take it out on their kids. Drinking alcohol or using drugs can also make it hard for some people to control their actions.

No matter what the reason is for the adult’s behavior, it’s important to know that child abuse is never the child’s fault. READ MORE HERE

UPDATE (4 p.m.): Shelby Louise Grech was found safe in a hotel in Lebanon, Tennessee.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Michigan – The 15-year-old was with Timothy Allen Fulgenzi of Farmington Hills, 36, a convicted sex offender. Fulgenzi was arrested by authorities at the scene, according to police. Farmington Hills Police and the FBI had been looking for the Center Line girl. Grech was last seen Saturday at about 8 p.m. leaving the Knights Inn near 10 Mile Road and Grand River Avenue in Farmington Hills. READ MORE HERE

MODESTO, CA — A central California man accused of killing his mother, baby daughter and three others was about to be charged with the death last year of young boy when the five bodies were discovered, police said. Martin “Marty” Martinez had been under investigation since the Oct. 2 death of a toddler whose mother, Dr. Amanda Crews, was among the victims found Saturday afternoon in the Modesto home Martinez used to share with her. Authorities have not determined a motive or released how the five, including two girls, died.

Martin “Marty” Martinez, man accused of killing 5

Martin Martinez, Suspect In 5 California Murders

Family and friends identify three victims as Dr. Amanda Crews and her daughters

POLICE BELIEVE SUSPECT IN 5 MODESTO HOMICIDES ALSO KILLED 2-YEAR-OLD

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Martinez’s relatives talk about Modesto murders

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Father shows video of 6-year-old Modesto murder victim

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San Jose family shocked after man arrested for 5 Modesto murders

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Memorial grows for 2 women, 3 young girls killed in Modesto

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Suspect arrested in SJ for murder of 5 in Modesto

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Victim, Dr. Amanda Crews, and her children were murdered

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Wal-Mart and Evenflo have announced an exclusive one-year deal to sell a new car seat that is designed to prevent hot car deaths. According to Evenflo, a new model of their car seats will incorporate “SensorSafe Technology,” which communicates through a chip in the seat’s chest harness and a receiver attached to the vehicle. If the car’s ignition is shut off with the chest clip still fastened, an alarm will sound. READ MORE HERE

An Oklahoma girl found injured after her parents and three siblings were stabbed to death Wednesday night told police that her teenage brothers were the killers, according to police records. Robert Bever, 18, and his 16-year-old brother are in police custody after their parents, David and April Bever, and the teens’ three siblings, who were between 5 and 12 years old, were found slain in their Broken Arrow home. READ MORE HERE

Neighbors Stunned by ‘Gruesome’ Stabbing Massacre

Robert Bever, 18, admits killing parents and siblings in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Social media accounts give clues to quiet family slain in BA

Ammunition delivery possibly tied to Broken Arrow killings

Teacher killed husband and infant son, laid with their dead bodies for 2-days until she was discovered by a realtor 

WA – A popular teacher killed her husband and infant son over the weekend in an attempted double murder suicide. Erin Agren of Whatcom County, Washington shot her husband, Michael Jordan, and their 17-month-old son Miles before attempting to kill herself. She instead shot herself in the shoulder, and lay on the floor with her family’s dead bodies nearby for two days until she was discovered by a realtor who had arrived to show the house. READ MORE HERE

The father of a three-month-old baby boy has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his son who was found unresponsive and with signs of physical trauma at a California home, authorities said. Responding officers reported to the Santa Ana residence on Friday night where they found the baby not breathing, Santa Ana police said. The infant was transported to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in critical condition where he is currently on life support. Police said he is not expected to survive. READ MORE HERE

OKLAHOMA – A Bixby man wanted in Illinois on allegations of raping a 10-year-old girl was arrested in Tulsa on Thursday. Gary M.J. Grodin, 32, was booked into the Tulsa Jail just after 4 p.m. on a complaint of being a fugitive of justice. Grodin was wanted by the Swansea Police Department after being charged with 15 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and 18 counts of possession of child . pornography. READ MORE HERE

Jerice Hunter murdered daughter, 5, put her body in a suitcase, dumped it in neighboring city

An Arizona mother was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the death of her five-year-old daughter whose body was never found. Jerice Hunter, 41, was convicted in April of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of Jhessye Shockley. Prosecutors said Hunter had a friend give her a ride to a neighboring city so she could dump a suitcase containing the body in a trash bin before telling authorities the child was missing in 2011. READ MORE HERE

Girl, 12, found murdered after being lured from house at midnight by 15-yo neighbor

UTAH – The first photo has been released of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly lured from her home and killed by a 15-year-old boy. Kailey Vijil, was found dead in a field less than half a mile from her home in West Valley City, Utah, on Friday morning. The alarm was raised after mother who was in the neighborhood looking for her, rushed to a local 7-Eleven at around 1.30am because she could not find her daughter. READ MORE HERE

A 10-year-old girl is now the mother of a newborn child following a shocking turn of events that took place on Tuesday, July 14. What began as a typical day at her school in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has led to a report that is now making headlines around the world. She initially thought her discomfort was the result of a stomach ache, but she quickly learned that definitely wasn’t the case. As the pain gradually intensified, the 10-year-old girl’s teachers grew more concerned and ultimately decided that she needed to seek immediate medical attention. After she was rushed to a local hospital, doctors confirmed that she was actually in the “late stages of labor” — seven months pregnant to be exact. The baby was born prematurely, and both the girl and her baby are being treated in the hospital’s neonatal unit. READ MORE HERE

MICHIGAN – A convicted sex offender who told detectives that children are attracted to him and seek him out pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy. Jason Michael Spencer appeared in Kent County Circuit Court for a status conference on five felony sex abuse charges. He pleaded guilty to two counts that could put him in prison for life. READ MORE HERE

MICHIGAN – A Catholic priest who worked at a Detroit high school was sentenced to 12 years in prison today after he pleaded guilty to transporting child porn to Chicago and admitted to sexually assaulting a former student. Fr. Richard James Kurtz, 70, was a chemistry teacher years ago at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Detroit. Kurtz, who was brought in the courtroom Tuesday shackled and handcuffed, read a statement before Judge Mark Goldsmith, saying he was “deeply sorry” for his actions. READ MORE HERE

ACCOMACK, Virginia — The mother of a woman who said her stepfather and mother abused her for years has been indicted for rape. Ruth Ann Johnson, 58, of Sulphur, La., was arrested June 26 after an Accomack County grand jury indicted her June 1 on charges of rape, indecent liberties and child endangerment in connection with incidents dating to summer 1986. The indictment names Johnson as an accessory before the fact in sexual crimes allegedly committed by her then-husband, Khalil Mohammed Muslimani, against her daughter, who was younger than 13 at the time. READ MORE HERE