INDIANAPOLIS – Jeffrey Fairbanks, the father of a three-month-old girl reported missing earlier this year, is now facing murder charges. Fairbanks, 45, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of murder and one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. His initial court hearing on Friday only lasted a few minutes. He answered all of the judge’s questions and asked for a public defender.  “Certainly, the state has elements that we need to prove. But as indicated, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking at this case and believe that we’re prepared to go forward,” said Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson after the hearing. READ MORE HERE

Fairbanks’ ex-wife: ‘I was so scared’

Docs: Baby Janna’s dad covered her face with pillow

Indiana father of missing baby now presumed dead charged in case

CHILD PREDATOR: 3-PART VIDEO SERIES (see below)

Child Predators – Part 1: Reporting child sexual abuse

It’s estimated that 90-percent of child sexual abuse victims know the offender, either through family ties or through their community. But in an increasingly digital age, child predators are hiding behind the anonymity and legal grey areas of the Internet to post and trade child porn in addition to soliciting potential victims. The numbers are startling: one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before reaching adulthood according to the Centers for Disease Control. By that measures, the Department of Justice estimates 30 to 40-percent are sexually abused by family members, and half by someone they know and trust. READ MORE HERE

VIDEO

Child Predators – Part 2: There’s an app for that

The phrase “there’s an app for that” covers just about everything from online shopping to banking. But if there’s an app, there are thousands if not millions of users on board, and not all of them have good intentions. Each social media app encourages personal information sharing, but in the wrong hands, over-sharing can be dangerous. Cyber investigators say online predators are just as aware of the most popular websites and apps as teens are, meaning they’re on there as well. READ MORE HERE

VIDEO

Child Predators – Part 3: Relying on victim testimony

The prosecution of child sexual abuse is one of the most difficult tasks a prosecutor faces. Not only are the victims young, the crime itself is particularly traumatic. The Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a number of these cases in the past year, but it’s not because child sexual abuse is on the rise. Between September 2012 and March 2013, the prosecutor’s office was faced with short staffing. Eight deputy prosecutors resigned, causing a backlog of some of the more “sensitive” cases. READ MORE HERE

VIDEO

LUFKIN, Texas – An East Texas teenager is accused of pushing his pregnant girlfriend’s 3-year-old nephew into a pond so the boy would drown to make room for the unborn child to live at their home. Bobby Woods, 17, faces a charge of capital murder of a person under age 6. He was booked as an adult after his arrest Friday and remained in the Angelina County jail without bond Saturday. Online records don’t list an attorney for Woods. READ MORE HERE

A woman who killed her 17-month-old baby girl with a lethal dose of methadone last year was sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars on Wednesday. Courtney Nicole Howell, 27, of Layton, Utah pleaded guilty in July to giving her baby girl Jaslynn Mansfield methadone but said she only thought the drug would help the child sleep. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that on Wednesday Howell tearfully said she will regret her choice for the rest of her life. READ MORE HERE

Man charged with killing his girlfriend’s one-year-old son while babysitting

A Maryland man has been accused of killing his girlfriend’s one-year-old son earlier this month. Riverdale resident Osmay Sesay, 28, was arrested Wednesday, the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) said Thursday. Sesay was charged with first-degree murder and child abuse, authorities said. Police identified the victim as Ahmed Jalloh. READ MORE HERE

The impact of sexual assault on a victim is devastating and the effects are long lasting. Victims of child sexual abuse may suffer physical injury, depression, self-destructive behavior, anxiety, feelings of isolation and stigma, shame, poor self-esteem, difficulty in trusting others, a tendency toward re-victimization, substance abuse, and sexual maladjustment.  When the perpetrator is a family member, victims often suffer the emotional scars of guilt, betrayal and fear as well. Despite the volume of research and literature addressing sexual abuse perpetrated against a child by a family member, individuals inside and outside of the criminal justice system continue to misperceive common dynamics, misunderstand victim behavior and minimize offender dangers.  Judges and juries unfamiliar with the dynamics of sexual assault may overlook offenders’ grooming tactics or misperceive common victim reactions to abuse as evidence of the victim’s lack of credibility. Prosecutors handling these cases face unique challenges. The following 10 strategies will help prosecutors prepare and litigate cases of sexual abuse perpetrated against a child by a family member. READ MORE HERE

Prosecuting Child Sexual Abuse (PDF)

Childhood sexual abuse prosecution

Prosecution of child sexual abuse: which cases are accepted?

Child sexual abuse laws in the United States

Filing a Civil Lawsuit for Child Sexual Abuse

Epigenetic inheritance: Trauma Can Be Passed On Through Generations

Genetic changes stemming from the trauma suffered by Holocaust survivors are capable of being passed on to their children, the clearest sign yet that one person’s life experience can affect subsequent generations. The conclusion from a research team at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital led by Rachel Yehuda stems from the genetic study of 32 Jewish men and women who had either been interned in a Nazi concentration camp, witnessed or experienced torture or who had had to hide during the second world war. READ MORE HERE

Trauma Genetic Scientists Say Parents Are Passing PTSD Onto Their Kids

Childhood trauma leaves mark on DNA of some victims

Trauma: Our Genetic Inheritance

How Trauma Can Affect Our DNA

Sperm can pass trauma symptoms through generations

Unless you’ve directly experienced bullying, you may not realize just how devastating it can be, especially to a child or teenager. As well as being deeply hurtful, bullying can leave anyone feeling frightened, angry, depressed, and totally undermined. But bullying should never be tolerated. Whether you’re the one being bullied, or you’re a teacher or parent who thinks their child is being bullied or engaged in bullying behavior, there are steps you can take to deal with the problem. READ MORE HERE

Cops: Students hack boy to death

Four Florida students allegedly hacked a 17-year-old boy to death with a machete and buried him in the woods before two of them had sex near his grave, police said. The students attended the Homestead Job Corps, a live-in school and vocational training program run by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suspects, Jonathan Lucas, 18, Desiray Strickland, 18, Kaheem Arbelo, 20, and Christian Colon, 19, allegedly planned the slaying of Jose Santos Amaya Guardado two weeks before carrying out the crime on June 28, according to an arrest report filed by the Miami Dade Police Department. The group allegedly lured Guardado into the woods, where he was ambushed and repeatedly struck with a machete. READ MORE HERE

A 3-year-old girl drowned on August 12 after being repeatedly thrown into a hotel swimming pool. After CCTV footage showed the entire incident occur, the girl’s stepfather was arrested. The graphic video can be seen here.  READ STORY HERE

Dear Villain. 

I just need to get a few thing out the way before I launch into a slaughter of what a disgusting old fart you are…. No wait… lets just launch right into it.

You are really ugly, like real ugly, you look to me like a really smelly big toe with matted pubic hair on top from a public shower in an old country town where everyone has mutated into big toes from too much pubic hair in the water.

I am a woman now with really annoying and adorable children, and you are an old man with grandchildren that i hope to the goddesses are safe because no amount of warning from me has stopped you from being allowed to see them. Why do they protect you so? It’s not like you ever paid child support or even looked after them? You are their father, you can do no wrong.  READ MORE HERE

A 2-year-old boy died of a severe head injury in what Winston-Salem police described as a case of child abuse, authorities said Friday. Dr. Donald Jason, a Forsyth County medical examiner, said that the boy, Jaxson Sonny Swain of Walnut Cove, died Wednesday of a compressive subdural hematoma caused by a blunt force head injury. READ MORE HERE

In a year when violent and criminal off-the-field behavior by athletes has appeared prominently in the news, Major League Baseball has, for the first time, announced a comprehensive policy regarding players involved in domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases. The policy was announced jointly with and in agreement with the players union. The terms of the policy, in their entirety, follow. In short, however, the policy has a dual treatment and intervention program along with a disciplinary program. READ MORE HERE