Deputy saves drowning kids; the dad is arrested

DURHAM, N.C. – A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy says he heard wailing in the darkness and plunged into an apartment complex’s pond at night to rescue two young girls who, police say, had been thrown there to drown by their father. Durham County Sheriff’s Deputy David Earp was off duty and says he rushed out with little more than his department T-shirt, badge and flashlight after the apartment manager called him at home around 9 p.m. Sunday to report some kind of trouble.

“I heard something about children, that they might possibly be in trouble,” Earp said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. “And after I was informed that there were kids involved, instinct took over just to go out there and rescue them.” READ MORE HERE

PLATTE, S.D. — Authorities believe a man fatally shot his wife and four children, set their rural South Dakota house on fire, then turned the shotgun on himself, the state’s attorney general’s office said Tuesday. Preliminary autopsy results show all six members of the Westerhuis family died of shotgun wounds. The bodies of Scott and Nicole Westerhuis and their children Kailey, Jaeci, Connor and Michael were found in the burned ruins of their home in Platte on Thursday. READ MORE HERE

An Olympic gymnastics coach facing child molestation and sexual misconduct charges in Indianapolis was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday night in an apparent suicide, authorities said. The coach, Marvin Sharp, 49, was discovered just after 8 p.m. at the county jail where he was being held, Marion County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Katie Carlson said. Authorities believe he committed suicide, she said. READ MORE HERE

Los Angeles, CA – A man who threw his 4-year-old daughter to her death off a Palos Verdes cliff was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole, nearly 15 years after the murder and following three criminal trials. Cameron John Brown, 53, was sentenced in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for throwing his child Lauren Sarene Key off 120-foot cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes during a hike in November 2000. READ MORE HERE

BOSTON — A mother has been arrested and her boyfriend is charged with murder in the death of a little girl whose body was found inside a trash bag on a Boston Harbor island this summer, a prosecutor said Friday, after a monthslong campaign to learn the child’s identity. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he authorized a murder charge for Michael McCarthy, 35, and the girl’s mother, Rachelle Bond, 40, is under arrest for accessory to murder after the fact. “At just shy of three years old, Bella Bond was a true innocent,” Conley said at a news conference announcing the charges. “This child, whose very name means beauty, was murdered,” he said. READ MORE HERE

Mother claims boyfriend punched Bella, causing death

‘Baby Doe’: Girl Found Dead in Boston Identified

‘Baby Doe’ ID’d as ‘Bella,’ Suspect Charged With Her Murder

BABY DOE’S MOTHER AND HER BOYFRIEND:

Tillamook, Oregon – A search is underway for a convicted sex offender who escaped from the Tillamook Youth Facility. Oregon Police are looking for 22-year-old Joshua Garvin. The Oregon Youth Authority says he escaped from the facility sometime after 12pm Saturday. Garvin is from Clackamas County. He is 5’9″, 180 lbs., and has short blond hair. He was wearing a camouflage Duck Dynasty sweatshirt, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. The public is urged not to approach him because he may pose a danger to himself or others. If you see him, call Ann Snyder at 503-551-8294. READ MORE HERE

A registered sex offender in Thurston County faces 45 months in prison for molesting a 10-year-old girl. Antonio Arias, 29, appeared in shackles Monday in Thurston County Superior Court to plead guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree assault with sexual motivation. He was initially charged with first-degree child molestation. Prosecutors are recommending a 45-month sentence with 15 months of probation. Arias will be prohibited from contacting any minors and must undergo psychological treatment. Sentencing is set for Oct. 12. READ MORE HERE

FLORIDA – A woman who says she was sexually abused 40 years ago only remembered it after she moved next door to her alleged abuser in Alachua County, Florida. The woman, whose identity is only revealed as Tracey, told police that she and her husband moved into a trailer on her alleged abuser’s property. Tracey remembered Donald Truluck, now 66, from her childhood – he had been her aunt’s boyfriend and her mother often left her with him – but remembered nothing about the alleged sexual abuse. She only knew she did not want to be alone with the man, although she was helping care for him because he was sick. READ MORE HERE

Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse

Not unusual to forget childhood sexual abuse

The Reality of Repressed Memories

Recovering Memories of Trauma

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A former Mayport sailor was sentenced Thursday to life in prison in the killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son in 2010. Nicholas James Rivet, 37, was convicted of second-degree murder in June. He was stationed at Mayport and lived at an off-base housing complex with his daughter, girlfriend and her son, 2-year-old Eddie Robb. READ MORE HERE

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri — An Independence woman is charged with felony child abuse after prosecutors say she beat her little girl so badly, she had a broken nose, a swollen lip and bruises all over her body. Kimberly Cooper, 32, is now in the Jackson County jail under a $50,000 cash bond. Cooper’s brother said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he returned home to see his beloved 10-year-old niece covered in blood. READ MORE HERE

A Bernalillo County jury found Stephen Casaus guilty of child abuse with reckless disregard resulting in the death of his 9-year-old stepson Friday. The jury reconvened Friday morning to determine a verdict in the 2013 beating death of Omaree Varela. The reckless disregard count of child abuse means Casaus did not call for help or try to save Omaree’s life when the boy was allegedly kicked to death by his mother. Casaus was found not guilty of the most serious charge: intentional child abuse resulting in death. That charge alleged Casaus took part in Omaree’s fatal beating. READ MORE HERE

A prominent Sydney solicitor is being sued by his daughter for allegedly sexually abusing her numerous times since the age of four. Jayne Gersbach, 32, is planning to take her father, Rodney Gersbach, to court in civil preceedings claiming he repeatedly raped and physically assaulted her in their family home for over 15 years. Responding to the allegations, Mr Gersbach said there is no evidence to support her claims and it was all a lie in a bid to take her grandfather’s inheritance. READ MORE HERE

A former youth counselor has been jailed for a decade for sexually abusing troubled boys in his care 25 years ago. Allan Keith Huggins, 68, was convicted after a trial in the West Australian District Court earlier this year found him guilty of 16 offences committed in 1990 and 1991. The Perth father-of-three was sentenced on Friday for the offences against boys aged 13 and 17, and some were wards of the state who had been in trouble with the law. READ MORE HERE