HELENA – A 56-year-old man was given four life sentences in prison for raping a young girl. Dewayne Louis Lamb was sentenced Thursday by District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock. Charging documents state Lamb began touching the victim when she was 12. Prosecutors said that over time the sexual contact progressed until he raped the girl. The victim told investigators that she had intercourse with Lamb multiple times in many states and in many counties in Montana. READ MORE HERE

LIMA, PERU –  A secretive Roman Catholic society with chapters across South America and in the U.S. has revealed under pressure that a Vatican investigator is looking into allegations that its founder sexually molested young recruits. The scandal at the Peru-based Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, or Sodalitium for Human Life, has close parallels to other recent cases of charismatic Catholic leaders in Latin America being accused of sex abuse — as well as the church dragging its feet on investigating claims and trying to keep scandals quiet. READ MORE HERE

A mother that allegedly sent explicit photos of her two-year-old daughter to a 30-year-old man so he could sell them online has been arrested and had her child placed in emergency protective care. The South Australian woman, 24, was charged with two counts of conspiracy and one count of possessing child exploitation material. Police also arrested the man, from Canberra, after executing a search warrant at his Flynn residence and allegedly finding child exploitation material and evidence of communication with the woman. Police allege that the man is accused of ‘attempting to sell the child abuse material and other sexual services online.’ READ MORE HERE

MINNEAPOLIS – Authorities have officially identified a person of interest in the 26-year-old disappearance of Jacob Wetterling in St. Joseph, Minn. Danny James Heinrich, 52, was arrested at his home in Annandale, Minn. Wednesday night for possession of child pornography during a search for evidence related to a separate kidnapping and sexual assault of a young boy in Cold Spring, Minn. in 1989, that occurred just months before Wetterling’s disappearance. READ MORE HERE

Danny James Heinrich – Suspect Arrested

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LEBANON, Ohio –According to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell, Robert Traylor was found guilty Friday for cutting off the nose of his then 13-day-old infant. It happened along East McKinley street in Lebanon on October 15 of last year. Traylor has been in jail ever sense awaiting trial. The mother of the child, who asked us not to reveal her name, said she has recently divorced him. She described her daughter’s injury in gruesome detail. “There was no nose. All you could see was bone. It was horrific,” she said. READ MORE HERE

One in 14 children have at least one parent behind bars and children in these situations suffer from low self esteem, poor mental and physical health, and other problems, a national research organization says. Child Trends, an organization based in Bethesda, Md., is releasing its report Parents Behind Bars: What Happens to Their Children? on Tuesday. The group hopes the findings will prod prisons, schools and lawmakers to make changes that will help young people who have incarcerated parents. READ MORE HERE

US defense officials said they were opening an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by Afghan security forces and reports that US personnel deliberately overlooked it. The probe by the Pentagon’s inspector general comes on Tuesday, after The New York Times last month reported that US troops in Afghanistan had been instructed by their superiors to overlook cases of Afghan police or commanders sexually abusing teenage boys, even if it took place on military bases. The practice is known as “bacha bazi,” which means “boy play” in local languages. READ MORE HERE

Man arrested after allegedly slamming 3-mo baby on floor

CINCINNATI —A Mount Healthy man was taken into custody Saturday night after allegedly critically injuring an infant. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil said James Phillips, 35, was arrested and charged with felonious assault and child endangering. Police said the incident happened in the 8000 block of Hamilton Avenue in Mount Healthy. READ MORE HERE

James Phillips accused of killing baby daughter

$4M bond for father accused of slamming baby to floor

COLUMBIA, South Carolina — The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation Tuesday after a deputy flipped a student backward in her desk and tossed her across the floor for refusing to leave her math class. Federal help was sought by Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who called what happened at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, “very disturbing” and placed Senior Deputy Ben Fields on leave. READ MORE HERE — SEE VIDEO BELOW

SC school officer Ben Fields’ career marked with lawsuits

South Carolina deputy’s history comes to light after shocking video goes viral

Outrage after South Carolina officer throws, arrests student in classroom

 
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PENNSYLVANIA – A 19-year-old girl who has been missing for 10 years has been found with open wounds, burn marks, scars, and broken bones by police investigating the alleged basement dungeon and kidnapping ring in Philadelphia.

Beatrice Weston, who was taken at the age of 8 by accused dungeon ring-leader Linda Weston, is now in a Philadelphia hospital recovering from the ongoing cruelty and torture by her captors, according to Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers. Linda Weston is the girl’s aunt, and police said she took her niece after a family feud with her sister, Vicki Weston. READ MORE HERE

LUDINGTON, Michigan — The state appeals court says a murder charge can stick against a northern Michigan man accused of killing his infant daughter, whose body hasn’t been found. In a 3-0 decision released Friday, the court affirmed a decision by a Mason County judge. Katherine Phillips, known as “Baby Kate,” disappeared in 2011 in the Ludington area, about 80 miles northwest of Grand Rapids. Her father, Sean Phillips, is charged with murder. READ MORE HERE

Body in freezer believed to be missing Bradenton girl

FLORIDA – A body discovered in a deep freezer at a Bradenton home on Sunday night is believed to be that of 11-year-old Janiya Thomas, who has not been seen since August 2014. Her mother, Keishanna Thomas age 31, is in jail, charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse in connection with two incidents involving her other child, a 12-year-old son. (Read arrest affidavit for one incident here) READ MORE HERE

Teen, Lucas Leonard, beaten to death at church while confessing sins

NEW YORK – A teenager was allegedly beaten to death by his parents and other church members during a counseling session in which he was supposed to confess his sins. The 19-year-old’s younger brother also suffered blunt force trauma injuries during the assault. He was hospitalized in serious condition. The brutal beatings occurred during a Sunday night service at Word of Life Christian Church in New Hartford, New York, during a counseling session on the spiritual state of the two brothers. READ MORE HERE

LAKEWOOD, Colorado — A Lakewood mother is accused of pimping out her 12-year-old daughter to a man in exchange for money and gifts. Julie Greiner is charged with human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, pimping of a child and sexual assault of a child. Lakewood police said Greiner turned a blind eye to an online sexual relationship between her daughter and 23-year-old Thomas Keski in Australia. READ MORE HERE