Children’s services are investigating Anthony Weiner after a lewd selfie he took of his erect manhood while lying in bed next to his four-year-old son and sent to a woman was revealed. The Administration for Children’s Services has launched a probe into the disgraced former Congressman. The agency’s officials showed up at the apartment in Manhattan’s Union Square that Weiner shared with his estranged wife Huma Abedin on Tuesday, the newspaper reports. READ MORE HERE

FBI: Teen who vanished in 2009 was raped, shot, fed to alligators

A teenager who vanished from Myrtle Beach, S.C., in 2009 was repeatedly raped in a gang “stash house” for several days – then she was shot dead and fed to alligators when her disappearance generated too much media attention, the FBI said last week. The shocking new details about the mysterious disappearance of 17-year-old Rochester, N.Y., native Brittanee Drexel came largely from a “jailhouse confession” that was subsequently substantiated by others with “tidbits” and “secondhand information,” FBI Agent Gerrick Munoz testified in a federal court transcript. READ MORE HERE

Missing Teen Brittanee Drexel Shot and Thrown in Gator Pit

Brittanee Drexel: Father, Son Allegedly Implicated in Case Have Previous Arrests

Brittanee Drexel: Transcript details homicide claims

Missing Spring Breaker Was Raped, Shot And Fed To Alligators

ATLANTA – A Hall County babysitter is faces criminal charges after deputies said a 5-month-old baby left in her care suffered at least four broken bones. According to investigators, the little girl suffered those injuries over a period of a month while she was in the care of 38-year-old Robin Carter Capulin of Gillsville. READ MORE HERE

Baby’s legs, arm broken while in Georgia babysitter’s care

Deputies: Baby Sitter charged after infant breaks 4 bones

The $7m will divided equally between ACLU and Children’s Hospital LA

Amber Heard is giving away every penny from the $7 million divorce settlement she got from Johnny Depp to charities that help battered women and sick children. Heard, 30, revealed she is donating the money to both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, where she says she has worked as a volunteer for 10 years. The money will be divided equally between the two charities.  ‘Money played no role for me personally and never has, except to the extent that I could donate it to charity and hopefully help those less able to defend themselves,’ Heard said about the bitter divorce battle with her famous ex-husband. READ MORE HERE

A former Marietta resident is heading to prison for life after being convicted Thursday of repeatedly raping a child, officials said. Michael Angelo Pabon, 50, was already behind bars in Cherokee County when his trial in Cobb County began Monday, Cobb District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Kimberly Isaza said. In May 2013, Pabon had pleaded to child molestation and was sentenced to 15 years, Isaza said. READ MORE HERE

BRITAIN – Sisters believed to be Britain’s first deaf female pedophiles have been told to expect “very significant sentences” for sexually abusing a six-year-old boy. Sick Julie Fellows, 30, and sister Jennifer, 32, repeatedly molested the youngster over a 14 year period. Worcester Crown Court heard the sisters first started abusing the boy when he was aged six in 2000. Julie was 14-years-old when she lured the boy into a petrol station toilets where she touched her private parts. On another occasion she performed oral sex on the youngster, the court heard. READ MORE HERE

Ian McGlasson set up a profile online and pimped her out to others

A schoolgirl was abused by 137 different pedophiles after her profile was posted on a swingers website without her knowing. The girl says she was abducted from near her school and raped at the age of 13 only to be groomed soon after by another man on social media. The same predator would abuse the youngster repeatedly over two years, setting up her profile online and pimping her out to other pedophiles. Paula Smith (a fake name) eventually spoke out against the tirade of abuse, but shockingly only three of her tormentors were brought to justice. READ MORE HERE

Father charged with murder and child abuse in the death of son, Chandler Berry 

VIRGINIA – A U.S. Navy serviceman has been charged with murder in the death of his infant son earlier this year. Police say 23-year-old Montreaz Berry, of Hampton, was arrested Thursday, more than six months after his son’s death. Authorities say Berry assaulted 5-month-old Chandler Berry at a Hampton home and then called police to report an unresponsive baby at around 1.40pm on January 27.  READ MORE HERE

Police are hunting a sex attacker who targeted two six-year-old girls at Legoland during the school holidays. The girls were in playing in the Castaway Camp area of the Windsor theme park in Berkshire when when they were sexually assaulted. Thames Valley Police have asked parents who took pictures at the park to examine them as they might have inadvertently captured an image of the sex attacker. READ MORE HERE

An Open Letter to NY Times Public Editor Liz Spayd, from Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Advocates

“The voiceless have a voice. A journalist’s job is to amplify it.”

Dreamcatchers for Abused Children, Inc. is honored to have our organization included in this open letter to The New York Times Public Editor, Liz Spayd, as we stand in full support of this much needed movement to create change. On behalf of the Peaceful Hearts Foundation, we are listed as one of 38 Child Sexual Abuse Survivors, Organizations and/or Advocates, urging Liz to cover the Child Victims Act of New York. We would like to personally thank Nancy Levine for all of her hard work, effort, and dedication to this important issue. Please join us, along with the 43 million plus survivors of child sexual abuse in the United States alone as we work to create change, break the silence, and bring light to this epidemic plaguing our nation.

READ THE OPEN LETTER HERE

Can we, the community of survivors of child sexual abuse and advocates, count on The Times to elevate its editorial sensitivity to covering news that affects us? Would you be willing to address questions about The Times’ absence of recent coverage of the Child Victims Act and an appearance of a conflict of interest?

• List of 38 Child Sexual Abuse Survivors, Organizations and/or Advocates Supporting This Movement

  Matthew Sandusky, Executive Director, Peaceful Hearts Foundation
  Phil Saviano, Boston survivor and activist portrayed in the movie Spotlight
  Peter Brooks, Horace Mann Action Coalition, Interschool Network Against Sexual Abuse
  Mike Pistorino, child abuse survivor and advocate
  Gary A. Greenberg, Fighting for Children PAC, Protect NY Kids
  Andrew Willis, Co-Founder and CEO, Stop Abuse Campaign
  Dr. Robert M. Hoatson, President and Co-Founder, Road to Recovery, Inc.
  John Salveson, President, Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse
  Ronald Savage, survivor and Founder, United Coalition Association
  Kristen Houser, MPA, Chief Public Affairs Officer, National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
  Sandra Potter, CEO and Founder at Dreamcatchers for Abused Children
  Pamela Pine, Founder and CEO, Stop the Silence, Stop Child Sexual Abuse
  Christopher M. Anderson, Executive Director, MaleSurvivor
  Blair Corbett, Founder and Executive Director, Ark of Hope for Children
  Whitney Gabriel, Board Member, Child Molestation Research & Prevention Institute (CMRPI)
  Sara Kabakov, survivor, advocate
  Judy Mitzner, survivor, advocate
  Ana Wagner, Organizer, Brooklyn Bridge Walk for a Window
  Bill Murray, CEO and Founder, NAASCA (National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse)
  Jill Jones-Soderman, Executive Director, The Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts
  Catherine Goodwillie, Executive Director and Board Chair, We are SAFE (Sexual Abuse Forever Ending)
  Lisa Newman, President and Founder, LIFE Keys Child Project
  Sheri Rettew, Executive Director, Hope Clinic
  Charmill D. Vega, survivor advocate and Founder, Prevent 5Kids, Inc.
  Shane McNamara, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Survivors & Mates Support Network
  Yerachmiel Lopin, Founder and Proprieter of anti-abuse website, Frum Follies
  Rabbi David Ingber, Founder and Spiritual Director, Romemu
  Rabbi Jill Zimmerman, Founder, The Jewish Mindfulness Network
  Billye Jones, LCSW, Adjunct Faculty, NYU Silver School of Social Work
  Marti Leimbach, survivor and author of Age of Consent: A Novel
  Rachel Thompson, author, advocate, entrepreneur, mother, Founder, #SexAbuseChat (Twitter)
  Elizabeth C. Sorvillo, attorney, advocate
  Michael Dolce, survivor, attorney, activist
  Michael Broussard, Theatre Artist and Survivor Advocate
  Cliff H. Mason II, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Mason Report®
  Nikki DuBose, Executive Board Member, Peaceful Hearts Foundation
  Melanie Blow, COO, Stop Abuse Campaign
  Tammy Lerner, Vice President, Foundation to Abolish Child Sexual Abuse

Survivors, supporters, and anyone who cares about eradicating child sexual abuse are encouraged to join community leaders in inquiring about The Times’ absence of coverage of the Child Victims Act of NY and appearance of a conflict of interest. Contact Public Editor Liz Spayd at public@nytimes.com or Twitter: @spaydl

USA Gymnastics Ignored Sexual Abuse Complaints According to New Report

On the same week the Summer Olympics are set to begin in Rio, USA Gymnastics executives are coming under fire for reportedly not doing enough to alert authorities of sexual abuse claims against coaches affiliated with the organization. The Indianapolis Star published a detailed report on Thursday that examines several cases of alleged abuse. Years of sexual abuse against gymnasts who were competing to represent Team USA at the Olympics went unreported and ignored by the national gymnastics body despite complaints, according to the horrific new allegations uncovered. More than 50 coaches across the country had complaints made against them, and the official USA Gymnastics organization systematically dismissed or ignored complaints unless victims or victims’ parents complained, according to the report.

USA Gymnastics 2016: Sexual Abuse By Coaches, Failure To Alert Law Enforcement

Gymnastics’ Hidden Abuse Crisis

USA Gymnastics routinely ignored warnings of sexual abuse

Report: USA Gymnastics Ignored Sex-Abuse Claims

USA Gymnastics accused of failing to report sex abuse accusations

PORT ANGELES, WA — The former principal at a Christian school in northwestern Washington has pleaded guilty to raping and molesting children as part of a plea deal. Douglas J. Allison, 55, was arrested by Clallam County Sheriff’s detectives last March and charged with 12 counts of child molestation and rape after two girls reported they had been assaulted by Allison at the Mountain View Christian School in Sequim. READ MORE HERE

Mark Short, wife Megan and children Liana, Mark, and Willow found dead

A murder-suicide note was found at the bloody scene where a young family of five were shot dead in Pennsylvania, police have said. Parents Mark Short, 44, and Megan Short, 33, and their children Liana, eight, Mark Jr, five, Willow, two, were all discovered with fatal gunshot wounds. Police also found a handgun near one of the parents but they refused to say which one – or who they believed was the shooter.  ‘This is an apparent tragic domestic incident,’ District Attorney John Adams confirmed. It has emerged that the youngest child Willow had undergone a pioneering heart transplant at one week-old. READ MORE HERE

WILLOW’S HEART JOURNEY (Short’s Facebook Page for their youngest child)