Pope Benedict silences child abuse conspiracy theorists on Portugal visit

• Catholic church takes sole responsibility for scandal
• Condom protesters greet Benedict in Portugal

The pope admitted today that the Catholic church was entirely responsible for the child abuse scandal that has spread across Europe, silencing conspiracy theorists in the church as he arrived in Portugal to be met by hundreds of protesters distributing condoms.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/11/pope-benedict-child-abuse-portugal

Based on the statistics, the recession has had a noticeable impact on babies, casinos, customer brand loyalty, and the church collection plate.

The recession’s impact …

Lawrence Taylor Charged With Raping 16-year old Runaway

Taylor charged with statutory rape and soliciting a minor prostitute.

SUFFERN, N.Y. — Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was charged Thursday with raping a 16-year-old runaway who police said was forced into prostitution by a man who had beaten her up.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-lawrence-taylor,0,2940159.story

GENESEE CO. — Police say 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun endured days of torture before his death in April. Now, his family is taking action to save other children from a similar fate.

The child did not die quietly. His mother, 25-year-old Corrine Baker, says she yelled for help as her boyfriend, 24 year old Brandon Hayes, beat her and her child for several days.

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http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/news/story.aspx?id=453496

Police officers will start posing as teenagers in new online “e-patrols” aimed at luring pedophiles.

They will also monitor suspicious behavior and financial transactions, and check the accessing of websites in an intensification of the hunt for online child predators. New child protection laws will be introduced “as soon as it’s practical”, according to a spokesman for the UAE’s online anti-pedophile task force.

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http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100506/NATIONAL/705059810/1133/OPINION

DELAWARE MAY EXTEND STATUE OF LIMITATIONS…

The latest attempt to extend the time frame victims have to report abuse is a direct response to the case against a Lewes pediatrician accused of sexually abusing more than 100 young patients.

Members of the State House approved HB 326 earlier this week in a 36 to 2 vote.  The measure would create a two year window for victims of child abuse at the hand of a health care provider to file civil lawsuits against the abuser.

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http://whyy.org/cms/news/government-politics/2010/05/05/delaware-may-extend-statute-of-limitations-for-abuse/37362

NEWARK, N.J. — A detective, already suspended for battering a 15-year-old boy, is now facing criminal police brutality charges outlined in an indictment returned by an Essex County Grand Jury.

On March 24th, a security camera caught Det. Angel Pared, 28, punching Travis Rattray and pushing him into a glass door.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-nj-cop-indicted,0,814182.story

Speaking out for the first time since his arrest, Roman Polanski yesterday said prosecutors only want to serve him “on a platter to the media.”

Polanski, who is under house arrest in his Alpine Swiss chalet (above), condemned the United States’ effort to extradite him over a 33-year-old sex-assault arrest, laying out his case for an online magazine run by one of his staunchest supporters, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy.

Vatican orders overhaul in Mexico after investigation of sexual abuse

The pope will appoint a commission to oversee the ‘purification’ of the Legion of Christ order.

The Vatican on Saturday ordered the overhaul of one of the Catholic Church’s largest and most influential organizations following an investigation into decades of sexual abuse by the group’s founder and systematic efforts to cover it up.

Mexican-born Father Marcial Maciel engaged in “very serious and objectively immoral behavior,” the Vatican said — including fathering at least one child and sexually molesting boys and seminarians. The abuse dates to the 1950s and continued into the 1990s.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-vatican-abuse-20100501,0,7608024.story?track=rss

Bill To Extend Statute Of Limitations In Child Sexual Abuse Cases Withdrawn

A controversial bill that would have extended the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases was officially withdrawn Friday, ending an emotional debate at the state Capitol for this year.

The measure’s chief proponents couldn’t get enough support in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the second straight year, although they promised that they will try again next year.

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http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-lawmakers-back-off-statute-b.artmay01,0,3215026.story

The Montana U.S. Attorney’s Office has a message to those who sexually assault children on Indian reservations:  You will be prosecuted.

Gerhard Curtis Stern, a 33-year-old Ashland resident, was sentenced last fall to 40 years in federal prison for assaulting a child on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. A jury found Stern guilty of aggravated sexual assault for engaging in sex acts with a 4-year-old child over seven months. The FBI investigated after the child told a school nurse Stern had touched her inappropriately.

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http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_9c6a0946-566d-11df-9f2b-001cc4c002e0.html

Jerry Isgrigg is a father grieving.

He said Friday that he’s been preparing for years for the day that his special-needs son would die. But the circumstances behind Gerren Isgrigg’s death, the arrest of Gerren’s grandmother and the outpouring of concern about the boy have been overwhelming, he said.

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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/050110dnmetbodyfound.28e1c82.html

Co-founder grassed the outfit to the FBI

ONE OF THE FOUNDERS of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia told the FBI that the outfit was serving up kiddie porn.

Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger, who left the project in 2002 due to what he described as “disagreements” whinged to the feds about drawings of kids and cartoons accompanying some paedophilia-related entries. In his view such graphics were depictions of child abuse.

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http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1603521/wikipedia-denies-child-abuse-allegations

RACINE – Authorities are investigating a former Racine County Human Services Department employee accused of filing false reports on child abuse cases he never investigated.

Todd O’Brien, a child protective services initial assessment worker, was fired this week for allegedly filing detailed reports about child abuse cases he was supposed to be investigating.

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http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/92398219.html