Martial Arts Instructor Wanted for Molesting At Least 6 Girls

APPLE VALLEY, CA — Sheriff’s deputies are searching for an Apple Valley martial arts instructor facing child molestation charges. Umar Love, 30, was arrested Dec. 14 on suspicion of committing lewd acts on a child, after a 14-year-old girl reported that he had touched her inappropriately on a number of occasions. Sheriff’s investigators eventually uncovered a total of six females between ages 14 and 16 who reported that they had been molested by Love.  READ MORE HERE

Love is believed to be traveling with his girlfriend, Suzann Elizabeth Angel, 24, in a green 2001 BMW 325i, California license number 4SYK536. Anyone with information about their whereabouts or about possible additional victims is asked to contact the Apple Valley Police Department at (760) 240-7400 or (760) 245-4211 for the 24-hour sheriff’s dispatch.

KNOXVILLE, TN — It’s time for family gatherings and fun for the holidays, but it’s also a time when child abuse reports spike. The Department of Children’s Services heads up the investigations, but they say there are still plenty of abuse cases that go unreported. So they’re using the internet to encourage more people to report child abuse. It’s a free, online lesson plan.  READ MORE HERE

CLICK HERE for your FREE online tutorial on child abuse reporting!!!

(This tutorial is very detailed. Even though it does focus on Tennessee, the information pertains to anyone who wants to report child abuse)

Child sex abuse linked to suicide

Calls have been made for a national study to examine the link between childhood sex abuse and suicide. Suicide prevention helpline 1Life said more than a quarter of crisis calls this year were from adults who suffered attacks as a youngster. And a group for survivors of abuse also revealed two people on its waiting list died by suicide over the last 18 months. Ciaran Austin, director of services with Console which runs 1Life, raised concerns over the hike in calls following the publication of sickening clerical abuse reports, including the recent Cloyne Report.

READ MORE HERE

CHILD ABUSE RESEARCH & STATS

Long-term study examines suicide risk following child sexual abuse

Suicide Risk Among Abused Children | Psych Central News

Suicide risk following child sexual abuse

Suicide and fatal drug overdose in child sexual abuse

Gender in Suicide Attempt Rates and Childhood Sexual Abuse Rates

Elmira, N.Y. – Minors who’ve fallen victim to sexual abuse could see the time limits to file their civil suits become longer.     New York State law makers say they’re going to push for a bill to extend that limit by five years.  The current statute of limitation in New York for bringing civil claims for child sex abuse is five years after the incident has been reported to police or five years after the victim turns 18.

READ MORE HERE

Launched in March of 1998, the CyberTipline offers a means of reporting incidents of child sexual exploitation including the possession, manufacture, and/or distribution of child pornography; online enticement; child prostitution; child sex tourism; extrafamilial child sexual molestation; unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and misleading domain names, words, or digital images. The CyberTipline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Congressionally-mandated CyberTipline is a means for reporting crimes against children including:

• Possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography
• Online enticement of children for sexual acts
• Child prostitution
• Sex Tourism Involving Children
• Extrafamilial Child Sexual Molestation
• Unsolicited Obscene Material Sent to a Child
• Misleading Domain Names
• Misleading Words or Digital Images on the Internet

Reports may be made 24-hours a day, 7 days a week online at www.cybertipline.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678.

Few penalties for keeping child abuse secret

Every state has laws requiring some adults to alert authorities when they suspect a child has been abused or neglected. This chart shows which types of adults are specifically required to report, and whether failing to report abuse is a crime. Laws that could punish doctors, teachers and other adults for keeping silent when they suspect a child has been abused have gone largely unenforced over the past decade. Those state laws require people who work closely with children to alert police or child-welfare investigators anytime they so much as suspect a child has been abused. Yet a USA TODAY examination of police and court records from across the USA found that a combination of infrequent enforcement and small penalties means adults often have little to fear from concealing abuse.

READ MORE HERE

“Erin’s Law” Will Protect Children From Sexual Abuse

Sens. Rebekah Warren and John Proos announced today they will be introducing legislation in the Michigan Senate to help prevent the sexual abuse of children. The bill would be called “Erin’s Law” and is named after Erin Merryn, a sexual abuse survivor from Illinois, whose advocacy led to the passage of a similar law in her home state. The measure would allow school boards to adopt and implement policies addressing child sexual abuse and would create a new Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, made up of legislators, state officials and experts.  READ MORE HERE

To Learn More About Erin’s Law, please visit: www.erinmerryn.net

Erin’s Law was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn February 14, 2011.
Erin’s law was signed by Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri on July 14,2011.
Erin’s Law was introduced at a press conference in Syracuse, New York at a press conference October 25, 2011.
A total of 8 states are introducing Erin’s Law in 2012. With 2 states already having passed it. Erin’s mission is to see Erin’s law passed in every state and she won’t stop until that mission is accomplished. Erin Merryn has appeared on Oprah talking about Erin’s Law in October 2010. Erin Merryn spoke at the United States Department of Education on Erin’s Law at their national conference August, 2011.
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Illinois Erin’s law language: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2843&GAID=10&DocTypeID=SB&SessionID=76&GA=96

Missouri Erin’s Law http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&
BillID=4066479

How to Report Suspected Child Maltreatment

Anyone can report suspected child abuse or neglect. Reporting abuse or neglect can protect a child and get help for a family—it may even save a child’s life. In some States, any person who suspects child abuse or neglect is required to report. To see how your State addresses this issue, read the Information Gateway publication, Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect.

READ MORE HERE

VISIT OUR “REPORT ABUSE” PAGE FOR RESOURCES & PHONE NUMBERS

As we watch the story of the sexual abuse scandals unfold at Penn State and now Syracuse, the first response for many was shock and concern for the boys who lives were so profoundly affected. In speaking with many parents, the next response was “could this happen to my kid, and would I know if it did?” It is a mistake to assume they would tell us, if something like this happened to our kids. Most children who suffer this kind of abuse never tell their parents. If the child is very young they may stay silent simply because they just don’t understand what has happened to them. It is also common that the victim may assume that if something this awful happened to them, they somehow must have deserved it. Of course no child ever “deserves” this treatment.

READ MORE HERE

READ MORE ON DREAMCATCHERS CHILD SEX ABUSE PAGE

Dreamcatchers for Abused Children has been accepted as a contestant in the PEPSI REFRESH CONTEST!!!! We are in the running for $50K for our child abuse advocacy program and we need YOUR help to see it through!!! Please help ~ Together we CAN make a difference!!!!

What’s the Pepsi Refresh Project?

Pepsi is funding amazing ideas that refresh the world. Dreamcatchers has submitted our idea to: Provide community outreach programs for child abuse.

If we can get enough votes, PEPSI REFRESH will  help make it happen!

Please click below and VOTE for us!!! You can vote once per day. Contest ends 12/31/11.

THANK YOU!!!!

CLICK BELOW——

http://www.refresheverything.com/dreamcatchers

Victims of child abuse may experience changes in their brains similar to those seen in soldiers, according to a new, small study. The findings, published in the December 6 issue of Current Biology, is the first to use functional brain scans to examine the effects of abuse on children’s emotional development. “This research…provides our first clues as to how regions in the child’s brain may adapt to early experiences of abuse,” lead author Eamon McCrory of Britain’s University College London told Reuters.

READ MORE HERE

National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse

MALE ABUSE AWARENESS WEEK –

by Bill Murray
Its male abuse awareness week, and we’ll be centering our celebration of it on a LIVE ON LOCATION broadcast from San Diego on Monday night (starts at a special time, 9pm EST, so 6pm PAC). The sold out event is a fundraiser for the host organization, the PLunaFoundation, where the primary interest is in helping young men ages 18 to 35 (Help4Guys.org). Donations collected are devoted to off-setting the cost of Internet-based counselling with therapists who interact with these men over SKYPE. Following the broadcast, I’ve been asked to appear as the Keynote speaker. I’m delighted to do this, and we look forward to future ON LOCATION shows and speaking engagements across the country.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.naasca.org/index.html

BILL MURRAY’S BLOGTALK RADIO SHOW:

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Dealing with Family Stress During the Holidays

All families deal with stress at one time or another. But during the holiday season, stress is more common and can be much more difficult to handle. With the images of “perfect” holidays we so often see in magazines and on TV, parents and children can begin to develop unrealistic expectations for both ourselves and our family members. Before we know it, the holidays have passed us by and we were so busy we didn’t even get to enjoy them with our children!

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.scanva.org/prc-holiday-stress.htm

THE HOLIDAYS AND CHILD ABUSE

REDUCE STRESS TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE DURING HOLIDAYS

HOLIDAY STRESS BRINGS ANXIETY & ABUSE