There is evidence at least 20 prominent pedophiles – including former MPs and government ministers – abused children for “decades”, a former child protection manager has claimed. Peter McKelvie, whose allegations led initially to a 2012 police inquiry, said a “powerful elite” of pedophiles carried out “the worst form” of abuse. He said the network extended into both the House of Lords and the Commons. The government has already announced two reviews into claims of abuse. Home Secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons the first review would be a wide-ranging inquiry – similar to the inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster – led by an independent panel of experts on law and child protection.

In a vast departure from his predecessor, Pope Francis met with six child abuse victims at the Vatican Monday. It’s not only the first time Francis has officially met with victims sexually abused by priest during his papacy, but also the first time child abuse victims have met with a pope at the Vatican. The Pope’s actions reveal a changing tide in the Catholic Church, which has long sought to minimize the incidences and effects of clerical abuse.

The mysterious disappearance of a 5-year-old boy and his grandparents is being probed by Canadian police. Nathan O’Brien’s parents described their son as their “superhero” during an emotional press conference Wednesday in Calgary, Alberta. They also pleaded with any potential abductor to return Nathan. The boy’s missing grandparents Kathryn and Alvin Liknes are not considered suspects in the case, according to the Calgary Police Department. Investigators say there were signs the trio had left the property against their will.

BRENTWOOD — A 70-year-old former Secret Service agent from East Kingston pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping a child. Wilbur “Tom” Clark entered guilty pleas and was sentenced Tuesday in Rockingham County Superior Court on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, one count of felonious sexual assault, and one misdemeanor count of obscene matter. The indictments alleged that Clark, who was a U.S. Secret Service agent for more than two decades, assaulted a child under 13 years of age in his home in East Kingston.

ALABAMA – Authorities are looking for a Skipperville man wanted on felony sexual assault-related charges, including first-degree rape. Dale County Sheriff’s Capt. Mason Bynum said deputies are looking for 50-year-old Billy Wayne Lomaneck. “He is wanted for rape first and incest,” Bynum said. “We do have active warrants for him.” Bynum said deputies have been looking for Lomaneck since Thursday when they obtained the warrants for his arrest. Bynum said the victim of the sexual related crime offenses was a female juvenile.

Josh Osborne, a survivor of a severe child abuse case in Lebanon in 2004, has died. He was 24. Mr. Osborne, who lived in La Vergne with his aunt, died around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday. He had gone to work Monday at the Goodwill store in Antioch. He went to a hospital later that day and died there, according to Goodwill officials. “We will always remember Josh’s smile and positive attitude,” his Goodwill store manager Angeline Bivens said. “He loved his Goodwill family, and we loved him. The quality of Josh’s work and his team spirit makes him irreplaceable. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those who knew and loved this remarkable young man.”

YouTube filmmaker Yousef Erakat made the following video as a social experiment to see how many people would stop to help a child in need. In the video, Yousef tries to prove that although people say they wish they could help starving children in Third World Countries, the majority of people would not stop to help a starving child in their own neighborhood.

Extraordinary new claims pointing to an Establishment cover-up of child sex abuse by senior politicians emerged last night. Home Secretary Theresa May faces questions from MPs over accusations that politicians, the police and even her own officials have suppressed allegations against powerful individuals for decades. Some 114 files ‘potentially relevant’ to child abuse are now known to have been lost or destroyed by the Home Office.

A gas station clerk from Arizona has been hailed as a hero for helping rescue a baby girl who police say was kidnapped by her own grandmother. Carolyn Ferguson, 57, was arrested Wednesday night in a Phoenix suburb for allegedly abducting 6-month-old Laylani Mosley from her parents’ home in Huntington Beach, California. The baby’s disappearance had sparked an Amber Alert, which ultimately helped police track down the infant and her grandmother. According to authorities, the woman has a history of mental illness.

A 22-year-old Danish man interning at a New York preschool that caters to the children of international diplomats and UN employees has been accused of sexually abusing 13 children in his care. Malthe Thomsen, who arrived in Manhattan in February to work at the International Preschool at 45th Street, has been in jail since last Friday, charged with 15 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Prosecutors say Thomsen placed the hands of nine different children on his genitals over his clothing and that he pressed the head of a 10th victim against his clothed genitals. He also allegedly touched several children on the buttocks.

ORLANDO, FL – An 18-year-old mother was arrested on suspicion of trying to suffocate her baby in an Orlando hospital room. Brenna Elise Winter, of St. Cloud, was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder, battery by strangulation and aggravated child abuse. According to court documents, Winter took her 3-month-old daughter to Nemours Hospital earlier this month because the baby was vomiting blood.

A mother who claimed her three-year-old daughter was killed in a hit and run incident outside their Florida home has been charged with murder. Maryann Schwartz told police her child, Yeliani, had been run over in the parking lot outside their apartment, but a medical examiner said the girl had died from blunt trauma. Yeliani was also described as being malnourished and both she and her two-year-old brother, who is now in protective custody, were covered in bruises.

Investigators combing through a stash of more than 50,000 images and videos of child pornography hidden in a bedside table in Matthew Coniglio’s Georgia home made an even more horrifying discovery: cassette tapes they say show him raping and molesting girls. All were unconscious, apparently drugged, FBI Special Agent William Kirkconnell, who viewed the tapes, told The Associated Press. Some were so incapacitated they were snoring. The camera recording the 56 8-millimeter cassette tapes was always turned off before they awoke.

LAS VEGAS — A former employee of a Las Vegas school is facing federal child pornography charges. According to the United States Attorney, John-Benedict Galang Alcantara, 24 of Las Vegas, appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon on charges that he received and possessed child pornography. In the criminal complaint, Alcantara is charged with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. During Wednesday’s hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach released the defendant on bond with special conditions.