“I am a 19 year old girl and I am a victim of child sex abuse and child pornography.” So begins the powerful “Statement by Amy,” read in a packed court of law in front of the child’s uncle, a man she was trying to prevent being released from prison. “I am still discovering all the ways that the abuse and exploitation I suffer has hurt me, has set my life on the wrong course, and destroyed the normal childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood that everyone deserves.” One of the rare victims of child pornography to publicly speak out against her abuser, “Amy”—as she asked to be called to protect her privacy—was a victim depicted in a collection of sexual abuse images and videos shot by her uncle.

Too many families experience the nightmare of having a child go missing. I know what it is like to be that child. I know what it is like to think that one false move may lead to not only your own death but the death of family members as well. Nobody can ever blame a child for their actions when they are being threatened, bullied, forced, or coerced into doing something unthinkable. That is why the “Elizabeth Smart Foundation” was created, because what if we could prevent future crimes against children? Wouldn’t it be worth it to do everything to bring home that one child?

The mother of ‘blonde angel’ Maria rescued from a Greek gypsy camp is a Bulgarian farm hand who was too poor to keep her, police believe. Sasha Ruseva, 35, already had two children and was picking olives in the coastal town of Livanates, Greece, when she fell pregnant in 2008, it was claimed today. Unable to cope, Sasha sold the unwanted tot to the highest bidders – a group of child traffickers. A mysterious Bulgarian middleman known as ‘Michalis’ and his prostitute partner then offered baby Maria around central Greece before her adoptive gypsy parents paid 1,000 Euro to keep her.

David Cameron today challenged Facebook to prove that its system protected children after the site was forced to reinstate a ban on beheading videos. The Prime Minister led criticism against the social networking site after it lifted a ban on users posting graphic videos of violent killings. The firm yesterday bowed to pressure from child internet protection campaigners by taking down a graphic video of a woman being beheaded in Mexico. Facebook’s unpublicised change in policy came to light after it refused to remove a 57-second video showing a young Mexican woman, her hands tied behind her back and on her knees, being beheaded by a masked man in broad daylight. It was posted last week under the title ‘Challenge: Anybody can watch this video?’.

A Colorado judge has today ordered the release of grand jury documents related to the 1996 killing of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey. Boulder District Attorney spokeswoman Catherine Olguin declined to say whether the documents, which have been sealed since the grand jury was dismissed in 1999, will include an indictment against parents John and Patsy Ramsey. The Daily Camera previously reported that the grand jury voted in 1999 to indict the Ramseys but then DA Alex Hunter declined to pursue those charges. JonBenet’s body was found bludgeoned and strangled in her family’s home in Boulder on December 26, 1996.

Philadelphia prosecutors today announced they have no choice but to drop child-rape charges against a priest because the only witness able to testify died two weeks ago of an overdose after battling substance abuse for years. Sean McIlamil, 26, a former alter boy under Fr. Robert Brennan, came forward in January with startling allegations that the priest sexually abused him 15 years ago – but today his family spoke only of their grief and anger that Brennan will now walk free. At a press conference today in the city his mother Debbie explained that her son spoke up because he wanted to be a voice against child abuse for his nephews sake’s and other young children like them.

Four women have now come forward to say that a neighbor of notorious kidnapper and rapist Arial Castro raped them, with three of the alleged victims being family members. Elias Acevedo has confessed to the kidnapping, rape and murder of two women in a Cleveland neighborhood in the 1990s, at a time when he lived close to Castro, as well as additional rape and kidnapping charges. A fourth woman has now come forward to report that she too was raped by Acevado, and paternity testing has shown that he fathered a child with one of his own family.

Three babysitters watched as a three-year-old boy died in a cruel punishment called ‘The Wrap’ – where he suffocated after being tightly covered in blanket. Michael Lee McMullen died after being wrapped in six layers of blankets at the Florida home he was living in. Manslaughter charges were filed against Donella Trainor, 45; Douglas Garrigus, 21; and the child’s grandmother, Gale Watkins, 56, according to a Lee County Sheriff’s lieutenant.

Suspecting his wife of cheating, Andre Laurens Crane planted audio recorders that led to his demise in their Loganville home and in her car. A Georgia man hid voice recorders in an attempt to catch his now ex-wife cheating on him. Instead, he busted himself molesting his stepdaughter. Andre Laurens Crane, 44, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus 10 years for sexually abusing the girl when she was 11 through 14, authorities said.

A youth baseball coach who amassed thousands of child pornography images and videos was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday. David Scott Engle, a divorce lawyer from Lake Lucerne in Washington, will now stand trial on child rape charges after investigators found dozens of videos of him allegedly raping two boys. The 50-year-old, who was arrested in November after buying child pornography online, also had a collection of 450 images showing the clothed genitals of the boys he coached.

BERNE, IN – A mother was charged with attempted murder and neglect of a dependent after police said she tried to suffocate her infant son with a sock and then left him in a closet face down. According to the police report, on October 13, Sasha J. Hunt, 22, of Berne, placed a sock over the mouth of her three-month-old son and wrapped tape around his head to keep the sock in place. Hunt then wrapped the infant in a blanket, put him face down on a pillow, and shut the baby inside of a closet.

KANSAS CITY, MO – Authorities in Europe and across the world are working to determine the identity of an abducted girl found in Greece. The girl known as Maria was apparently kidnapped by a Gypsy couple. She was initially believed to be 4 years old but a dental exam now indicates she is 5 or 6. The FBI and Greek authorities will work to determine that the child isn’t that of missing Kansas City toddler Lisa Irwin as well as other missing children. Known as Baby Lisa, the infant was almost a year old when she went missing in early October 2011.

CHARLESTON, SC – Investigators say a 37-year-old man is behind bars after fathering a baby with his ex-girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter. The Charleston Police Department charged Anthony Kareem Hicks with second-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to the victim, Hicks is the father of her child who was born on Sunday. The victim said she was 12-years-old when she began a sexual relationship with Hicks from August 2012 to June 2013.

LYNNWOOD, WA – A man who admitted to raping a 12-year-old girl used the Whisper app to locate her, according to police investigators. Ron Peterson, 21, was arrested for child rape and released on bail after admitting to taking the girl to a motel where they had sex. Detectives said Peterson, who does not have a history of sex crimes, used the app to chat with the girl and convinced her to send sexy photos of herself. He then told her by phone how to remove the screen from her bedroom window and run away. Users of the Whisper app post about alcohol, adultery – anything on their mind.