A classroom swot, Girl A was a ‘bright and happy child’ from a loving home. Then, aged 12, she turned into a ‘lost soul’. Within a few short months, she was playing truant, self-harming and going missing for days on end. Her bewildered parents begged her to tell them what was wrong, and why she had cigarette burns on her arms and blood stains on her underwear. Their once-diligent daughter simply shrugged off their questions. Whenever she failed to come home, her father wandered the streets of Oxford bearing her photo as he searched in vain in pubs, nightclubs and cinemas. Her mother said she felt a failure, and recalled: ‘There was no emotion left in her whatsoever. She didn’t laugh. She didn’t cry.’

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA – Investigators with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department need help finding a man who grabbed a 7-year-old girl while she was out for a walk with her mom in south Sacramento on Saturday. The girl managed to escape and is OK. Witnesses described the abductor as between 25 and 35 years old with light-brown skin, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with black, shoulder-length hair worn either in braids or dreadlocks.

A bullied autistic boy is the target of a horrible prank. In Brisbane, Australia, Michael Boggan, a 15-year old autistic boy, lost almost all of his fingers to a home-made explosive disguised as a golf ball. A local boy handed Michael the golf ball, which exploded when it was turned upside down. Several other children were hurt and a set of patio furniture was demolished.

Cedar Hill, TX – Marlena Mints, a 31-year-old health teacher at Bessie Coleman Middle School, has been jailed after she allegedly had sex with at least two students. According to police, an investigation was launched in late April after a coach at the same middle school reported that a 13-year-old student was overheard bragging about having sex with Mints. As the investigation unfolded, detectives learned that Mints allegedly had sexual contact with several students.

Manchester, N.H. – Erin Upham, a 20-year-old New Hampshire woman, was jailed last Thursday after she allegedly molested a 3-year-old girl, took photographs of the assault, then sent the images to an Air Force officer stationed in Japan. According to Manchester Police, an investigation was launched late last month after the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations informed them that a service member had received sexually explicit photographs of a young girl.

The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking Shane Franklin Miller on a warrant charging him with a triple murder. Deputies report that Miller allegedly murdered his wife, Sandy, 34, and daughters, Shelby, 8, and Shasta, 5 in Shingletown, California. He then fled the scene and deputies found his pickup truck abandoned about 200 miles away near Petrolia, California.

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — A West Haven man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, police said. Police began investigating in September 2012 after the girl’s mother reported that her daughter confided that she believed she had sex with a family friend who was living with the family. Police said forensic examinations and medical evaluations determined that the child had injuries consistent with a sexual assault.

A Philadelphia abortion provider who killed babies by cutting their spinal cords with scissors was found guilty of first-degree murder on Monday. The conviction on three counts of first-degree murder means Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, could be sentenced to death. Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore sobbed after the verdict in the high-profile case was announced. Gosnell appeared shocked. He let out a sigh and shook his head back and forth. Defense attorney Jack McMahon told CNN it’s too soon to tell whether he will appeal the conviction.

Stuart Hazell should hang for killing Tia Sharp, her father said yesterday. Steve Carter broke down in tears when Hazell dramatically changed his plea to guilty midway through his murder trial. Outside court Mr Carter said: ‘The four days of trial here were very hard to deal with, hearing the vile things Hazell did to Tia. ‘He should serve his time and then be hung. ‘I do not see today’s events as justice for Tia, merely a legal conviction.’ Hazell suffocated the 12-year-old during a sex attack after months of trawling vile internet pornography sites and filming her as she slept.

WORCESTER, Mass. – A Massachusetts resident charged in an international investigation has pleaded guilty to solicitation of child kidnapping and charges of possession and distribution of child pornography. Forty-year-old Geoffrey Portway, a British citizen living in Worcester, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. He could face at least 18 years in prison under an agreement with prosecutors. Sentencing is set for August. Portway was arrested in July after investigators allegedly found child pornography and photos of children who appeared to be dead on his computer .

Another suspect has been charged in a child torture case in Northville Township following charges against a teen accused of burning a toddler with a lighter. Olivia Suzanne Kwiatkowski, 18, was arraigned Friday on charges she failed to report child abuse in a bizarre incident involving her 2-year-old nephew. Northville Township police have Dylan James Dunlap, 19, of Northville, in custody at the Wayne County Jail, suspected of holding a lighter to the 2-year-old’s chest, hands and wrist while he and Kwiatkowski were baby-sitting the boy.

CITY HEIGHTS – A baby was found unconscious and nearly drowned in a City heights apartment, and the mother was arrested Saturday, police said. Whitney Holman, 22, was booked into Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse, Lt. Chuck Kaye of the San Diego Police Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Unit said.

NEWTON NC — The man charged with the murder of a Long View 1-year-old stood sullen and silent as his rights were read to him by Judge Gregory R. Hayes on Monday. William Howard Lail, III, 25, charged with one count murder and two counts of intentional child abuse, inflicting serious injury by Long View police on Friday, appeared in District Court in Newton after his lawyer, Victoria Jayne, arrived in court after lunch recess.

ALLEGANY, N.Y. – A man from Cattaraugus County has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing a young child. Prosecutors say John Williams, 29, of Olean sexually abused a child under the age of 11 between March 2006 and November 2007 in the Town of Allegany.