The trial of a priest accused of covering up sex abuse for the Roman Catholic archdiocese in Philadelphia could expose decades of secrets the church has kept about child molestation by teachers and clergy. Monsignor William Lynn is the first US church official ever charged with endangering children for allegedly failing to oust accused predators from the priesthood. But he may not be the last.

Salisbury, N.C. – Matthew Curtner, a 29-year-old North Carolina man was jailed after he allegedly admitted to having sex with an 11-year-old girl and a dog at his house. According to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation was launched Wednesday after detectives received a complain that Curtner had molested an 11-year-old girl.

A 17-year-old was charged with sexually abusing three young girls at his mother’s licensed residential day care, Winthrop Harbor Police officials said Tuesday. Brett A. Degler has been charged as an adult with four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse following a two-week investigation at the unidentified day care facility, Detective Sgt. Chris Willets said.

A toddler was found high on drugs in the backseat of his mother’s car. A two-year old boy was found high on heroin in the backseat of his mother’s car in Everett, Washington on Thursday. It was apparent the boy was high from the heroin his mother had been smoking in the car, according to one deputy.

A teacher and assistant go to extreme lengths to discipline a special needs student. A fifth grade teacher and her assistant in Sacramento, California have been put on leave after being accused of duct taping a special needs student’s mouth closed on Thursday. The boy’s arms were held back while they covered his mouth with tape as a punishment for talking too much during a special education needs class at John Cabrillo High School.

A Phoenix couple has been arrested on suspicion of burning their eight-year-old daughter with a hot spoon and locking her in a yard shed over night, police said Sunday. Susan Espiru, 23, of 8500 W. Palm Lane, and her husband, Alberto Melendez-Baez, 27, of the same address, were booked Saturday on suspicion of four child abuse counts and one count each of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

HAGATNA, Guam — A U.S. Navy sailor on Guam has been charged with rape, molestation and child abuse. Petty Officer 1st Class Bradford Laurence Lung, 30, admitted molesting a young girl several times a week since August 2010 and forcing her to engage in sexual activity with him, the Pacific Daily News reported.

A mother has denied harming her four-month-old son who is said to have died from “deliberate and violent shaking”. Lucas Irvine died in hospital on 21 November 2010, four days after an incident at his home in Lancaster. Karen Irvine, 19, told Preston Crown Court she was “completely unaware” of what had happened to the baby.

When Julie Nevin put her only son to bed in late December 2010, he was seven months old. The next time she was allowed to perform that simple act, Reilly was a 16-month-old toddler. She and her husband David lost nine months of their little boy’s life after social services took him away over a minor bruise on his forehead.

RIVERSIDE, CA — Police in Riverside are searching for three men who tried to kidnap a teenage girl in broad daylight. It happened around 7:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Phoenix Street and Ensenada Way, just east of the Riverside Municipal Airport.  READ MORE HERE

COSTA MESA — A former priest has pleaded guilty to charges of molesting a 7- to 9-year-old boy at a Costa Mesa church nearly 18 years ago. Denis Lyons, 78, of Seal Beach, admitted to four felony counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14 in a plea agreement with prosecutors.  READ MORE […]

Tania Coleman, 21, of Erie, PA was convicted of first-degree murder after starving her 14-month-old child to death, then hiding her in a suitcase. According to the Washington Post, the Erie mother will serve a life sentence after being convicted of the murder that took place in May 2011 after depriving her child of nourishment.

The father of the murdered Soham schoolgirl Holly Wells has disclosed that he is no longer haunted by the image of her and fellow murder victim Jessica Chapman posing in their football strips hours before they died.

An eight-year-old boy was indecently assaulted by a dog walker while he played on his own in Peterborough. Police said the victim was playing on a field behind Dogsthorpe Community Centre when a man spoke to him and followed him into a bush. The man, described as in his 30s with short black hair, assaulted the boy and walked off towards Belvoir Way. The boy ran home and told his mother.