A woman who murdered her toddler son and left his body in a cot for so long it ‘mummified’ was today jailed for a minimum of 15 years. Kimberley Hainey, 37, was found guilty by a majority verdict last month of murdering her son Declan at a flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire. His decomposing body was found in a cot in March 2010 – eight months after he was last seen. Hainey was also convicted of failing to report Declan’s death to police or other authorities and of concealing his body at the flat. At the High Court in Glasgow, she was handed a life sentence and told she will spend a minimum of 15 years behind bars.

MIDDLETOWN, CT –Some Connecticut parents are making stunning allegations about punishment handed out to their elementary school children. At the Farm Hill School in Middletown, reports have been trickling out from students, parents and educators that some children are being put into what’s known as restraint and seclusion rooms, but they’re more commonly called ‘scream rooms’ by the children as they hear those sounds coming from the rooms when children are confined in them.

A 65-year-old woman is accused of physically abusing twin infants earlier this week in the Lincoln Park neighborhood after a “nanny cam’’ filmed it, police said. Alice Vesely was booked into Cook County Jail Thursday after a judge set her bail at $300,000, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office. Vesely, 65, of the 2700 block of Fitch Avenue, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a child, police said.

ALBERTVILLE, Alabama — An Albertville couple charged with aggravated child abuse earlier this week will be facing more serious charges later today after their baby died.
Bridgett Duncan, 24, of 306 Katherine Drive and her boyfriend Immanuel Gage Allen, 17, of 132 Denise Circle, were arrested early Wednesday morning after deputies and ambulance personnel were dispatched to Denise Circle on a non-responsive child call.

Virginia Beach-based sailor has been charged with felony child abuse and neglect in the death of a 4-month-old baby, police said Friday. Master-at-Arms Seaman Micah James Patterson, 22, of Seymour, Mo., was arrested and charged Thursday. He is being held without bond at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. Patterson enlisted on Sept. 27, 2007, and has been assigned to the Public Safety Staff at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story since Nov. 25, according to Navy Personnel Command.

A Roman Catholic priest in Germany has admitted to 280 counts of sexually abusing three boys over a several-year period. The 46-year-old priest, who has been suspended, went on trial Thursday at the state court in Braunschweig. The dapd news agency reported that he showed no remorse.The man who was not identified was arrested last July after one victim told his mother what had happened. He was charged with abusing three boys aged between 9 and 15.

TUCSON – A 23-year-old Tucson mother has been arrested for allegedly abusing her 1-year-old and 3-year-old children. Paramedics responded to the home of 23-year-old Kiyana Higgins Thursday on a 911 call regarding a child having seizures. When they arrived, a 1-year-old girl was unresponsive. She was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.

A Palo Alto woman believed to have bitten two children in downtown Mountain View Thursday may not actually have down so, police officials announced Friday. “We no longer believe the two children were bitten by the suspect. Instead, we believe she pinched them,” said Liz Wylie, spokeswoman for the Mountain View Police Department, in an email. “The only person who saw what happened was the toddler, so we don’t have any credible witnesses. The injuries are not consistent with being bit.”

A child abuse survivor who experienced how silence perpetuated the crime and the pain is using the biggest message board he has to raise awareness and to encourage victims to seek help. Rodney Timms, president of Western Flyer Xpress, had the illustration of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s “Protect Kids” child abuse poster wrapped on one of his tractor-trailers and parked it in western Oklahoma City alongside Interstate 40, one of the busiest highways in the country.

The Duchess of York faces 22 years in jail after a Turkish court pressed charges against her for secretly filming in an orphanage. The charges relate to an undercover documentary Sarah Ferguson made with ITV in 2008 to expose ‘appalling’ conditions in state run institutions. A spokesman for the Duchess said: ‘The Duchess of York has fully co-operated with both the Turkish and British authorities at all times on this issue.

A man is being held for allegedly hitting his son on the head and then sewing up the wound with fishing line. Johnathan Ashley Avery, 31, of Benson, North Carolina, was arrested on Friday and charged with felony child abuse. Avery is accused of banging his six-year-old son over the head with a spoon, causing a three inch laceration.

Lieutenant General John Rosa, president of The Citadel military academy, said Tuesday he was ‘profoundly sorry’ the college didn’t report child sexual abuse allegations from 2007 to the police. The military academy, located in Charleston, South Carolina, released documents on Monday linked to the 2007 internal probe of child abuse allegations brought by a former Citadel summer camper against Louis Neal ‘Skip’ ReVille, an alumnus and counselor.

Alyssa Bustamante will not have a jury trial in a few weeks, like previously scheduled.Tuesday morning Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce accepted Alyssa Bustamante’s withdrawal of a not guilty plea to 1st degree murder. Bustamante then pleaded guilty to an amended charge of 2nd degree murder and armed criminal action. Judge Joyce scheduled Bustamante’s sentencing for February 6. The sentencing is expected to last two days while attorneys present evidence of what they believe Bustamante’s sentencing should include. There will be additional testimony at the sentencing hearing. Defense attorneys said they will provide psychiatric and mental health background information. Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson said he expects to call 6 witnesses at the sentencing hearing.

NEW YORK—Over the years, Mattel’s iconic Barbie doll has had every hairstyle imaginable, including a bubble beehive, a ‘60s flip and even multi-colored hair extensions. But she’s never been bald. That may change if the women behind the Facebook page, “Beautiful and Bald Barbie” influence executives at the world’s largest toy company. “We would like to see a Beautiful and Bald Barbie made to help young girls who suffer from hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia or trichotillomania,” reads Jane Bingham and Beckie Sypin’s Facebook page, which has almost 40,000 “likes.” “Many children have some difficulty accepting their mother, sister, aunt, grandparent or friend going from a long haired to a bald.”