As of Saturday, child neglect is illegal in Maryland. Maryland was the only state in the country that did not have such a law, and earlier this year, the general assembly passed a bill making child neglect a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison. The bill failed in Annapolis the previous three years.

A review of Utah homicides between January 2002 and December 2007 found an 83 percent conviction rate for suspects charged with adult homicides. Among suspects in child abuse homicide cases, researchers calculated a conviction rate of 88.2 percent. “Suspects of child abuse homicide are convicted at a rate similar to that of suspects of adult homicide and receive similar levels of felony conviction and severity of sentencing,” the authors wrote.

Evil Mitchell Harrison, 23, was found dead in his cell at high-security HMP Frankland, Durham. Sources said his killers rammed a home-made knife into his stomach. He was killed on Saturday morning after inmates allegedly rumbled a plot he had hatched to “glass” prison officers.

Daniel Mendez was a Boy Scout, had plenty of friends, earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, played football and was consistently an honor student.

But that didn’t stop bullies from going after him, calling him names such as half-breed, gay and mercilessly ridiculing him at Bernice Ayer Middle School in San Clemente.

Another alleged child killer is off the streets tonight. Leo Ackley was arrested yesterday on murder and first degree child abuse charges for the death of 3-year-old Baylee Stenman. She was pronounced dead on August 1 at a Kalamazoo hospital. Ackley has been on the run since. Good thing his luck ran out. Maybe now little Baylee’s death can be avenged.

As we kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month, let me introduce you to an unlikely victim. Dan Huddleston, a 60-year-old retired air traffic controller, is not your poster child survivor. Yet the Sugar Grove man — husband, father of two, grandfather of six — represents millions of adults out there who for a lifetime have carried scars from dark childhood memories.

A Collin County jury Thursday gave a Plano man two life sentences in prison for sexual crimes committed against a child under age 14. Edgar Manuel Cisneros, 33, was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child between Sept. 1, 2007 and July 25, 2009, and also guilty of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

COLORADO SPRINGS — Weeping uncontrollably, a teenage mother was sentenced Friday to 24 years in prison for failing to intervene in what a judge called one of the worst cases of child abuse to come before his court. Samantha Salaz, 19, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse after ignoring her 20-month-old daughter’s cries in April as a family member allegedly bound her with electrical tape and left her incapacitated under a running shower. The toddler nearly drowned, authorities said.

A 57-year-old city man was charged by two police services this week for crimes involving a child. Steven O’Link of Greater Sudbury was arrested on Thursday in Sudbury by the Hamilton Police Service’s Child Abuse branch for sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching involving a female under 18. Greater Sudbury Police’s Cyber Crimes unit got involved soon after when child pornography was found on the man’s computer. Sudbury police searched the man’s residence on Friday and seized a computer and data storage device.

In what is said to be the first British trial of its kind, doctors are to use ecstasy to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to them, it could help those who have experienced extremely distressing events — be they in battle, or as a result of child abuse or rape — to come to terms with their past.

NORWALK, Conn. – It was “Drop Dead Day” on the lawn in front of Norwalk City Hall. Nearly 150 students from Brien McMahon High School suddenly dropped to the ground, followed by a solemn 30-minute period of silence As the students lay sprawled out and still, with their eyes closed, four other students stood like statues in front of them along East Ave. and Sunset Hill Ave. holding up signs to alert passing cars and pedestrians about their cause.

When 13-year-old Hana Grace Rose Williams died, she was found naked, face down in the mud in the backyard, in 42 degree weather. Charging documents in the murder case against her adoptive parents show Hana was the victim of ongoing abuse and neglect, a corporal punishment style of parenting straight out of a book sold on Amazon.com. The book is titled “To Train Up A Child.”

Dreamcatchers Talk Radio is pleased to announce Nickelodeon’s most-watched kids program on television in its time period, delivering an average of 2 million total viewers per episode, Brain Surge game show host Jeff Sutphen. On Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 3p.m. EST Jeff will sit down with Dreamcatchers Talk Radio hosts Star Myers and Donna Kshir, along with teen spokesperson Amanda Myers and discuss television, projects, family and his new child abuse campaign. Dreamcatchers Talk Radio is Michigan’s largest online Radio Talk Show dedicated to educating the public and creating public awareness through global education. This method is a diverse and unique approach by a team of highly dedicated experts and organizations determined to make a difference and save lives. Dreamcatchers Talk Radio is a production of Dreamcatchers for Abused Children, created by Sandra Dawn Potter and Donna Kshir.

Child abuse statistics from NCANDS and Child Maltreatment Reports. A child is classified as a victim and included in this file if maltreatment is substantiated or indicated. In addition to basic information concerning the report and the child, this child victims file also contains information about the type of maltreatment, the support services provided to the family, and any special problems that were identified for the child, caretaker, or family.