SALT LAKE CITY—Marina Belen Navarro was given 15 years to life for the murder of a 4-year-old girl who died from being physically abused. Navarro, 22, was sentenced for the murder of Vanessa Hart, who died a little over a year ago after succumbing to physical abuse. Navarro was given the maximum sentence after the courtroom learned of Navarro’s ongoing physical abuse towards Vanessa.

PORTLAND, OR — A Portland attorney says the state is to blame for the death of Jeanette Maples, a Eugene teen who was killed by her mother. David Paul filed a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Jeanette Maples. Paul says his goal in taking the Department of Human Services (DHS) to trial will be to scrutinize what state workers knew, when they knew it, and what was done to prevent this tragedy.

A former Catholic priest exposed as a serial child sex abuser has claimed he posed no “threat or danger to children”. Bill Carney was accused by the Murphy report, which was published in Ireland two years ago, of abusing at least 32 children. Carney, who was ordained in 1974 and defrocked in 1992, left Ireland and was traced to Spain before settling in Northleach, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Brandon R’eal Lockett Sr. has been found guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse and neglect in Roanoke Circuit Court after pleading no contest to the charges this afternoon. Lockett faces a up to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced in November in the January 2010 death of his stepson, toddler Aveion Lewis — 40 years is the maximum penalty on the murder charge, 10 years for the abuse and neglect.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible near-fatal child-abuse case involving a 5-month-old girl. The girl was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital around 11 a.m. Sunday after someone called to report a child had vomited and stopped breathing.

County Donegal in Ireland is about to have its bucolic image shattered by a report into how paedophiles, both clergy and laity, abused children for decades. An investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Catholic diocese of Raphoe in County Donegal is about to report its findings, which are expected to be damning. Meanwhile, new evidence has emerged from victims of a parallel paedophile ring operating in the same Gaelic-speaking corner of the Irish Republic.

Police said they have arrested and charged 33-year-old Lakeya Johnson in the death of her 4-year-old daughter, who officials said had suffered massive head trauma as a result of child abuse. Dramiara Johnson had been taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 22 with significant head injuries, police said.

PHOENIX, AZ – Newly released statistics released by Child Protective Services show the agency is understaffed and overworked, and critics argue its having a negative impact on children. According to its website, so far in 2011, CPS has recorded several deaths and near deaths from abuse or neglect. .

We bring to a close the case of Jessica Beagley, the Alaska mother convicted last week of child abuse for using hot sauce and a cold shower as punishment on her adopted son. A judge Monday gave the 36-year-old mother a 180-day jail sentence and fined her $2,500, but the judge suspended imposing those penalties on the condition that Beagley avoid committing any other criminal offenses for three years.

An Emerson physician is accused of stabbing her 13-year-old adopted daughter with a screwdriver at least 100 times because the girl failed to wash her dog’s clothes properly, police and health officials said. Dr. Sylvia S. Lee, an allergist with offices in Wayne and Old Bridge, faces felony charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Her license to practice medicine was suspended at an emergency meeting of a committee of the state Board of Medical Examiners.

LUFKIN, TX–Lufkin Police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy after forcing him to watch pornographic movies. Police arrested William Bass, 55, of Lufkin, on Tuesday, following an investigation which began on Aug. 15, after a 14-year-old boy told his mother Bass assaulted him. According to reports, the boy and his family know Bass and the child was allowed to spend the night at Bass’ home.

SANTA ANA, CA—A California man was arrested for investigation of throwing his crying 7-year-old son into the water from a sightseeing cruise boat during an argument that shocked other passengers, authorities said Monday. Sloane Briles, 35, was taken into custody for child endangerment and resisting arrest, Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

FLINT, Michigan — Corrine Baker, accused of ignoring pleas for help from her 4-year-old son as he was allegedly tortured by her live-in boyfriend in Argentine Township last year, pled guilty today to second-degree murder and second degree child abuse, according to Genesee Circuit Court records.

FORT LEE, Virginia — Pennsylvania authorities hunting for a U.S. soldier accused of killing four people and opening fire on police officers have found the man’s body after he apparently took his own life, police said on Sunday. Police and prosecutors said the body they believed to be of Army Capt. Leonard John Egland, 37, of Fort Lee, Virginia, was found behind a vacant business at a major intersection of Warwick Township.