TAMPA – A 23-year-old man is accused of pressing a red-hot fork on the forehead of a 4-year-old boy. Leon McWilliams Lovel remained in jail today on an aggravated child abuse charge in the Dec. 28 incident, according to arrest reports. Authorities learned of the incident Monday when the child attended school. Bail had not been set for Lovel, 2008 E. Wilder Ave.

An 85-year-old Belgian activist priest, who was being pushed for the Nobel Peace Prize, admitted recently that he sexually abused a child 40 years ago. Francois Houtart, founder of the nonprofit organization Cetri, wrote in a letter to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir that he touched “the intimate parts” of his then eight-year-old cousin, and called the incident “inconsiderate and irresponsible,” the AP said. The case came to light amid moves by the World Social Forum to nominate Houtart for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against the impact of globalization on developing countries, the AP reported.

Former clergy man Tony Walsh was set upon by a fellow inmate at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise on Sunday morning – one month after he was given 16 years for sexual attacks on three children over 20 years ago. Walsh, known for being a ‘singing priest’ and Elvis impersonator, had a previous conviction for indecently assaulting young boys that led to him being jailed for a decade in the 1980s.

Kirksville, Mo. —A Kirksville man has been charged with felony child abuse after allegedly striking his daughter with a paddle and causing significant bruising. According to court documents, Anthony Orwig, 32, reportedly used a wooden paddle on his 11-year-old daughter’s backside as a punishment for using her cell phone to get on Facebook in mid-December. The victim claimed she was struck 21 times over several minutes. Orwig told police he used the paddle six times during a 30-minute period.

A mid-Michigan man accused of strangling, biting and repeatedly punching his former girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter has pleaded guilty in federal court. The Morning Sun in Mount Pleasant says 28-year-old David Andrew Delacruz-Slavik of Isabella County pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury against a child during a courtroom appearance in Bay City. Authorities say Delacruz-Slavik assaulted the girl on Oct. 30, 2009, while on the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Reservation in Isabella County. The incident happened less than two months after Delacruz-Slavik was sentenced for second-degree child abuse in Bay County for fracturing the girl’s skull.

LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s department have arrested a man they say raped a 14-year-old girl at a New Year’s Eve party he allowed his teenage son to throw at their Concord Township home. Christopher Beller, 48, was arrested at his home on Ridgeview Trail, after authorities responded to a call of a naked female laying in the grass outside the home. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s department, when deputies arrived the 14-year-old was being treated by The Concord Township Fire Department. Authorities say she was highly intoxicated and barely responsive.

Federal prosecutors say a Hempstead woman and her toddler were slain in Central Islip woods earlier this year by MS-13 gang members in retaliation for the woman asking rival gang members to threaten her estranged boyfriend, court papers say. Vanessa Argueta, 19, had given her boyfriend’s address to members of the 18th Street gang, a rival of the MS-13 gang, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Bianco wrote in a court order ruling that the woman’s accused killer be tried as an adult.

For the last 33 years, Barry King and his family have sought to learn who killed his 11-year-old son in 1977, one of four children who were abducted and murdered in the mid-1970s in Oakland County. For the past three years, King was convinced that he knew the answer. And today, following the recent court-ordered release of 3,400 pages of investigative records compiled by the Michigan State Police, King says it is clear to him that Christopher Busch, a pedophile who was convicted four times of rape with a minor, was involved in the killing of Timothy King. “I am now more convinced than ever,” King said in an interview. But the Michigan State Police, who head a task force investigation into the crimes, decline comment. They say the investigation is still active.

HOUSTON — The woman accused in the murder of 12-year-old Jonathan Foster briefly appeared before a judge Monday. It was the first court appearance for Mona Nelson after a medical delay last week. This is the first time we’ve seen and heard from Mona Nelson publicly. She only spoke two words in open court — ‘yes, ma’am,’ to indicate to the judge that she understood her rights as read. Nelson is accused of killing 12-year-old Jonathan Foster by tying his hands behind his back with twine and burning his body beyond recognition. The boy vanished from his home on Christmas Eve. Nelson was arrested four days later.

A Portland man was arrested Friday on a litany of charges that include the rape of a 25-year-old woman and kidnapping the woman and her 23-month-old child. Benjamin Franklin Reed, 31, is lodged at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility; bail is listed at $1.234 million. Early Dec. 31, Reed took the woman, who he was living with, and her child from their Southeast Portland area home, forcing the woman to drive east on Interstate 84 until they stopped at Memaloose Rest Area near milepost 72, when Reed sexually assaulted the woman, said Pat Shortt, an Oregon State Police spokesman.

A Rowan County man is in jail, charged with first-degree rape of a child under the age of 13 and five counts of first- degree sexual offense on a child under the age of 13. Spencer Police handled the investigation and brought the charges. Larry Dwayne Connor, 43, was charged in Mecklenburg County Saturday, then taken to Rowan County and booked into the Detention Center on New Year’s Day.

ELMWOOD PARK — A borough man who allegedly engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a 16-year-old female acquaintance has been charged with criminal sexual contact, authorities said Sunday. Carlos Zambrano, 31, was being held Sunday in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, pending an arraignment on Tuesday.

Sayre, Pa. – State Police in Towanda have arrested a Sayre man on aggravated assault charges. Police say Ryan Plouse is accused of causing severe head injuries to a 2 and a half month old girl over a two month period. Leaving the child with bruising to her face and a broken rib. The young girl has been treated and released from Geisinger medical center. Plouse is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment.

Sayre, Pa. – State Police in Towanda have arrested a Sayre man on aggravated assault charges. Police say Ryan Plouse is accused of causing severe head injuries to a 2 and a half month old girl over a two month period. Leaving the child with bruising to her face and a broken rib. The young girl has been treated and released from Geisinger medical center. Plouse is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and harassment.

Official statistics have not been gathered, but those prosecuting crimes in Davis County said 2010 revealed some interesting, even disturbing, crime patterns. Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said one area that has officials concerned is an increase in the physical abuse of children. “It’s not a significant increase, but still, there is a slight increase in child abuse, particularly physical abuse,” Rawlings said. His office is prosecuting three murder cases involving the deaths of children.