Santa Barbara-Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Deputies have arrested a North Santa Barbara County man suspected of sexual child abuse. On Thursday, December 16, 2010 Sheriff’s detectives were advised of a possible child sexual abuse crime that occurred in the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County commonly known as Tanglewood. Sheriff’s detectives conducted an investigation and indentified the suspect as 51-year old Ernest Hernandez Madrigal (DOB 6/18/59) who they arrested on Thursday, December 30, 2010 in the 1100 block of Cook Street in the City of Santa Maria.

IT REMAINS the stain on a country consistently voted as the best in the world. It remains our national shame. It has followed us as every calendar is discarded, and as every new year is ushered in. The violent death of Maori children at the hands of their whanau and friends. And last week it got personal…

Like most New Zealanders, I regard child abuse in this country to be an overwhelmingly Maori disease. The statistics prove as much, as do the photos of the brown faces that are no longer with us. Their names have entered the legend, James Whakaruru, Delcelia Witika, Chris and Cru Kahui, Nia Glassie, Cherish Tahuri-Wright, and now Sahara Baker-Koro.

HILLSBORO — A longtime Dayton School District music teacher and assistant football coach faces multiple child porn charges in Washington County. Mark Read Culbertson, 37, of Sherwood was arraigned in circuit court Monday at the Washington County Community Corrections Center in Hillsboro on four counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, a Class B felony, and 11 counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, a Class C felony. No children attending school in the district are considered victims, according to Dayton Superintendent Janelle Beers.

HENDERSON, Nev. — Questions remain in the child abuse case that Henderson police say nearly killed a 4-year-old boy. According to police, the severe abuse went on for months and involved the boy and his 8-year-old brother. Psychologists and abuse advocates are now speaking out about the case. Paramedics and Henderson police officers found a 4-year-old boy unconscious at a condominium inside the Montelago Village Resort November 23. Detectives report that the boy’s 8-year-old brother had sunken eyes and was so malnourished, his hair was falling out. Police say the mother’s boyfriend, Edward Colucci, bit the boy’s nose, sprayed glass cleaner into his eyes and forced him to eat his own vomit. Police say both boys were victimized by Colucci.

An Adams County man allegedly burned and beat a 4-year-old boy. The district attorney said the boy isn’t Michael Love’s son. His mother gave him to Love in September, after they met in a homeless shelter. Court records say that Love punched the 4-year-old in the stomach five times because the child was hiding food. Love allegedly hit the boy at least 20 times on his arms, legs, stomach, back and head. The records go on to say that Love failed to seek medical attention for the boy after he fell out of a moving vehicle, and he did nothing after finding the boy face down, gurgling in a bathtub. Love finally took the 4-year-old to the hospital after he found him unresponsive Dec. 4. Once the boy got there, he needed emergency surgery for blood pooling in his brain.

A Story of Survival is based on the fictional character, Steven Moyer. Steven had a typical teenager’s life until an untimely car accident claimed the lives of both his parents. When his immediate family refused to take him into their homes and care for him, a young and naive Steven was forced into the vile foster care system. Being carted from one foster home to the next (over a dozen times in the last two years), has made it difficult for Steven to make friends or fit into any family unit. Now in his teens, he is abruptly placed with Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Although he is immediately made to feel welcome; once the case worker leaves, the Joneses reveal their true colors. He begins to experience slight signs of child abuse, but over time the abuse escalates from pushing and shoving to full blown beatings. Now with no other choice, Steven is forced to make the hardest decision of his life; escape or continue to experience the daily abuse that could one day cost him his life. This powerful story takes the reader through the daily drama of a teenager’s life through his own personal memoirs. Experience Steven’s pain firsthand as you read through his journal entries during this horrific time in his life.

1/11/11–Events in dozens of cities on January 11 will help launch a worldwide effort to raise awareness of the growing crime of human trafficking. President Obama and other world leaders have issued proclamations urging citizens to learn more about trafficking — the widely used term for the modern-day slave trade in which millions of people are ensnared in some form of coerced labor for little or no wages. Unlike historical slavery, slaves today are not owned, but rather bought and sold through illegal, underground networks involving crime gangs, but also “mom & pop” operations and even members of families. Estimates vary as to the number of modern-day slaves in the world; the International Labor Organization (ILO) puts the figure at — conservatively — 12.3 million, while recognized contemporary slavery expert Kevin Bales says upwards of 27 million are enslaved worldwide. In the U.S. alone, around 14,000 – 17,000 people are trafficked each year, according to the State Dept.

This is another in a series on people and events that shaped our communities in 2010. I don’t pretend to understand a parent’s pain upon losing a child. But I do know what their desperate hugs feel like. Over the years, I’ve met too many of these hurting mothers and fathers. And in 2010, two of the most memorable women came to me during the month of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Both had lost beautiful children to men who resorted to murder because they couldn’t stand to lose what they thought were their possessions.

NEWPORT NEWS —
The same day a 10-year-old girl told authorities Jose Hernandez had been molesting her and putting it on the internet, it appeared that he had skipped town for Texas.

However, Newport News Dectective, Dinah Balthis says the few tips they’ve received through the Crime Line place Hernandez in Hampton Roads.

Det. Balthis says, “He’s a danger and threat to the community and any child out there.”

FRESNO, CA– Fresno Police say they’re finishing the year with a total of 63 cases reported, which is a 20% drop compared to the year before. While the numbers are decreasing local rape counselors say sex crimes remain a big problem in the Central Valley. Fewer rape cases are a trend Fresno Police say is a positive sign their work to educate women is effective.

THOMASVILLE, N.C. — A Thomasville man was arrested Thursday and charged with statutory rape and other sex offenses against a child, police said.Michael Lee Watkins, 27, committed several statutory sex offenses with a child in November, according to a Davidson County Sheriff’s Office report.Watkins was arrested Thursday and charged with seven counts of statutory rape, seven counts of indecent liberties with a child and four counts of statutory sex offense.

A former Bethlehem youth football coach accused of repeatedly raping a child was only caught because he was confronted about exposing himself to a different woman, authorities allege. Jose Vazquez, 38, is awaiting trial for allegedly raping a girl between the ages of 8 and 16. The accuser, now 25, previously said she was raped so often she lost track of the total count. In court documents filed Thursday, prosecutors claim Vazquez was caught only after his wife learned from a different woman that Vazquez had exposed himself to her and demanded a sexual act.

MONTROSE ?– When formal charges are filed against the woman accused of killing 4-month-old Angel Nieto, she could be looking at more serious allegations than the manslaughter warrant on which she was booked Thursday. Maria Zavala-Espinosa, 32, appeared in court Thursday on the felony-4 offense. The judge also told her that she could potentially be charged with child abuse resulting in death, a class-2 felony, or even first-degree murder, depending on what prosecutors decide. Espinosa is accused of inflicting non-accidental trauma on the baby boy, who she was babysitting on Oct. 7.

LAWRENCE — A Lawrence man who had failed to attend court-mandated parenting classes after being imprisoned for physically assaulting his infant daughter several years ago is accused of shaking his 3-month-old son to death this week, said the office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. Evidence in the death of Alexis Medina’s son, Alex, points to shaken-baby syndrome, according to hospital and police records. Authorities said the baby also suffered broken ribs.