The girlfriend of John DeBlase, the Alabama man accused of murdering and discarding of the bodies of his two young children, is on her way back to Alabama where she will face upgraded charges, court officials told ABC News. One attorney involved in the case said he expects the woman to be charged with murder. Heather Leavell-Keaton is expected to arrive in Mobile, Ala., later today. She is currently charged with child abuse, but police want to talk to her about the deaths of DeBlase’s 3-year-old son Chase and 5-year-old daughter Natalie.

Lincoln, NE – A Lincoln day care owner has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse because police don’t believe her explanation for an infant’s broken arm. Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood says 25-year-old Natalie Johanson’s explanation for how the child was hurt didn’t match the boy’s injuries, so she was arrested Wednesday. Police say the 8-month-old was injured on Oct. 21. The boy’s mother noticed that night that the baby wasn’t using his left arm and was in pain. Tests revealed a fracture in the boy’s elbow.

A 22-year-old Silver Springs man was arrested on Nov. 23 on charges of child abuse and murder following the death of a two-year-old child. Cody Wallace was arrested on those charges and is being held in the Lyon County Jail in Yerington. His bail on the child abuse charge was set at $75,000, and there is a no bail hold on the murder charge. Lyon County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a home in Silver Springs on a report of an incident involving a toddler who was having difficulty breathing, according to LCSO Sgt. Cherie Rye, who added that the young boy’s mother and biological father were present, along with Wallace.

PHOENIX – A Gilbert man has been sentenced in the child-abuse death of his former girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter. 23-year-old David Reed was sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter and lifetime probation for domestic violence. Autopsy reports showed the little girl died from a blow to the head, had 5 inch fractures on her skull and extensive brain swelling.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Yesterday detectives arrested Don Underwood, a doctor of naturopathic medicine and a licensed acupuncturist, on seven counts of child molestation. The charges came after an employee of the doctor told police that her 9-year-old son told her about a “tickling game” he and Underwood played at his home while naked in bed. Detectives say Underwood has sort of admitted that he engaged in sexual conduct with a boy. “He hasn’t admitted anything that would rise to the level that he believes he committed a crime. He is specifying that what he did was for medical purposes and bonding purposes.

BRONX, New York ( KTLA) — A pregnant teacher suffered a miscarriage after she was hit while trying to break up a fight between two students in the Bronx. The teacher, Lissedia Batista, 27, was pushed out of the way and fell to the floor as she tried to stop a fight between two male students at Explorations Academy Wednesday morning, the New York Times reported. Batista, who was four months pregnant, was accidentally elbowed in the stomach during the incident, according to the New York Daily News.

SAN FRANCISCO — A toddler found floating in a fountain at a downtown hotel suffered life-threatening injuries. The unidentified boy remains hospitalized, a day after officers pulled him from a decorative fountain at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and revived him using CPR. The officers went to the hotel after the 18-month-old boy’s mother reported him missing. Fire officials tell the San Francisco Chronicle the incident appeared to be an accident. Hyatt spokesman Pete Hillan says the hotel has emptied the fountain and erected a barrier around the 29-inch-deep trough where the boy was found.

(Reuters) – A homeless street preacher was found guilty on Friday of kidnapping teenager Elizabeth Smart, whose abduction from her bed in the middle of the night and harrowing, nine-month ordeal gripped much of America more than eight years ago. A federal court jury in Salt Lake City convicted Brian David Mitchell, 57, on two counts: kidnapping and unlawful transportation of minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity.

Neglect is the most common form of child abuse and accounts for more than half of all reported cases. Dave Pelzer, author of several books including A Child Called It was the victim of many abuses including neglect. In his book, he writes:

“When I was given the luxury of food, I ate like a homeless dog; grunting like an animal at Mother’s commands. I no longer cared when she made fun of me, as I hurried to devour even the smallest morsel. Nothing was below me. One Saturday while I was washing the morning dishes, Mother scraped some half-eaten pancakes from a plate, into the dogs’ dish. Her well-fed pets picked at the food until they wanted no more, then walked away to find a place to sleep. Later, as I put away some pots and pans in a lower cabinet, I crawled on my hands and knees to the dogs’ dish and ate what was left of the pancakes. As I ate, I could smell traces of the dogs, but I ate anyway.”

A total of 218 charges of child exploitation, sometimes involving victims as young as four years old, have been laid against 57 men, including 25 Canadians, the Toronto Police Service said Wednesday. Det. Paul Krawczyk of the force’s sex crimes unit told a news conference the charges were laid worldwide. “That’s important to note — it’s boys and girls, of all ages. In this case, we believe the youngest to be four,” he said. In November 2009 — in partnership with U.S., Canadian and international police services — officers from the Toronto’s sex crimes unit launched an international investigation into online trading of child sexual abuse images and videos.

ANNISTON, AL (WBRC) – In Anniston, a woman has been found guilty of child abuse after authorities say she fed her boyfriend’s 10-week-old baby meth and ecstasy. The Anniston star reports 23-year-old Stevette Patrice Chapman was convicted of abuse and drug possession.

A Kissimmee man is facing charges in connection with the abuse of an infant who is now on life support, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Luis Angel Guzman, 20, was charged Wednesday with aggravated child abuse. The 10-month-old boy had been gasping for air and then went unresponsive just before authorities arrived at an apartment in the Cobblestone apartment complex about 12:26 a.m. Dec. 1, deputies said. The boy was transported to Osceola Regional Medical Center and then to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he has been placed on life support. Doctors said the boy’s injuries included possible brain damage and fractured ribs, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to an arrest warrant filed with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the father, who claimed to be a nudist, regularly required his family to meet in the morning – naked –and get in a circle and touch one another, the Albuquerque Journal said. The couple allegedly told their children that they needed to practice sex with family members in preparation for married life. Of their eight children, three were minors, aged 16, 14 and 12. They were reportedly placed in the care of family members.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The head of a Dutch inquiry into child abuse in the Catholic church school system says yearly complaints are up 100-fold since allegations emerged of worldwide abuse. Wim Deetman said Thursday that between 1995 and 2009 an average of 20 people each year complained to the Catholic organization Help and Law that they had been abused, but in the past year 2,000 people made such allegations. Deetman – who was asked by the Dutch Catholics Bishops Conference to begin the independent Deetman Inquiry in March – said Help and Law had been swamped by the number of complaints. He said the organization’s structure – it was set up to help both victims and perpetrators of abuse – “hindered transparency and accountability.”