LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police have arrested a 44-year-old church pastor accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Leonel Pelayo, of Carson, was taken into custody around 1 p.m. Thursday.

INDIANAPOLIS — A new report reveals child abuse and neglect are on the rise in Indiana but that the agency charged with protecting Hoosier children is not fully staffed.

The Department of Child Services released its annual report at the State Budget Committee meeting on Thursday.

SAN DIEGO — Convicted child molesters in California now face life in prison after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed “Chelsea’s Law” Thursday.

The Governor was joined by Chelsea’s parents, Brent and Kelly King, as he signed the new law during a ceremony in Balboa Park.

Sandy, Utah–Richard Chad Randall, 41, of Sandy, Utah is accused of raping a 4 year old girl in a Deseret Industries store yesterday, Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Randall, a registered sex offender is said to have lured the child from the toy section of the small, family oriented store and taken her to the men’s bathroom.

DUBAI–She was sold by her own father, kept in captivity in the UAE and forced to work as a prostitute for several months – all before she had turned 15.

Now being cared for at a shelter in Dubai, the Arab girl – whose name, exact age and nationality are being withheld to protect her identity – is one of the most shocking examples of human trafficking to come to light in the Emirates.

The department that investigates child abuse for Los Angeles County is under attack for allegedly hiding information about children who died under its watch – highlighting a perpetual and sensitive issue for public child protection agencies around the country.

As some of those agencies have found over the years, withholding information about the death of a child sometimes fuels its own controversy.

A caretaker and two other woman who were watching a 2-year-old girl while her mother was out of town are charged with murder in connection with the toddler’s death.
Three women were indicted Monday on murder and other charges by a Columbia County grand jury, according to State Attorney Skip Jarvis Jr.

Racine, Wisconsin (The Weekly Vice)- Breanna Gering, a 23-year-old Franklin woman was charged Tuesday after she allegedly gave birth at the restaurant she worked at, placed the child in a trash bag and then threw the baby into a metal garbage bin.

According to Racine police, officers were called to Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints hospital on a report that Gering was being treated for heavy bleeding and abdominal cramps. Doctors believed that she had recently given birth, but she denied it.

Livermore, CA – Gary Gomez is looking at attempted murder charges after an altercation with his 14-year-old son over the weekend. Gomez, his wife, his son and his son’s two friends were fishing at Bethany Reservoir late Sunday evening when one of the other boys decided he wanted to go home. This displeased Gomez – it was after midnight and he didn’t want to drive the kid home right that second. That displeased Gomez’s son – he was insistent that his father take his friend home. Tempers flared and an argument broke out. That led to a physical confrontation between father and son.

Springfield, MO – Chilquitta Wane Favors, 25, has been charged in federal court with the attempted murder of her husband, Private Charles Favors, and their 10-month-old child. According to authorities, Chilquitta physically assaulted her husband last Friday and was ordered to have no contact with him. Paying no heed to said order, she reportedly slipped a foot-long chef’s knife into the sleeve of her jacket and set out to talk with her husband the very next day. When it was apparent that the man was not going to kiss and make up and was not going to allow her to take custody of her children, she pulled out the knife and got to stabbin‘.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Deputy marshals are asking for help to find 23-year-old fugitive Jovonnie Dillard on rape charges. He is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in February 2009. An arrest warrant was issued Aug. 24, soon after the girl told her family she had been raped.

WHO: Members of the University of Rochester and Greater Rochester community are invited to participate in the 3rd annual Kappa Delta Shamrock 5K Run/Walk. Proceeds from the event will benefit Prevent Child Abuse America, a national organization that Kappa Delta sorority supports.

TIME, DATE, PLACE: 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 25, at Wilson Commons on the University of Rochester River Campus.

WHAT: Registration for the Shamrock 5K Run is now open. Entry fees for the race are $15 prior to Sept. 22 and $20 until race day. Interested participants can register by visiting http://www.active.com/running/rochester-ny/kappa-deltas-3rd-annual-shamrock-5k-runwalk-and-fun-run-2010. In addition to entrance into the race, the first 150 registrants also will receive a raffle ticket with a chance to win a variety of prizes, a T-shirt, and lunch.

The promotional blurb for Polly and Me reads: “Behind closed doors unfolds a story of neglect. An eight-year-old girl lives alone with her mother and dreams of a better life beyond the walls of their small and dingy apartment. Polly and Me is the story of one little girl who has fallen between the cracks and reminds us that just because we don’t see her, it doesn’t mean she isn’t there.”

The short film will air tomorrow at 9.30pm on ABC1, coinciding with National Child Protection Week. It is produced and directed by the group that made the confronting, AFI award-winning 2008 documentary, The Oasis, which followed the lives of homeless youth who visit an inner-city refuge.

Calgary police are investigating the shocking assault of a young girl on Monday afternoon.

The girl was attacked in a field near Clarence Sansom Junior High, located in northeast Calgary, Alta.

The victim’s age has not been released, but police say the Child Abuse Unit was called in to investigate. The unit focuses on cases of sexual abuse “of children up to but not including 14 years of age at the time of the offence,” according to its website.