A Gastonia woman was charged with leaving her two young daughters in a hot car while she shopped Saturday.

Alison Novinc Matthews, 26, of 3010 Briggs Court, Apartment O, allegedly left the girls, ages 4 and 2, in the car for more than 20 minutes while she was inside Target at 197 New Hope Drive. The car was locked with the ignition off and the windows were cracked only enough to place two fingers through, Gastonia Police Officer L.O. Creagh wrote in an affidavit.

District Attorney described the murder scene as a “horrific, disturbing and unspeakable.”

WOBURN, Mass. — A man charged with killing his wife, two young children and mother-in-law left behind notes in their suburban home admitting to the savage, bloody slayings, authorities said Thursday.

Thomas Mortimer IV, 43, was captured Thursday by police in northwestern Massachusetts hours after he was charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Money and marriage trouble may have led an Anaheim man to kill his wife and wound his 3 year-old son before killing himself in the backyard of the family’s home.

The boy, who hid behind a trash can in the backyard for more than 12 hours before he was rescued Monday, remained in critical but stable condition, recovering from at least three bullet wounds to his hip, shoulder and torso.

Louisville, KY – According to police, Camron Mosby, 3, found himself in the middle of a heated argument between his mother and her boyfriend(?) late Tuesday night and paid a heavy price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s been reported that LaQuisha Mosby, 28, and Shawn Martin, 34, were involved in some sort of domestic altercation when a .45 caliber gun was brought into the mix.

Abbotsford, BC- Tim Bachman, one of the founding members of Canada’s most popular rock bands, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was charged on Monday for sexual interference with a person under the age of 14, sexual assault and touching a young person for a sexual purpose. The charges followed an investigation that was launched when a young woman came forward in March 2009.

CLAYTON, Ohio – A lot of pedos we feature here have some balls. Not meaning they are mostly male (they are) but that they really do take extra-ordinary risks when satisfying their desire to molest children. But if the charges against 33-year-old Stephen Foy are true, he has big, brass ones. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl while she slept, streaming video of his actions to another person via a laptop camera.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A Grand Rapids man is in jail, accused of raping a 7-year-old boy and then chatting about it on Facebook. Josh Mitchell now faces several sex charges.

A 15-year-old from Iowa sent in a tip to Grand Rapids police, telling them about an explicit Facebook message from Mitchell describing the rape of the child.

An Australian music teacher was sentenced on Friday to 25 years and seven months of imprisonment for sexually abusing his girl students aged 10-17 for over 12 years.

The 51-year-old man, Colin Harold Doo, pleaded guilty to 39 charges including 10 of procuring a child for the purposes of producing pornography, six counts of rape and 12 of committing an indecent act in the presence of a child under 16.

SPRINGFIELD – Cited by a judge as “the most sordid case I have ever heard,” a former city police officer was sentenced on Thursday to two consecutive life terms in state prison for the rape and sexual assault of three young girls.

Pedro J. Martinez, a police officer for two decades before he resigned after his arrest last year, pleaded guilty in Hampden Superior Court to 21 sexual offenses. Some included allegations of incest involving attacks on two of his daughters.

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – A Belen man is being held without bond after police charged him with raping girlfriend’s 1-year-old so badly that she needed extensive surgery to repair the damage.

Melissa Gilbert was known as American Sweetheart, ‘Laura Ingalls’ on the television show, “Little House on the Prairie” for nine years. Alison Arngrim was known as Laura’s nemesis, Nellie Oleson. Both girls have grown up to share their tales of pain from the horrible events which took place in their lives during the filming of the show.

A Lake Worth man is charged with aggravated child abuse after authorities said he beat, grabbed, threw and burned his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son.

Michael L. Cameron, 25, is in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

“The pattern of the circular marks appears to be a branding type injury from either a hot or sharp object which is circular with a hollow center,” a medical summary is quoted in a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s report.

LEXINGTON, N.C. – The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office have charged a man they say has allegedly physically abused a woman and a 7-year-old child.

RACINE – A former Racine County Child Protective Services investigator was charged Thursday with fabricating reports in six cases where there were allegations of abuse against children.

Todd P. O’Brien, 37, of Franklin, is charged with six counts of misconduct in office for making a fraudulent record or statement. Each count carries a maximum possible penalty of 1 1/2 years in prison.