The stress of holiday shopping can bring the worst out of some people. Diana Hendren, 49, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been arrested for allegedly choking her granddaughter while shopping at JC Penny. The alleged incident took place last Sunday. An employee at the store came upon Ms Hendren trying to throttle her granddaughter and called 911.

NEW LONDON, North Carolina – A 77-year-old Stanly County man is charged with nine counts of child sex offenses regarding an alleged incident involving a victim under the age of 13. On December 21, investigators with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office took a report regarding the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. A suspect, 77-year-old Wayne Arland Kent, was developed through the course of the investigation.

MADISON COUNTY, Kentucky – New details released in a Madison County criminal abuse case are nothing short of disturbing and on Tuesday, the couple accused of committing the crime appeared in court. Julio Valledares and Linda Richmond of Berea are now facing 11 counts of criminal abuse after allegedly physically and mentally torturing a 9-year-old girl for nearly a year. During that time frame, Gary Blevins lived across the street from the family “Nobody knew what was going on. If someone would’ve known what was going on, they would’ve put a stop to it,” Gary Blevins said on Tuesday, just hours after the indictment came down from the grand jury.

CLARKVILLE, Tennessee — A babysitter has been charged with murder in the death last year of a 2-month-old in her care. Sheilla Linares of Fort Campbell, Ky., was arrested Friday on federal charges of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. She is accused of abusing Thomas Castellon II of Clarksville on or about Dec. 3, 2013; he died of his injuries four days later.

BEDFORD, Virginia — A Virginia mother accused of strangling her two-year-old son with a stuffed animal will go before a judge. Shana Witt was found competent to stand trial, according to a report on WDBJ7.com. Jordan Smith, 2, was found dead in Witt’s home back in February. The child’s father, Michael Smith, had already pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges. He has not yet been sentenced for the crime.

Around the world on Christmas Eve, millions of children will excitedly fall asleep, “…nestled all snug in their beds… while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads” (as the poem by Clement Moore says). Many others will go to bed terrified, or at the very least uneasy about what the next day might bring. Christmas is a “big forever year”. By that I mean we often remember our Christmases in isolation (particularly our childhood Christmases), almost as though they are a separate life in themselves. For some the “forever years” of Christmases past bring back nostalgic memories of fun with family and friends, whilst for others the memories are not so rosy. We all know that Christmas can also bring some major stress and children often end up in the firing line of adult anxiety.

A young married couple who plotted to abuse children as part of a pedophile love triangle are facing jail after police uncovered ‘horrific’ texts and indecent images of children and animals. Kevin Barnett, 28, suggested drugging youngsters so he could enact his sick desires and his wife Susan, 28, said she would be willing to comfort a child as it was raped, a court heard. The pair were found guilty of arranging the commission of a child sexual offence and a second woman, Nikita Moore, 22, was convicted of conspiracy to commit child sexual offences with Barnett. Moore had even discussed having a baby with Barnett, from Barrow, Cumbria, for them to abuse together – although prosecutors conceded this particular ‘horrific’ exchange was just fantasy.

A toddler has tragically lost his life, after wandering outside in subzero temperatures to look for his absent mother. The 18-month-old “didn’t stand a chance” in the -10 degree weather in the tiny Russian village of Sosnovka, according to authorities. After Marina Yefimova, 29, put her son Gleb to bed, she decided to go out and visit with some friends. Unfortunately, at some point the little guy woke up and missed his mommy.

BANGOR — The state’s former top drug prosecutor, convicted on seven child pornography charges and of contempt for fleeing the state while on bail, was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 16 years in federal prison. James M. Cameron, 52, formerly of Hallowell and Rome, apologized to the judge, child pornography victims and his family Wednesday just before his sentencing in U.S. District Court. He was found possessing more than 100 images of child pornography, authorities said.

One of Australia’s worst mass killings, leaving eight children from the same family dead, has left the city of Cairns in shock. The grim discovery of the bodies of children aged 18 months to 15 years was reportedly made by their adult brother at their home in Manoora, in the north Queensland city’s west. The mother of seven of the children, 37, was being treated for stab wounds to the chest and was in a stable condition. Police said early on Saturday (local time) that she had been arrested for murder. Police were called to the house, which is located around a clutch of low cost, publicly owned housing on Murray Street in Manoora, around 11.20 am on Friday.

A doctor and two nurses have been charged with manslaughter over the death of a six-year-old boy who was left to die after being mistaken for another child with a “do not resuscitate” order. Jack Adcock died of pneumonia at Leicester Royal Infirmary after doctor Hadiza Bawa-Garba confused him with another youngster who had already been discharged.

Several more women who claim to have been sexually assaulted by comedy legend Bill Cosby have come forward sparking a ‘definitive open investigation’ by Los Angeles Police Department, a lawyer for one of the victims has told Daily Mail online. The new victims claim to have been subjected to sex attacks by Cosby but have asked to remain anonymous. Significantly, in another blow for the star, it is believed a number of the latest raft of allegations fall within the statute of limitations meaning he can be prosecuted if enough evidence is found. This comes as a model who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at the Playboy mansion six years ago tells Daily Mail Online that she is scheduled to meet with LAPD detectives to give a formal statement against the comedian.

A father who pleaded with the public for help finding his eight-year-old daughter after she went missing in September has been arrested for killing her. Hiawayi Robinson, who was found dead behind an abandoned building in Prichard, Alabama two days after she went missing, died as she was being sexually abused by her father, authorities said. Hiawatha Robinson, 38, was arrested on charges of first-degree sodomy and murder on Tuesday afternoon, and if convicted, he faces up to life in prison for each charge. ‘The facts will show that while engaging in sodomy in the first degree, Hiawatha Robinson Jr. caused the death of Hiawayi Robinson,’ Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said while announcing the charges at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

MADISON COUNTY, Indiana — Indiana State Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man wanted for child molesting and incest. Police say 31-year-old Shawn Anderson is wanted on a seven count felony warrant for those charges. Anderson is a white male, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs about 140 pounds, has blue eyes and brown hair.