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THERMAL, Calif -

Authorities looking into the death of a 2-year-old child in Thermal are now calling the case a murder investigation, according to Riverside County sheriff's Cpl. Angel Ramos.

According to a report from the Riverside County Sheriff, on the afternoon of May 17th Thermal police responded to a report of an injured child near the 88000 block of Airport Blvd in Thermal. When they arrived, they found two-year-old Jorge Lizarraga Jr. suffering from "unexplained injuries." Jorge was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died of his injuries.

The Riverside County Coroner ruled the cause of death as "blunt force trauma."

Homicide detectives from both Riverside County and Thermal have taken control of the investigation. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Investigator Button at the Central Homicide Unit (760) 393 - 3500.
[....]

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A Kearney man who was horsing around and dropped an infant Sunday faces a felony child abuse charge.

Nicholas Bailey, 18, of Kearney was charged Monday in Buffalo County Court with one count of felony child abuse. Bailey is accused of running while holding a 4-month-old boy over his head. The baby was in a car seat but was not buckled in; he fell about 6 feet onto a sidewalk at Kearney’s Hilltop Mall.
[...]

Bailey initially was cited for misdemeanor child abuse and neglect, but the charge was upgraded to a felony after doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital found the tot suffered serious injuries.

According to court records, a CAT scan found the infant suffered a skull fracture and bleeding on the brain.

The infant’s 21-year-old mother was cited on suspicion of misdemeanor child abuse.
[...]

Bailey isn’t related to the infant.

If convicted, Bailey could face up to five years in prison and a fine.

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Court records outline the case against Bailey:

Around 6:30 p.m. an off-duty Kearney police officer was sitting in his personal vehicle when he allegedly observed Bailey, the child’s mother and another Kearney man exited a vehicle in the mall parking lot. Bailey entered the mall and came back out several minutes later.

As he left the mall Bailey ran to the vehicle he arrived at the mall in and belly-flopped onto the hood three times. After he got off the hood, the infant’s mother and the other man got out of the car, and the man placed a 15-month-old boy on his shoulders. They then began walking toward a mall entrance.

The off-duty officer watched as Bailey picked up the car seat carrier and placed it over his head. Bailey then allegedly sprinted toward the infant’s mother and the other man, passing them, then stopped as he reached the sidewalk.

Bailey then allegedly extended his arms, lifting the car seat carrier higher over his head. Seconds after Bailey got out of the officer’s sight he heard the mother scream and run toward Bailey.

The officer contacted Bailey, the mother and the man and offered his help. However, the mother said the baby was fine and had fallen out of the car seat carrier. The officer told them he was calling 911. The mother allegedly begged him not to call, saying she would take the baby to the hospital herself.

As paramedics treated the infant, the mother then allegedly became concerned about getting into trouble over the custody of her children.
[...]

During an examination, hospital personnel allegedly determined the boy also had a serious diaper rash, which had earlier been treated by hospital staff. The infant was listed in fair condition Monday. No condition information was available this morning.

The investigation revealed Bailey believed the infant was restrained in his car seat.

Both the infant and his older brother were removed from their mother’s custody and placed with the state Department of Health and Human Services.

A 43-year-old Elm Creek woman, the infant’s grandmother, was arrested and jailed on a Custer County warrant in the same incident.

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A Sarasota man and woman were arrested Monday on charges of felony child abuse after the woman's 3-year-old daughter died from a host of injuries, including broken ribs and internal bleeding.

Asia Rosier and Jumar Edwards, both 21, of the 2700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, were being held in jail without bail in connection with the April 11 death of 3-year-old Jewel Howard.

On April 10, the girl had received treatments for asthma, according to deputies, vomited and was complaining about being in pain. Rosier and Jumar Edwards told a family friend they were taking her to a doctor's appointment, which investigators say was not true.

The friend finally called 911 the next day, after arguing with the parents to take the girl to the hospital. Something was clearly wrong, the friend insisted, telling deputies the girl was “flopping” around and became non-responsive.

Rosier's child was later pronounced dead, the mother telling doctors she had suffered from asthma. After talking with a doctor, Rosier told deputies she was concerned it was not only asthma and asked for an autopsy on the girl.

The next day, an autopsy determined blunt force trauma to the child's abdomen caused a lacerated and crushed liver, other major internal injuries, with a vast amount of internal bleeding leading to her death.

Jewel also had two broken ribs and other bruises on her body that the medical examiner said were not related to any lifesaving efforts.

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A long-time pediatrician in western Iowa is accused of sexually abusing his granddaughter. Mitch Mortvedt, with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, says 68-year-old Dr. Dennis Jones turned himself in to law enforcement today.

According to an affidavit, Jones’ five-year-old granddaughter told her parents on May 12 that her grandfather “tortures” her.

“It’s our understanding that the parents were getting ready to take the child to the grandparents’ home and the child stated they did not want to go. The mother started to question the child further and the disclosure was made,” Mortvedt said.

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A Blairsville man will be charged with homicide this morning after his stepson died Sunday afternoon from injuries sustained during suspected child abuse, according to the Indiana County district attorney.

Malachi Patterson, 20 months, died at 12:28 p.m. Sunday at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner's office.

State police wrote in a criminal complaint that Malachi had bruises stretching from his left ear and cheek to the tip of his nose.

An autopsy is expected to be performed today.

Police have already charged Juan Campbell, 27, with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment in connection with Malachi's injuries. District Attorney Patrick Dougherty said in an email that he intends to charge Mr. Campbell with homicide this morning. KDKA-TV identified Mr. Campbell as Malachi's stepfather.

Mr. Campbell, who was being held in the Indiana County Jail on Sunday on $150,000 bail, told investigators that he did not abuse Malachi.

State police wrote in a criminal complaint that Linda Patterson -- whom KDKA-TV identified as Malachi's grandmother -- told troopers Mr. Campbell put Malachi to bed between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Thursday.

When she checked on him between 10 and 10:30 p.m., he was asleep and uninjured, she told police.

Ms. Patterson told troopers she had trouble sleeping that night and heard Mr. Campbell come in and out of their apartment while Malachi whined slightly. She said she awoke at 2:30 a.m. Friday when Mr. Campbell told her something was wrong with Malachi.

"She reported that she noticed a bruise on his left cheek and asked [Mr. Campbell] what he had done to the victim," according to the complaint.

Mr. Campbell called 911, and Ms. Patterson also spoke with dispatchers.

In a Friday night interview with troopers, Mr. Campbell said he put Malachi to bed about 8:30 p.m., ate a sandwich at midnight and put Malachi and his 6-year-old son in his bed.

He said he awoke about 2:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom, came back and sang Malachi's name and noticed that Malachi didn't move or respond, according to the complaint.

Mr. Campbell told troopers he began doing CPR on Malachi and awoke Ms. Patterson.

[....]
"He did acknowledge that [Ms. Patterson] and his son were asleep when a problem developed with the victim and agreed that he was the only adult in his bedroom when something happened to the victim."

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BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. —A 20-month-old boy "was basically smothered" and has died after suffering severe injuries that are suspected to be the result of child abuse, the Indiana County district attorney said Monday.
[....]

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She sits by a window sill, her hand touching the glass as she gazes at the world beyond the hospital bed.

The little girl in the photograph wears a knitted beanie, but her face cannot be seen.

She has spent much of the past year in the hospital's oncology ward while her condition has baffled her doctors.

She lost her golden locks, suffered internal bleeding and severe bruising. She endured countless needles, biopsies and bone marrow "aspirations".
Advertisement

All the while, police allege, the four-year-old girl was being poisoned by her mother with chemotherapy drugs bought over the internet.

The child remains in hospital, while her 22-year-old mother sits behind bars charged with grievous bodily harm.
[...]

In the first full update on her condition, the little girl's grandmother said she was recovering "faster than anyone thought".

"She is up giggling, playing, walking and being very cheeky to her favourite doctors and nurses," the grandmother wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
[...]

"She still has a long road to travel for complete healing, but she sure is heading in the right direction," her grandmother wrote.

Doctors became suspicious after the Gold Coast woman returned to the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane with her daughter in November.

The woman chronicled her daughter's illness on Facebook and YouTube, pleading for a bone marrow donor and donations.

Photographs show the little girl in happier times with long, blonde hair.

An online fundraising page, created by the mother in December last year, garnered $395 in donations.

Her grandmother said the smiling little girl was a "fighter".

"And I so look forward to watching her bloom into a young lady," she said.

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As specialists subjected her to test after test, the mother posted messages on a Facebook page dedicated to attracting sympathy for her plight.

In a post made earlier this month, she wrote: "I have come to realise that my life and my children's life was never meant to be easy.

"Someone somewhere is testing us so greatly. My faith is somewhat shaken but I know after shattering into a million pieces, we as a family will pick ourselves up and try to fit these broken pieces back together."

After continuing to post photos tracking the progress of her child as she became more and more ill, she wrote that her daughter was close to death should a bone marrow donor not be found.

"I feel sick," she said. "The doctor came in today and told me they are going to start looking for a bone marrow donor and we need to do this ASAP.

"If nothing changes [she] will be dead in six months."

The page received support from over 8,000 members of the public who were touched by the daughter's illness and apparent suffering of the mother. On top of messages of support, sympathisers were also encouraged to make online donations.

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A man accused of sexually abusing a 2-year-old child waived his right to a speedy trial on Monday in Hancock County.

Tyler Graham, 19, is charged with sexual abuse of a minor. Graham was arrested in February after, police said, family members noticed the toddler seemed to be suffering from a diaper rash.

However, doctors determined the girl had a sexually transmitted disease after Graham had sexual intercourse with her, police said. Physicians at Weirton Medical Center said the toddler required surgery to treat her injuries.

On Monday in Hancock County Circuit Court, Judge Martin Gaughan was expected to set a trial date. Instead, Graham's defense attorney said his client agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial and prosecutors did not object.
[...]

Graham will remain free on bond until he appears again in court for the purpose of setting a date for his trial. That next appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 9:30 a.m.

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A rally organized by members of the protest network Anonymous drew approximately 60 people to the steps of the Hancock County Courthouse in New Cumberland on Saturday afternoon.

The action, titled Operation Innocence, was called to protest the release from jail of Tyler M. Graham, 19, of Weirton, who had been charged Feb. 19 with the sexual assault of a 2-year-old Jane Doe while staying at the Weirton home of the child's mother in December of last year.
[...]

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Anonymous Operation Innocence —- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 19, 2013

In late February of this year, 19-year old Tyler Graham, of Weirton, West Virginia, was arrested for sexual abuse of a minor. The victim, the 2-year old daughter of Graham’s girlfriend, who we will decline to identify at this time, was brutally sodomized and contracted a sexually transmitted disease, specifically venereal warts. Apparently the child’s mother believed the baby had diaper rash and took her to the pediatrician. The pediatrician promptly referred the child to a specialist who reported the matter to police. Extensive surgery was required to correct this case of “diaper rash”. The baby remained in the custody of her mother.

Anonymous became involved when a Hancock County Magistrate saw fit to release Graham on bond. On Saturday, March 2, the first OpInnocence rally was held on the steps of the Hancock County Courthouse in New Cumberland, West Virginia. Warmly welcomed by Hancock County Sheriff Ralph Fletcher and his Chief Deputy, approximately 60 Anonymous activists and concerned citizens braved bitterly cold weather to make their feelings known on this issue.

Less than a week after the rally, Graham was rearrested and his bond revoked for approaching too closely to the home of the victim. Anonymous was satisfied with this outcome and the operation entered a dormant stage. This has now changed dramatically.

Several days ago, on May 13, Graham appeared before Judge Martin Gaughan for what was expected to be a simple matter of setting a trial date. Instead, Graham was again released into the community. After waiving his right to a speedy trial, Graham was given a next appearance date of September 19. For five long months this monster will walk freely among the good citizens of the Ohio Valley. At that point, there may be a trial date set, when –nobody knows– or there may be another continuance. Anonymous finds this unacceptable.

Outraged yet? The worst is yet to come; Anonymous has received multiple reports that the child’s mother continues to associate with the accused, Tyler Graham. Again, Anonymous finds this unacceptable.

Anonymous demands an immediate review of Judge Gaughan’s decision to release this animal among our children. We also demand the immediate involvement of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to determine the safety of the child in her current surroundings. Your failure to perform these actions will result in your town becoming the next Steubenville, Ohio in the media spotlight. Do the right thing by your citizens immediately or read about your errors in every media outlet in the country. This is non-negotiable.
Operation Innocence is re-engaged.

That is all

We Are Anonymous.
The Corrupt Fear Us.
The Honest Support Us.
The Heroic Join Us.
Expect Justice.

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A British father today admitted slitting the throats of his two young children after being allowed to spend time with them for first time since a bitter divorce with their French mother.

The 48-year-old man, who has not been named, carried out the double-murder in a suburb of Lyon, in eastern France, on Saturday afternoon before fleeing on a pair of roller-skates.

His ex-wife had handed over their 10-year-old son and daughter, five, on Friday evening, and they spent a night in the old family home in Saint-Priest, around three miles from the city centre.

This was despite the man being a heavy drinker, and having been violent towards his wife before their divorce up to three years ago.

When the mother, an accountant’s assistant also in her 40s, returned to pick up the children from the second floor apartment at around 5pm on Saturday she saw the father looking panicked.

‘He was in the stairwell of the block, and his clothes were covered in blood,’ said a neighbour. ‘He made off on a pair of roller-skates, leaving his car in the apartment block’s garage.’
[...]

In 2010, the father had attacked his then wife, leading to these rights of access being withdrawn.

This was the first weekend since then that the man had been allowed to have the boy and girl with him without an adult third party.
[...]

The man is set to be brought before Lyon prosecutors on Monday, when he is expected to be formally charged with the murders.

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A New Albany, Ind., mother suffered from a postpartum mental disorder when she drowned her two children before she died with them in an icy creek in March, police said Friday.

Jaime Clutter had made “incoherent statements” about “demonic presences” and believed that she and her children were being stalked by them, Detective Carrie East said.

The revelations during a New Albany police briefing Friday were the latest in a bizarre case that stunned the community and ini*tial*ly mystified investigators after the bodies of Clutter and her children — Brandon, 10, and Katelyn, 6 months — were found in a park creek near their home.

The temperature at the time was in the low 30s, and all three were found nude.
[...]

While police said she killed the two children, they stopped short of saying she had committed suicide. No criminal charges will be filed.

Michael Clutter, 43, Jaime’s husband and the children’s father, was at work in Louisville when the three died. Police reiterated Friday that he has never been a suspect.

In an interview Friday, Michael Clutter — who earlier had rejected any notion that his wife could have killed their children — said he still could not believe it.

“I did know she feared stuff ... about the end of time,” Clutter said, but “there certainly wasn’t anything at all that led us to believe she’d do something like this.

“I don’t see how I could have missed it ... or people at church could have missed it,” Clutter said, adding that his wife was inviting people she met at the grocery and the bank to visit their church on the weekend before she died.

“Everything seemed completely normal,” he said.

The bodies were recovered March 13 from Falling Run Creek in Binford Park, less than a mile from the Sheffield Square Apartments, where the family lived.

Their clothing was scattered throughout the creek, and a Bible was found in an infant sling that was hanging from a nearby tree branch.

Knight said Friday that police concluded Jaime Clutter drowned the children, but that hypothermia was a contributing factor in all three deaths. A hypothermia expert told investigators such a drop in body temperature can intensify mental disorders, impairing a person’s judgment and mental state.

“These findings all support the Kentucky medical examiner’s conclusion that exposure to the cold was a significant contributing factor in the drowning of Mrs. Clutter,” the chief said. The medical examiner’s office conducted autopsies and provided information to police about its findings.

No witnesses saw the children and mother at the creek before they died, but Knight said that police pieced together family and acquaintance accounts, autopsy results and experts’ interpretations of the medical examiner’s findings to get a better picture of Jaime Clutter’s mental state and the role of the near-freezing temperatures in the tragedy.

For instance, at 7:13 a.m. on the day the bodies were found, a witness told police of speaking with Clutter and her children outdoors at the witness’s residence. None were wearing winter coats or hats appropriate for temperatures in the low 30s, Knight said.

Police said they believe Jaime Clutter walked her children to the park, but said they aren’t sure how long they were in the water before a man alerted police about the bodies. Scrape marks on Clutter’s body were consistent with being dragged by the water in the shallow creek, Knight said.

Toxicology tests showed no drugs or medications, she said.

Witnesses told police that Clutter recently had spoken of “grandiose delusions,” made “incoherent” comments and worried about “demonic presences” threatening her family, East added.

East said Michael Clutter “may or may not have” seen the signs of a mental disorder.

The woman’s parents from rural Washington state also told police afterward that they were concerned about their daughter and “her behaviors,” Knight said.

Diana Lynn Barnes, a California-based psychologist who is an authority on postpartum mental illness and an expert in infanticide forensics, reviewed the police records. She said in a phone interview that the information suggested that Jaime Clutter suffered from “severe illness around the postpartum period.”

It’s not unusual for women with postpartum psychosis — a severe mental disorder after childbirth — to have delusional thoughts and to exaggerate dangers. In 4 percent of severe untreated cases, women commit infanticide, Barnes said.

Many of those who harm their youngsters drown them, she said.
[...]

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A Daytona Beach man is charged with child abuse and domestic battery after throwing his baby down and stomping on her and then punching the girl's mother several times in the face, police say.


Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Terrell Horn was sitting in a car outside a home in the 1100 block of Hillcrest Drive, but got out when the mother of his daughter, Victoria Wiley, said he was going with her to her house, according to a Daytona Beach police charging affidavit.

Horn, 23, then threw his 1-year-old on the ground and started to stomp on her, according to the affidavit.

“You are not going to do that to my baby,” Wiley, 23, told Horn, according to the affidavit. Horn then punched Wiley several times, police say.

Wiley, who suffered cuts on her lips and on the right side of her face near her eye, was treated at the scene, and the baby did not have any visible injuries, according to the affidavit.

Wiley said she did not want to press charges against Horn, according to the affidavit.

Horn is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bail set
[....]

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A 12-year-old boy is in the Douglas County Youth Center Thursday afternoon accused of sexually assaulting two young girls.

Police said the boy’s mother, 36-year-old Yolanda Rodgers, knew about the assaults and failed to report the incidents.

Rodgers provides respite care for foster families. Three children under the age of 10 stayed with Rodgers four times from August to April.

During those stays, Rodgers' 12-year-old son is accused of sexually assaulting one of the children.

According to a police report, the 6-year-old girl told investigators she had been sexually abused "a lot" of times.

Police said Rodgers allegedly knew about the assaults, but didn't report it to police. She is charged with felony child abuse negligence.

Investigators didn't uncover the alleged assault on the girl until after Rodgers' son was arrested in connection with another sexual assault with another girl April 20.

The 12-year-old is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault.
[...]

It is unclear if the family of the 6-year-old knew Rodgers, but they did bring their three children there four times in eight months. Nebraska Families Collaborative said they usually try to do respites with people the children are familiar with, but couldn't say if they even handled the respite process for this family.

Respite providers don't need a license, but they undergo extensive background checks and home studies as well as children 13 or older who live at the home.

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The mother of the first alleged victim confronted Rodgers about her son's actions, prosecutors said. The son told investigators that his mother scolded and reprimanded him, yet the 6-year-old continued to stay in their home.

Rodgers son is also accused of later sexually assaulting that 6-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said Rodgers denies being confronted or scolding her son.

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A 41-year-old Omaha man faces charges he ignored his adolescent son's sexual abuse of a 6-year-old girl.

Iguan Rodgers, 41, is charged with felony child abuse.

Prosecutors said Iguan Rodgers was aware for months that his 12-year-old son had been sexually abusing the girl, who stayed at the family's home on weekends for respite care.

The girl told Omaha investigators that she went to Iguan Rodgers and his wife about the abuse. She said that Iguan Rodgers "whooped" his son, but the abuse continued.

Rodgers at some point was overheard saying he couldn't help his son, prosecutors allege. This refusal to address and stop the abuse led to the continued victimization of the girl.

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A six-year-old girl who was stabbed last week in her Hartman home by a 22-year-old male relative has died from her wounds, police said Thursday.

Kou Her of Clarksville is accused of using a large knife and scissors to attack the girl and two men, who sustained minor injuries, during a home invasion in the early morning hours of May 10. Police have not released the girl's name or how Her is related to the victims.
[...]

A fundraiser established at giveforward.com identifies the girl as Autumn Vang.

Her is being held on suspicion of first-degree battery, second-degree battery, kidnapping and residential burglary, although he could face additional charges stemming from the girl's death.

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Witnesses told deputies they woke up and found Her, a family relative, in the bedroom of their 6-year-old daughter, the report states. They tried to kick Her out of the house, but he attacked them with a large knife and a pair of scissors, according to the report.

Her tried to pour kerosene on other relatives, said Susan Xiong, the girl’s aunt.

The girl sustained a puncture wound behind her ear and was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock in critical condition, the Sheriff’s Office says. The girl’s grandfather and uncle were injured. One suffered a deep cut under his upper arm, and another was cut on the finger, authorities said.

Family members stopped Her in an attempt to keep him from attacking the rest of the family, Xiong said. They were able to subdue him until authorities arrived, according to the police report.

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Her was subdued by family members and continued to fight with them and Deputies while being transported to jail.

Her is being charged with three counts of Second Degree Battery, one count of Residential Burglary, one count of Attempted Kidnapping and one count of Attempted Murder.

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CABOT, AR -- A husband and wife are in jail, accused of rape and allowing abuse of a child.

According to the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), 28-year-old Napoleon Teixeira and his wife, 24-year-old Shayla Teixeira were arrested after an investigation into two incidents involving 3 and 4-year-old girls.

LCSO received a report in late April about sexual abuse of two young girls under the age of 4, and the investigation revealed two incidents that occurred between September and November of 2012.

Napoleon Teixeira, a level 2 sex offender who was paroled in December of 2011, was arrested and charged with three counts of rape, and is currently in the Lonoke County Detention Facility on $250,000 bond.

Shayla Teixeira was arrested and charged with two counts of rape, two counts of permitting abuse of a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. She was also taken to the Lonoke County Detention Facility, where her bond was set at $25,000.
[....]

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HAUGHTON, LA (KSLA) -
Authorities arrested three Ark-La-Tex daycare workers, accused of child abuse involving at least eight children, ranging in age from 1 to 4, in alleged incidents over the past two weeks.

Investigators say they received a tip this week about the alleged abuse happening at the TLC Child Care and Learning Center, located in the 4600 block of Highway 80 East in Haughton, Louisiana.

On Wednesday (5/15/13), the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 23 year old Tronica Peterson of Haughton and 25 year old Antionikia Moncrief of Minden. Each faces two counts of simple battery and cruelty to a juvenile. And, 31 year old Fanisty Kennon of Haughton faces six counts of simple battery. Authorities say Peterson videotaped several of the incidents.

Sheriff's Spokesman Lt. Bill Davis says all three workers confessed to the allegations, which included slapping children in the face, swatting them on the leg or head and pulling the ears of those eight children. "Yes, all three admitted to the actions. Kind of hard not to when you're caught on tape, as well. But nonetheless, all three did admit to the actions and all three were subsequently arrested, taken to jail."

Davis says none of the children required medical attention, and detectives have notified all parents of the children involved. All three women arrested were transported to the Bossier maximum security facility. Bonds were set at $6,000 each for Peterson and Moncrief and $3,000 for Kennon.

[...] of TLC Child Care and Learning Center. According to computer records available on the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services' web site, it shows 14 inspections on file. There are violations on at least eight of those inspections.

The inspection dates range from February 2010 until March of this year. In the past, TLC has been cited for not reporting accidents that required a trip to the emergency room. They have also been warned in the past for not keeping a record of reference checks for employees.

In January 2011, DCF cited the center for not taking proper notes on children who came to the daycare with an illness, bruises or other injuries. On that particular visit, the daycare was cited for not documenting how four different children were injured.

Then, just a month later in February 2011, a child came to the center with a black eye and a knot on his head. Again, DCF documents show that nothing was noted. Then again in May 2011, DCF found that three children on the same day came into the center with either scratches or bruises. But, the state report stated that the daycare did not document how the injuries happened.

Documents also show a history of not keeping a file of reference checks on the employees at the daycare. In the years 2013, 2011 and 2010 DCF stated that they failed to provide that documentation. Criminal record checks were also an issue. DCF also state that they could not find documentation on employees on two separate visits in 2011 and again on two visits in 2010.

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The bruises to a 2-year-old boy who investigators say was beaten extend from his “head to his knees,” and it’s some of the worst injuries one Washington County Sheriff’s official said he’s ever seen.

The boy’s mother, Amanda Percell, 22, and a man investigators said is her boyfriend, Andres Lorenze Allen, 29, 533 Browning Road, Telford, are both charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect or endangerment.

The charges stem from Percell’s 2-year-old son having extensive bruising all over his body — some that appeared to be in various stages of healing, according to Capt. Shawn Judy.

Percell and Allen were both arraigned by Washington County Sessions Court Judge Don Arnold Thursday and their cases were reset for May 23 at 1:30 p.m.

According to Judy, Percell called 911 around 11 a.m. Wednesday and reported her son had fallen off the porch. When EMS and deputies arrived, the boy was transported to Johnson City Medical Center and officers contacted the Criminal Investigative Division.

[...]
“There’s old bruises and new bruises. That tells how far back it goes,” he said. There have also been no internal injuries found as of Thursday afternoon, but Judy said the child was still being examined and treated.

Judy also said Allen was the boy’s primary caregiver while Percell worked. The couple also had Allen’s 7-month old child in the home, but Judy said that child had no injuries.

Both children are now in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services.

“The bruises are the worst I’ve ever seen. Why would someone do this to a child, to an innocent kid,” Judy said.

Percell and Allen are each being held on a $100,000 bond. Arnold appointed the public defender to represent Allen and attorney Charles London to represent Percell.

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A 36-year-old woman is behind bars after police say she tried to give her daughter away.

Phoenix police spokesman Tommy Thompson said on Wednesday around 5:15 p.m., officers were called to a convenience store near 23rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road after a woman called to say she could not care for her child anymore.

When officers arrived, witnesses told police Rozenna Luna was offering strangers her 6-month-old little girl for free.

"I don't know how she could do that," said Luna's ex-husband and the baby's father, Enrique. "I'm getting more mad."

Police said the mother, who had been drinking and had smoked methamphetamine earlier in the week, made no attempt to contact any safe haven locations, government agencies or family members for assistance.

The individuals, who were approached by Luna, told the cashier inside the store about the woman's offer. The cashier then called police.

Authorities said Luna called police, too, but only after she had tried to give the baby away.

Thompson said Luna told officers she called because she had misdemeanor warrants and would be arrested and go to jail, which meant she would not have to care for the baby girl.

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"I saw her walking with the baby to people," says William Castillo, AM/PM store clerk. "One customer comes to me and says she is giving out the baby, she doesn't want it anymore."
[...]

After four people turned her down, Luna herself called police to self-surrender on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, so that she would no longer have to be responsible for the baby.

"As soon as she saw the cops over here she just walked over here to the store. They tried helping her. They argued. And then they just handcuffed her and took her," says Castillo.

Later Thursday, we spoke to the baby's father.

"What kind of mother gives a newborn baby away. I am torn, I am torn, I need my baby back... no matter what I need my baby back," says Enrique Luna.

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Police said her baby, Elena, was not harmed. She was turned over to Child Protective Services, but the baby's father told CBS 5 News that he will do everything in his power to get her back.

"I got three kids with me and I want her back, you know, no matter what. I want that, I want her back," her father, Enrique Luna said.

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A mother whose 4-year-old was being abducted chased the suspect down and crashed her vehicle into his car, triggering a manhunt and the arrest of the suspect, Albuquerque police said Thursday.

The young girl was playing in her yard at St. Anthony's Plaza Apartments in Albuquerque's North Valley about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when a group of teenagers saw the kidnapping and ran to alert the girl's mother, police said.

The family called 911 and the mother jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out of the silver Buick before fleeing the apartment complex, authorities said. The girl was found wandering nearby, uninjured, police said.

According to police, the mother followed the suspect and finally rammed into his car near an intersection. The suspect fled on foot, police said.

Melissa Torrez, the mother, told KOAT-TV she didn't mean to hit the suspect's car and struck it accidentally when she lost control of her car. Torrez said didn't even have time to cry when she jumped to chase the suspect.

"I don't ever want to lose my kids," said Torrez, a mother of three.

Torrez said after the crashed she looked in the back seat of the suspect's car and saw an empty baby car seat.

"I was like...what a sick man," she told the station.

The attempted kidnapping sparked a massive manhunt Wednesday as more than two dozen officers went door-to-door in the area looking for the suspect. A helicopter with heat-sensor cameras also was sent in for the search, authorities said.

Police arrested David Hernandez, 31, on Thursday afternoon in Rio Rancho after he saw his picture on television and called police. After being interviewed, he was charged with kidnapping, police spokeswoman Tasia Martinez said.

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Melissa Torrez said her little girl was playing in front of her apartment with several other children when she says some teens told her the girl was taken.

Torrez said she immediately got in her car and was able to find the car the teens described.

She says she chased that car for several miles, and accidentally crashed into it on Kathryn near San Mateo.

"He got down from the vehicle, he threw his arms up at me like I don't know what he meant and I was on the phone with the cops and I got out. We were standing face to face and I guess he saw me waving the cops down and then he ran," Torrez said.
[...]

She said after the crash, she realized her little girl had been let out of the suspect's car miles back unhurt.

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The mother, who was in cell-phone contact with the police during her pursuit, thought her daughter was still a prisoner, according to an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman.
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"At this point in time it appears to be a complete stranger abduction," APD Chief Ray Schultz said during a news conference outside the search perimeter. "It appears to be no relation that we've been able to determine from either the mother or any witnesses.

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Two mothers have been charged with cruelty after leaving their children at a beach bar to go on a Mother's Day booze cruise, police said.
Billie Jean Williams, 27, and 28-year-old Mary Joyce Daffron were arrested after their children, aged eight and six respectively, went up to staff at Gator Joe’s Bar and Grill in Ocklawaha, Florida and said that their mothers had gone.

Moms charged after 'abandoning children aged six and eight with stranger at the beach while they went on Mother’s Day booze cruise'[/B]
2 Mothers allegedly left their children in the care of a man they had just met while they went on a booze cruise on Lake Weir on Sunday.

The man, named only as John, told police that he knew one of the women from high school, according to a report from Marion County Sheriff’s Office.


He said that Williams and Daffron had both taken off for the booze cruise an hour earlier.

The mothers' belongings were lying on the beach close to where they left their children playing.

As the booze cruise returned to shore, the two highly intoxicated women fell into the water as they tried to disembark, according to ocala.com.
Williams screamed at her eight-year-old for having the police called and claimed that the young children had been left in the care of a 'godfather' - despite the fact neither women knew his last name.

Both women were arrested on Sunday and the two children handed over to relatives.

Williams and Daffron have been charged with cruelty toward child-abuse child without great bodily harm. Daffron faced an extra charge of resisting arrest without violence.
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LENAWEE COUNTY, Mich. -
A 24-year-old Adrian man is accused of receiving and possessing pornographic images of children including one graphic image of an apparent dead infant.

According to the FBI criminal complaint report, Sean Gossman admitted to searching for and downloading child pornography after one of his thumb drives was found by a child on Nov. 10 in Onsted, Mich. A family member of the child gave the thumb drive to Cambridge Township police. They determined it belonged to Gossman.
What they found on the drive prompted the FBI investigation and search warrant.

The thumb drive was filled with 1,039 images of child pornography and 21 non-pornographic images of Gossman. According to the FBI's report, Gossman's thumb drive held 28 images of child pornography including bondage or torture, five child pornographic movies more than 5 minutes long, five movies -- one including child porn and bestiality -- less than 5 minutes long and 536 images of child erotica.

The FBI executed a search warrant in April at the trailer where Gossman had been living. Upon executing the search warrant at Gossman's home, FBI agents seized two laptop computers, several CDs and DVDs, and three more thumb drives.

One of the child pornographic images was of an infant with a bag over her head and a rope around her neck. The child appeared dead with the words "nepi-rape" written on her stomach. "Nepi-rape" is defined as "the rape of innocence," according to the FBI's complaint report.

Moreover, according to the complaint, Gossman told agents all of the child pornography images and movies belonged to him and him alone. He told them he started downloading child erotica and moved on to child porn images and movies.

FBI investigators also found "Tor Browser" on the thumb drive. Gossman apparently used the Tor Browser device to protect his online privacy so no one would find out about what websites he was visiting and what he was downloading from his computer IP address.

It's not clear if he had any part in the production of it or if he knew any of the children in the images and videos.
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Federal authorities arrested a local doctor's son, whom they say tricked his pregnant girlfriend into taking an abortion pill, killing their unborn child.

John Andrew Welden, 28, is now facing first-degree murder and interfering with interstate commerce charges.

According to a federal arrest affidavit, Welden swapped out his girlfriend's antibiotics with abortion pills, specifically Cytotec.

"I was never going to do anything but go full term with it, and he didn't want me to," explained Remee Lee, 26, Welden's now ex-girlfriend.

On Easter Sunday, Lee went to an area hospital complaining of severe cramping and excessive vaginal bleeding. Doctors told Lee her unborn baby no longer had a heartbeat.

Lee also brought along a bottle of Amoxycillin, an antibiotic. But when doctors examined the pills, they told her they were abortion pills.

"He came to my house with the pills, his weapon of choice," Lee recalled.

Lee said when she learned she was pregnant, Welden took her to see his father, who is an obstetrician in Lutz. A sonogram and blood test confirmed Lee was six-weeks pregnant.

The next day, Welden called his girlfriend with bad news. Her blood test apparently showed she had a bacterial infection and she would need to take Amoxicillin to clear it up.

On Good Friday, Lee said Welden showed up at her Tampa home with a care package that included the bottle of antibiotics. The label said the pills were Amoxycillin .

"He told me to keep taking them. I was supposed to take three a day for days," she recalled of Welden's instructions.

Lee told ABC Action News she did not call her boyfriend's father to confirm she had a bacterial infection or that she needed to take the medication. Lee believed Welden was the love of her life and said she had no reason to not believe what he was telling her. She said Welden's father also never followed up with her after her initial visit.
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According to a civil lawsuit filed by Lee's attorney Wednesday afternoon, Welden acknowledged he was the father of the unborn child but pleaded with Lee to not go through with the pregnancy.

At that point, Lee claims she vowed to do everything in the best interest of her baby including not drinking caffeine and making sure she wasn't around anyone who smoked.

"He used this pregnancy as my Achilles heel. He knew I wanted to do what is best, so that is why I took [the pills]," Lee said.

FBI agents said Welden admitted to switching the pills and even scratched off any identifiers on the pills so Lee wouldn't suspect anything.

Lee is seeking a minimum of $15,000 in punitive damages and her suit cites battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress by Welden.

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Welden forged the doctor's signature on a prescription for Cytotec, relabeled a pill bottle as "Amoxicillin" and told the woman that his father wanted her on antibiotics, a federal prosecutor asserted Wednesday.
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Lee, 26, and Welden broke up a few months ago, but the two reunited long enough for her to become pregnant, Sanchez said.

She wanted to keep the baby even if she had to raise the child at home with her parents, where she lives, Sanchez said. She took her sonogram photo to the Chipotle restaurant where she works and showed others.
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Though a 6-week-old fetus would not be considered viable in state court, federal law disregards such matters.

The federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 defines "unborn child" as "a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."

If someone kills an unborn child while committing a federal crime, it's considered murder, said Tampa lawyer Todd Foster, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and FBI agent who is not associated with this case.

Welden's first alleged crime? Product tampering, "with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury."

A federal grand jury indicted him Tuesday on that charge, along with one count of first-degree murder.

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli denied bail after the prosecutor described Welden as a flight risk because of the serious nature of the charges.
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Welden admitted his actions in a confession recorded by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives, the prosecutor said. A drugstore surveillance camera captured the Cytotec purchase.

Cytotec, brand name for the drug misoprostol, is a prostaglandin medicine used to terminate a pregnancy by starting labor, according to the WebMD website. It is also used to treat stomach ulcers.

The woman took a pill on her way to work, then quickly felt abdominal pain and began bleeding, the prosecutor said.

She lost the baby at a hospital.

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