NYC mom charged with murder in shocking beating death of 6-year-old who begged for her life: cops
A Bronx mother charged with murder in the brutal beating death of her 6-year-old daughter, who neighbors heard begging for her life before her tragic end. [ more ]
Brooklyn man sentenced for killing girlfriend's 4-month-old daughter
A Brooklyn man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for fatally injuring his girlfriend's four-month-old daughter.
Brooklyn, despite its recent reputation for being 'cool and hip', holds strong community ties and has always been a significant borough in New York City. [ more ]
LAUSD to settle suits involving teacher notorious for semen 'tasting' games
The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay $3.55 million to two individuals who allege they were abused as students by former teacher Mark Berndt.
The settlements did not include any admissions of wrongdoing by the district. [ more ]
Meta tool to block nude images in teens' private messages
Meta plans to launch a safety tool to block and discourage children from sending and receiving nude images on Instagram and Facebook.
The tool is a response to criticism over Meta's decision to encrypt Messenger chats, which law enforcement agencies say hinders their ability to detect child abuse. [ more ]
Canada Water: Man meeting child for sex convicted after police ambushed him outside station
A man has been convicted after being intercepted by Met officers on his way to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex in London.
The man, Muhammed Zeeshan Ali, had been communicating with the girl on social media and had planned to meet her outside Canada Water Underground Station. [ more ]
Are you putting your baby to sleep safely? Make sure you're following these guidelines
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
In Los Angeles County, a baby dies nearly every week from accidental suffocation, the most common form of unintentional death of infants under 1 year old, according to the the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.But these deaths can be prevented.The agency's infant safe sleep campaign provides the latest guidelines.
They're in their 60s and parenting yet again, balancing the struggles, joy of adoption
The graying couple raised their right hands in the children's courthouse, as the judge swore them in.Teodulo Diarte held tight to his granddaughter Harmony as his wife, Olga Perez, kept her one good eye on their 2-year-old, Faith, who rocked back and forth.The couple, in their 60s, were preparing to adopt their two youngest granddaughters.
Parents of 3 Chicago Public Schools students file suit alleging gym teacher groomed, sexually assaulted them
A former gym teacher at Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School in Chicago is being accused of sexually assaulting three boys from the same family over a four-year period.
The parents of the victims have filed a civil rights suit against the teacher and Chicago Public Schools, claiming that the school did not do enough to protect the children. [ more ]
Parents of 3 Chicago Public Schools students file suit alleging gym teacher groomed, sexually assaulted them
A former gym teacher at Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School in Chicago is being accused of sexually assaulting three boys from the same family over a four-year period.
The parents of the victims have filed a civil rights suit against the teacher and Chicago Public Schools, claiming that the school did not do enough to protect the children. [ more ]
Arkansas Enacts Law Restricting School Bathroom Use By Transgender People - Towleroad Gay News
(Reuters) - Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law targeting the trans community, prohibiting transgender people from using the restroom that matches their gender identity at public schools.The bill signed by the Republican governor, who describes herself as a conservative reformer, applies to multi-person restrooms and locker rooms at public schools and charter schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12.
Devastating reports of forced marriage to the national helpline have surged as experts warn the issue remains rife but it is difficult to see the true scale of the problem due to people not coming forward.Exclusive data from Karma Nirvana, which supports forced marriage victims, shows its helpline dealt with 42 per cent more cases between April 2022 and March 2023 than they did in the same period two years before up from 380 cases in 2020-21 to 536 this year.
Houston lesbian bar was denied insurance coverage for hosting drag shows, owner says
Julie Mabry, the owner of Houston's only lesbian bar, says her business is in jeopardy after the bar was denied insurance coverage.Mabry says the blame is due in part to an anti-drag show bill moving through the Texas Legislature.Google Maps The owner of Houston's sole lesbian bar says she was denied insurance coverage for her business because it hosts drag shows a denial she says is in part due to Texas' proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Tory peer proposes Online Safety Bill change to tackle online sexist abuse
Social media companies must prevent online abuse against women and girls or face jail time and fines, under a proposed change to a government bill.Firms that did not remove abusive content and ban repeat offenders face fines up to 10% of global turnover.Tech bosses could be jailed for up to two years for persistent breaches.
Dangerous EARN IT Bill Advances Out of Committee, but Several Senators Offer Objections
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted, for a third time, to advance the dangerous EARN IT bill (S.1207)-a law that could lead to suspicionless scans of every online message, photo, and hosted file.In the name of fighting crime, the EARN IT Act treats all internet users like we should be in a permanent criminal lineup, under suspicion for child abuse.
Illinois Mandates Paid Time Off for Employees in 2024
Employers in Illinois will be required to provide their workers with paid time off for any reason after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law in mid-March that will go into effect next year.As of January 1, 2024, employers in the state must offer their employees compensated time off without mandating an explanation for their absence as long as the worker provides notice at least a week in advance.
Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris has died aged 93, it has been announced.The Australian had been a popular singer, artist and children's presenter on British television for decades before his shocking fall from grace began in 2013 when he was arrested and charged with historic sexual offences against young girls.
Trans teacher gets death threats after Fox News articles about their LGBTQ+ books
A transgender and nonbinary high school English and film teacher in Orange County, California says that Fox News' repeated coverage about them has led to death and bombing threats against them, their coworkers, their school, and the district at large.The teacher, named only "Flint" by The Daily Dot to protect their identity, was outed as queer and deadnamed in a September 2022 Fox News article for posting a TikTok video featuring their personally curated "queer library" of roughly 200 LGBTQ+-inclusive books.
'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system
Farrar, Straus and Giroux The saga of the Hart family murder-suicide slammed the zeitgeist in 2018 with its brutal combination of cruelty, violence and social media narcissism.In late March of 2018, Jennifer Hart and her wife Sarah drove their family off a cliff.Seated in the back seat of their SUV were Ciera, Abigail, Jeremiah, Devonte, Hannah and Markis all between 12 and 19 years old.
These books have been banned in several public schools and libraries across the U.S. amid a wave of book censorship and restrictions.Ted Shaffrey/AP The American Library Association and PEN America say there's been a sharp increase in the number of books pulled from school libraries over the past two years.
In the 40 years since Heartburn was published, there have been two distinct ways to read it.Nora Ephron's 1983 novel is narrated by a food writer, Rachel Samstat, who discovers that her esteemed journalist husband is having an affair with Thelma Rice, "a fairly tall person with a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs, never mind her feet, which are sort of splayed."
'We Were Once a Family' exposes ills of U.S. child welfare system
Farrar, Straus and Giroux The saga of the Hart family murder-suicide slammed the zeitgeist in 2018 with its brutal combination of cruelty, violence and social media narcissism.In late March of 2018, Jennifer Hart and her wife Sarah drove their family off a cliff.Seated in the back seat of their SUV were Ciera, Abigail, Jeremiah, Devonte, Hannah and Markis all between 12 and 19 years old.
Sign The Petition And Tell EU Legislators: Don't Scan Us
The European Parliament is debating a that, if it passes, could be disastrous for privacy worldwide.Every message, photo, or hosted file could be scanned, with the results sent to government agencies.We don't need " bugs in our pockets ."A private and secure internet should be built with privacy and security in mind-not by treating every user like they're in a criminal lineup.
The UK's bad encryption law can't withstand global contempt
Opinion Around the world, a vital technology is failing.Just as massive solar flares fry satellites and climate-change superstorms overwhelm flood defences, so a new surge of ridiculous IT-related events is burning out irony meters across the globe.Let's start with a couple of plums from the US, where - hold onto your peaked caps - law enforcement officials have been breaking the law, wholesale.
Huge' proportion of mental health conditions in Australia found to be caused by childhood maltreatment
Child abuse and neglect in Australia contribute to a significant portion of mental health conditions like depression and suicide attempts, emphasizing the need for preventive policies. [ more ]
Former north London rabbi found with 1,694 'horrific' child abuse images sentenced
A former rabbi in north London has been given a suspended jail sentence after being found with hundreds of child abuse images.
The National Crime Agency discovered 1,694 indecent images of children on devices at Yuval Keren's home, with 189 of them rated as Category A, the most extreme type of abuse images. [ more ]
Police and social services contacted over 60 times before boy, 9, brutally murdered
Social services and police were alerted more than 60 times to concerns over the welfare of a nine-year-old boy who was later killed by his mother and stepfather.
Authorities missed multiple opportunities to intervene and protect the child, including classifying him as safe and well during home visits.
Neighbours made 999 calls reporting the boy's ordeal, and professionals were contacted about his welfare 64 times between 2018 and 2020. [ more ]
'House of Horrors' Turpin kids seek settlement over foster care abuse years after being rescued from sadistic parents: lawyer
Six of the Turpin siblings who were rescued from their parents' captivity are seeking a settlement from their foster care providers, claiming they were abused by their foster parents.
The children allege physical, sexual, and emotional abuse while under the care of their foster parents, who have been arrested and charged in connection with the allegations. [ more ]
Mom warns of subtle signs of secret abuse at daycares: 'Please be aware'
The mother warns other parents about the signs of secret abuse after her child was emotionally and sexually abused by a daycare worker.
The daycare worker gained the trust of co-workers and parents, appearing to be amazing and turning the classroom around with their school readiness program. [ more ]
Sentencing of Glasgow child abuse ring delayed for another three months
The sentencing of members of a drug-addled abuse ring, who subjected children to horrifying abuse including rape and putting a child in a microwave, has been delayed for another three months.
Seven members of the ring, including Iain Owens, Elaine Lannery, Lesley Williams, Paul Brannan, Scott Forbes, Barry Watson, and John Clark, were found guilty of rape and sexual assault. [ more ]
Parents of 3 Chicago Public Schools students file suit alleging gym teacher groomed, sexually assaulted them
A former gym teacher at Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School in Chicago is being accused of sexually assaulting three boys from the same family over a four-year period.
The parents of the victims have filed a civil rights suit against the teacher and Chicago Public Schools, claiming that the school did not do enough to protect the children. [ more ]
The Guardian @guardian: UK school pupils 'using AI to create indecent imagery of other children' - The Guardian. #industry40 #aistrategy #MachineLearning https://t.co/tlZkZ6jAcB
Texas governor signs ban on gender-affirming care for minors
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors in the state, making Texas the largest state in the US to place restrictions on transgender youth's access to critical care.Senate Bill 14bars health care providers from providing gender transition surgeries, puberty blocking medication or hormone therapies to those under 18 in Texas, with violators at risk of losing their licenses.
How parents exploited Covid lockdown to hide sadistic torture of 10-month-old baby
A perfect 10-month-old baby boy was murdered by his own parents after they used Covid to trick social services.Shannon Marsden, 22, and Stephen Boden, 30, launched a savage and brutal tirade of abuse against their son Finley Boden which left him with 130 injuries including burns and broken bones.He died on Christmas Day 2020 during lockdown.
Meta turning a blind eye to child abuse with encryption plans minister
Meta is choosing to allow predators to operate with impunity by rolling out encrypted messaging despite an epidemic of child abuse, security minister Tom Tugendhat has said.He urged the social media giant which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to introduce robust safety measures before extending end-to-end encryption to Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct later this year to avoid a significant risk to child safety.
Major League Baseball launches 'MLB Together' community assistance platform
NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Baseball launched a community assistance platform Wednesday called "MLB Together."The platform will focus on youth empowerment; diversity, equity and inclusion; domestic and physical safety; health research and resources; military family and veteran resources; disaster relief; and environmental sustainability and green initiatives.
Report: Mike Clevinger permitted to participate in spring training
Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger will be permitted to participate in the upcoming spring training and will not be placed on administrative leave at this time, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.According to the report, Clevinger has permission to participate in White Sox spring training, which reports pitchers/catchers for Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Proposed amendment to Online Safety Bill to address misogynistic abuse online
A proposed amendment to the Online Safety Bill would require social media firms to prevent online abuse and violence against women and girls.A cross-party group of lords, led by former culture secretary Nicky Morgan, is backing the amendment, which would mean companies that failed to remove abusive misogynistic content and ban repeat offenders would face fines, while bosses could be jailed for persistent breaches.
Rebekah Vardy speaks for the first time about growing up as a Jehovah's Witness
Rebekah Vardy has spoken for the first time about her experiences of growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, as she alleges in a Channel 4 documentary that the religion failed to support her through sexual abuse as a child.The media personality and wife of footballer Jamie Vardy was raised as a Jehovah's Witness in Norwich, Norfolk, but left at the age of 15, after she was shamed for the sexual abuse and was shunned by the community alongside family members following her parents' divorce.
A Teen Mother and Her Baby Were Murdered in a Gang-Related Shooting. Their Family Wants Answers | KQED
Micki Witzel, Shayne's great-aunt, was distraught."They really need answers to why this even happened," she said through sobs."They should never have put that baby back in that house."Since the shooting, the Maupins said, they had been confronted by Alissa's family.Some of Alissa's relatives who live in Alturas appeared at the park where the Maupins were gathered on what would have been Nycholas' first birthday.
Starmer: Labour's attack advert targeting Sunak was not racist
Labour's attack advert accusing Rishi Sunak of not wanting to see child sex abusers jailed was not racist, Sir Keir Starmer has suggested.The Opposition leader defended his party's ad, which depicted the Prime Minister's face alongside a slogan suggesting Mr Sunak did not want to see adults convicted of sexually assaulting children imprisoned.
US Family Flees Texas To Transgender 'refuge' - Minnesota - Towleroad Gay News
Mary and her teenage child Jasper (these are pseudonyms) clasp hands in a public park in Minneapolis, where they moved from Texas to ensure Jasper's safety amid anti-transgender bias Minneapolis (AFP) - With bills targeting transgender youth multiplying at an alarming rate, Mary knew it was time to leave Texas - and fast.
Toronto's Tibetan community says nothing 'abnormal' about controversial Dalai Lama video | CBC News
Members of Toronto's Tibetan community say they have been suffering for weeks since a video circulated showing the Dalai Lama kissing a young boy on the lips and asking him to "suck my tongue."Nyila Tsedon, a Tibetan in exile who has lived in Toronto since 2004, says she's been deeply impacted by the criticism that has been levied at the spiritual leader.
Police need draconian' powers to strip-search children, says minister
Police need draconian powers to carry out strip-searches of children, a Home Office minister said as she rejected calls to outlaw the abhorrent practice.Sarah Dines was accused by Labour MPs of seeking to downplay or excuse the breaching of existing guidance by forces in connection with the searches, labelled child abuse by Alex Cunningham (Stockton North).
Nursery manager and owner tell of devastation after Ofsted downgrading
A nursery's manager and owner had to be prescribed medication after they were told their nursery would be given the lowest possible Ofsted rating.Sarah Laws, the manager of Little Learners Nursery Centre in Richmond, North Yorkshire, and Lesley Johnson, the owner, said they were devastated after being informed the nursery was being downgraded from an outstanding to an inadequate rating.
Swinney calls for better cross-party working in final frontbench speech
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has called for parliamentarians to work better with those in other parties, in what is expected to be his last speech on the government's frontbench.Mr Swinney announced last month he would resign alongside First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, bringing to an end the most successful political tandem since devolution.
Sex offenders should not be able to remove names from register, says victim
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails A survivor of child abuse who has launched a petition to stop abusers being removed from the sex offenders register has said Gary Glitter's recall to prison proves that paedophiles cannot be rehabilitated.