Child Molesters, Child Abuse Effects: Bulimia, Eating Disorders, Addictions

March 10, 2007

CNN to air sex-abuse documentary

by Ron Cassie
Baltimore Examiner

BALTIMORE - To Pat Goles, it was divine intervention.

His son Michael had faced the Baltimore Catholic community’s damnation after making sexual abuse charges in 1993 against popular Calvert Hall chaplain “Father Jeff” Toohey. Then, in 2004, his son, who remained troubled and unvindicated, got a phone call from a man only several blocks away in Atlanta. He had just come forth with similar allegations.

The second man, CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts, was a previous Toohey victim. Roberts talks extensively on camera for the first time about the sexual abuse he suffered at Calvert Hall on “Anderson Cooper 360” Monday night.

In an hourlong segment, Roberts, 34, discusses the abuse — emotionally at times — which he said took place from 1987 to 1990. He reveals the struggle to overcome the psychological damage, including a suicide attempt, and the decision to ultimately come forward and press charges with Goles.

“It’s probably the worst place you can be in your life,” Roberts says at one point in a preview reviewed by The Examiner. “There’s shame. There’s self-hatred, self-doubt. Every mixed-up emotion you can have, and you don’t feel you can talk to anybody.”

Toohey pleaded guilty to abusing Roberts in February 2006 and was sentenced to five years in prison, but served less than 10 months before being released into home detention.

After his parents split up when he was in seventh grade, Roberts says he slowly withdrew, struggling in school and failing to get into the high school of his choice, Calvert Hall. His mother, Michelle, brought her son to Toohey for guidance. The priest got him a placement at the Towson private school.

Roberts kept his secret to himself for a decade and a half, even as Michael Goles was vilified publicly for his accusations.

“I still couldn’t stand up for this kid,” Roberts says.

But eventually he did, asking for Goles’ name and phone number from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

And last year, both men testified in Annapolis in support of legislation that would extend the statute of limitations to file civil claims against sexual predators. That right ends when the victim turns 25. Senate Bill 575, introduced this year, would create a one-year window of opportunity for victims to file civil suits.

“The call from Thomas changed Michael’s life,” said Pat Goles, a Catholic deacon in Bel Air. “It changed both their lives. We believed Michael all along, but now they both knew someone else believed them, too, and understood what they had been through.”

Posted by Nancy at 04:04 PM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2006

My Dad Died Yesterday

This article has been edited with 2 words removed and will be back up soon.

Posted by Nancy at 04:08 AM | Comments (0)

November 07, 2005

Laveranues Coles - a survivor of sexual abuse

I say a big "Thank You" to Laveranues Coles !!

This is very helpful to male survivors of sexual abuse. Having a male come forward who has proven himself in a "macho" sport (and is admired by millions as a football star) gives men more freedom to let others know that they have been abused.

Abuse is tough on us girls - very tough. But I think it is even tougher on men. It's okay for us girls to cry and show emotion and people give sympathy. But it must be many times harder for men to speak up about this.

Having Laveranues come forward will be a huge breakthrough for many men.

Thank you, Laveranues !!

Posted by Nancy at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2005

TWO FUGITIVES FROM "OPRAH'S CHILD PREDATOR WATCH LIST" CAPTURED!

Tune In to The Oprah Winfrey Show LIVE on Tuesday, October 11

CHICAGO, IL — Today, after hearing the exciting news of the capture of two child predators, just 48 hours after the launch of Oprah's Child Predator Watch List, Oprah said, "This is a great day and we're just getting started." On Tuesday, October 11, The Oprah Winfrey Show will broadcast live as Oprah presents the first $100,000 reward and shares the details of the tips, the big breaks and the captures of these fugitives.

On Tuesday, October 4, The Oprah Winfrey Show launched an initiative to highlight the stories of victims and survivors of child predator crimes. During that show, Oprah announced her pledge to provide a $100,000 reward per case to those individuals who the FBI says provided critical information leading to the capture and arrest of the fugitives featured on the show or its companion website Oprah.com. "With every breath in my body, and with you by my side, we are going to move heaven and earth to stop an evil that's been going on for far too long," said Oprah. "Before one more child lands in the headlines, we need to capture these criminals and put them away for good."

Oprah's Child Predator Watch List can be found online at
www.oprah.com/predatorwatch

It features:
Predator Profiles
Contact Your Local FBI
Reward Rules and Instructions
Remembering the Victims

Protecting Your Children
What You Need to Know About Child Predators
How to Keep Your Children Safe
The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained the number one talk show for 19 consecutive seasons, winning every sweep since its debut in 1986.* It is produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions, Inc. and syndicated to 215 domestic markets and 115 countries by King World.

Posted by Nancy at 06:17 AM | Comments (0)

September 03, 2005

Judge says therapy-death jury can hear of previous abuse allegations

September 3, 2005
By The Associated Press

PROVO, Utah (AP) -- A judge has ruled that the jurors who will hear the case of a Springville couple accused of causing their 4-year-old daughter's death by forcing her to drink too much water may be told about previous allegations of child abuse.

Fourth District Court Judge Claudia Laycock ruled Thursday that the allegations cannot be used to prove guilt in this case but can be used to establish a pattern of behavior for the defendants, Richard and Jennete Killpack.

The Killpacks are charged with child-abuse homicide and child abuse in the 2002 death of their 4-year-old adopted daughter, Cassandra.

The allegations include testimony from the Killpacks' 7-year-old daughter that Jennete Killpack bound Cassandra's arms behind her with rope. In a separate incident, Jennete Killpack allegedly struck Cassandra on the head with a metal object, causing her to bleed.

Prosecutors say the Killpacks caused Cassandra's death by forcing her to drink excess amounts of water after she was caught stealing her older sister's drink.

The Killpacks have said they were following advice from therapists at the Cascade Center for Family Growth in Orem when they administered the punishment.

Therapists have denied issuing such advice.

Defense attorneys contend the couple did not act recklessly and were unaware that their actions could harm the child.

The Utah County Attorney's Office concluded that the Cascade Center and its therapists had no wrongdoing in the death of Cassandra Killpack.

Jury selection is set for Sept. 12

Information from: Deseret Morning News, http://www.deseretnews.com

Posted by Nancy at 01:44 AM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2005

Family severed ties years ago with man suspected in thousands of cases of child sexual abuse

June 17, 2005 [Associated Press] by Curt Woodward

SEATTLE - Relatives of a man suspected in thousands of cases of child sexual abuse described him Friday as a "black sheep" whose only ties with the family dissolved years ago when his grandmother died.

Dean Schwartzmiller, 63, was arrested May 23 in Washington state on a California fugitive warrant. An anonymous tipster provided information that led to his arrest, Snohomish County Sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch said Friday.

Authorities searched his San Jose home and found detailed, handwritten records of 36,000 assaults over a span of decades. Headings for the logs include "Blond Boys," "Cute Boys" and "Boys who say no," San Jose Police Lt. Scott Cornfield said.

Jack Schwartzmiller of Butte, Mont., said his cousin Dean lost contact with most of his relatives years ago. Dean Schwartzmiller has three brothers and a sister living in western Washington, but they could not be reached for comment.

"They knew he was in trouble all the time and they really had disassociated themselves of him," Jack Schwartzmiller said, calling his cousin "just a black sheep in the family."

Schwartzmiller's family knew he had legal troubles, but are likely "pretty surprised at the part that's coming out now," said his aunt, Shirlea Schwartzmiller of Edmonds.

Authorities said Dean Schwartzmiller apparently gained the trust of victims and parents by working as a home renovation contractor. Police in San Jose got involved after he allegedly befriended at least two boys in the city with gifts, invited them to his house for video games and movies, and molested them.

He was returned to California on June 7 to face molestation charges involving two 12-year-old boys.

Although police said Schwartzmiller appears to have spent much of the past 30 years in California, he has been arrested on child molestation charges in New York, Arkansas and Washington. He also served prison time in Idaho for child molestation in the late 1970s, and is wanted in Oregon on sexual assault charges involving a minor.

Police believe he may have victims in Brazil and Mexico, as well.

Posted by Nancy at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2005

Four Bay Area victims receive $5.78 million in church abuse case

April 20, 2005 [Associated Press] By Lisa Leff

SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $5.8 million in damages to four people who were repeatedly fondled as children by a Roman Catholic priest in San Jose.

The plaintiffs, three men and one woman, received $5.78 million total, ranging for $1.3 million to $1.58 million each, according to a spokesman for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. They had asked for a total of $20 million, while a lawyer for the archdiocese had suggested that $1 million in combined compensation was appropriate.

The archdiocese stipulated at the start of the 2 1/2-week trial that church officials knew in the 1970s that the Rev. Joseph Pritchard had been accused of molesting young parishioners but did not investigate the claims or take steps to protect the children.

As a result, the only question put to jurors was how much the plaintiffs, three men and one woman, should be compensated for psychological suffering and loss of productivity attributed to their abuse, said Larry Drivon, an attorney who represented one of the victims.

"The church was forced to admit that molestation had been occurring and they should have known what was occurring," Drivon said. "It was a historic concession on the part of the church."

During the trial, the plaintiffs testified that Pritchard, who died in 1988, had fondled them under their clothes, sometimes with other children or three other priests watching.

The verdict, reached after 16 hours of deliberation, came less than a month after another jury awarded $437,000 to another man who was molested by Pritchard when the late priest was assigned to St. Martin of Tours church in San Jose. In that case, which involved the first of 24 people who have sued the Archdiocese because of abuse allegedly committed by Pritchard, the jury had to find the church liable before awarding damages.

San Francisco Archbishop William J. Levada said in a statement Wednesday that the archdiocese has taken steps to make sure the kind of abuse now being litigated in the courts would never occur today.

"While the incidents of abuse in these lawsuits date back more than two decades ago, this fact does not lessen our vigilance today, nor diminish our concern for victims of past abuse," he said.

The consolidated cases decided Wednesday were the third of more than 750 lawsuits against Roman Catholic dioceses in California to go to trial since the state in 2002 temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for filing old sex-abuse claims. The action came as a response to the child molestation scandal involving Catholic priests nationwide.

Last week, an Oakland jury awarded $1.93 million to two brothers in their 30s who were molested as young boys by the Rev. Robert Ponciroli at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch. Ponciroli, 68, has been removed from public ministry and now lives in Florida.

Posted by Nancy at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2005

Former detention officer sentenced in abuse case

April 15, 2005 [Associated Press]

ST. ANTHONY, Idaho A former employee of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections will spend up to 15 years in prison for child sexual abuse.

Wayne Potter got the sentence after pleading guilty to a pair of felonies in February.

Potter must serve at least three years in prison before he's eligible for probation.

A five-year-old girl and a ten-year-old girl had accused him of abusing them.

The 47-year-old had worked as a rehabilitation specialist at the state Juvenile Correction Center in Saint Anthony (in southeast Idaho) at the time of his arrest.

The girls weren't connected to the facility.

Posted by Nancy at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)

April 07, 2005

News from the San Joaquin Valley

April 7, 2005 [Associated Press]

FRESNO, Calif. - A former radio and television personality has been convicted on 13 counts of child molestation.

Nicholas Fanady, 62, known as Nick Ryan to listeners, was convicted of sex crimes against three boys, including 11 counts against one boy who was 9 or 10 when the sexual abuse occurred.

Testimony from that victim, now 19, capped an emotional, two-and-a-half week trial.

"The community is much safer now," the young man said Wednesday after the verdicts were read. "I feel something like this will not happen again."

Fanady, who confessed on the witness stand to molesting one child and pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting young boys at a local park, faces at least 30 years in prison. Superior Court Judge William Kent Hamlin set a sentencing date of May 9.

Fanady was fired as co-host of the morning news program at KFSN Channel 30 nearly five years ago, when the mother of another boy said that Fanady and her son went skinny dipping, and the man touched the boy sexually.

Another incident occurred in May, when Fanady allegedly approached boys at a city park, put his hand around one and took him to a secluded area. Fanady said in court he was trying to move the boy away from a river.

Fanady most recently worked for KMPH, a local radio news station, until his arrest last year.

Posted by Nancy at 11:49 PM | Comments (0)

Remembing Victims Of Child Abuse

April 7, 2005

The community of Levelland, Texas remembered victims of child abuse Thursday night with a candlelight ceremony.

The audience blew out a candle as the name of a victim was read, until the entire room was dark.

Levelland Mayor Hugh Bradley stated that the City is honoring Child Abuse Prevention during this month of April.

Posted by Nancy at 01:30 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2005

Former priest pleads innocent to child rape charges

April 5, 2005 [Associated Press]

BOSTON— A defrocked Catholic priest pleaded innocent to child rape charges Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court and was released on $5,000 bail.

Robert Burns, 56, of Concord, N.H., is charged with six counts of rape of a child under 16, and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Prosecutors said Burns molested five boys while he was assigned to parishes in the Jamaica Plain and Charlestown sections of Boston between the mid-1980s and early 90s

Burns was convicted in 1996 of indecent assault of a child and was imprisoned for three years in New Hampshire. He was defrocked in 1999.

As conditions of his bail, Burns was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children, report to a probation officer every week, and to surrender a passport if he has one, according to the Suffolk County district attorney's office.

Burns must return to court May 17 for a pretrial hearing.

The alleged abuse occurred while Burns was a priest assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Jamaica Plain and St. Mary's in Charlestown.

Posted by Nancy at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)

Church abuse play wins Pulitzer

April 5, 2005

A play about child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church has been awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Doubt, by Oscar-winning writer John Patrick Shanley, won the prize just two days after the death of the Pope.

The play is about a priest accused of molesting a boy. It comes after a damaging scandal in the US Catholic Church that implicated 4,000 priests.

In other Pulitzer awards, Marilynne Robinson won the fiction prize and Ted Kooser picked up the poetry accolade.

Mr Shanley won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for Moonstruck, starring Cher, in 1988.

Stars including Harvey Keitel and David Hasselhoff turned up when Doubt opened on Broadway last week after an acclaimed off-Broadway run.

Set in 1964 in The Bronx, where Mr Shanley grew up, it sees a nun confront a well-liked parish priest who she believes is abusing a 12-year-old boy.

"The play very much relates to religion," he said. "And the parable is a key way of talking about issues, ideas and moralities."

Last year, a report commissioned by the Church said more than 4,000 US Roman Catholic priests had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years in cases involving more than 10,000 children, mostly boys.

In the Pulitzer fiction category, Marilynne Robinson triumphed for Gilead, her National Book Critics Circle-winning novel about a dying Iowa preacher.

Journalism expose

US poet laureate Ted Kooser won the poetry prize for Delights and Shadows, while composer Steven Stucky picked up the music award for Second Concerto for Orchestra.

Other awards in the arts section were won by non-fiction books by David Hackett Fischer, Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan and Steve Coll.

In the journalism section, the Los Angeles Times won the public service award for its expose of deadly medical problems and racial injustice at an inner-city hospital.

The paper won another award for international reporting for its coverage of Russia, while The Wall Street Journal also picked up two prizes.

Posted by Nancy at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2005

Carroll County child advocacy group gets grant

April 4, 2005 [Citizen Online]
Staff Report

OSSIPEE — The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has awarded a $50,000 grant to fund the start-up of the Child Advocacy Center of Carroll County (CACCC) an established non-profit group whose mission is to serve children who are victims of sexual and physical abuse and their non-offending family members.

"Child Advocacy Centers effectively reduce trauma and stress experienced by children, and bring together professionals and agencies as a team — a multi-disciplinary team, to create a child-focused approach to child abuse cases," said Karen Hebert, Victim/Witness Coordinator for the Carroll County Attorney’s Office. No other agency focuses solely on the needs of the child. The Child Advocacy Center does just that.

The CAC is a proven model, using a holistic approach that brings together law enforcement, child advocates, mental health providers, medical professionals, child protection social workers and prosecutors to investigate and assess allegations of child abuse.

When a child is suspected of being abused the CAC will coordinate all agencies that need to participate in the planned investigation and assessment of that child’s case. The CAC will be a child-friendly setting that is physically and psychologically safe for children, where a person trained in forensic interviewing techniques would interview the child. The interviewing process uses the latest techniques and technologies to preserve the most accurate account of information from that child. The CAC tracks each child’s case, finding appropriate resources and referrals for the individual needs of that child. Services come at no cost to families and agencies. The need for updating the methods used by agencies to conduct investigation and assessments can be seen in recent data.

From 2001-2003 the N.H. Division of Children, Youth and Families Conway District Office received 957 referrals of neglect, physical abuse, mental abuse and sexual abuse. Each referral can have more than one allegation. This number does not include every out-of-home perpetrator referral, as this data is not maintained. The Carroll County Attorney’s Office received 113 referrals from law enforcement for prosecution during the same three-year period. Forty child abuse related convictions were obtained.

Establishing a CAC in Carroll County is part of a statewide initiative to respond to the individual needs of child victims and their families. In October of 2003, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office organized and supported the initiative with the assistance of the National Children’s Alliance. Each county in the state was provided with the opportunity for support and technical assistance to create an individual model to fit specific geographical and financial needs.

Professionals from Carroll County took that opportunity with the initial establishment of a steering committee that drafting the working model. A group of volunteers that believe in the CAC concept and saw the need for such an organization in Carroll County has since taken the next step.

Moultonborough Chief of Police Scott Kinmond was elected to serve as the president of the Board of Directors.

Other members of the board are David Tower CEO at Huggins Hospital serving as vice president; James Calomb, CPA of North Conway serving as treasurer, Bea Lewis-Wheeler of Meredith as clerk; Chris Coulter, general manager of Bald Peak Colony Club; Lt. Ken Fifield, of the Wakefield Police Department, Joan Davies of Jackson; Attorney Teresa Mahoney Mullen of Meredith; Justine Oktavec, supervisor of the Division for Children Youth and Families Conway District Office; Nancy Spencer Smith of Wakefield, and Liz Sweeney of Alton.

In addition to funds from the AG’s Office the CAC has also received a $2,500 grant award from the Carroll County Commissioner’s County Incentive Funds. The money will be used to hire a full-time program administrator and pay for support services, training, rent, equipment, start-up costs and outreach materials.

As a result of the grant award the Board of Directors is now actively seeking its first full-time program administrator and will be accepting resumes until April 1. The board’s goal is to complete the hiring process by late spring and begin operations by summer. The CAC has garnered the support of the Carroll County Association of Chiefs of Police, which have unanimously endorsed the concept of a CAC and agreed to serve as their fiscal agent through its developmental stage. Carroll County Attorney Robin Gordon fully supports the initiative and looks forward to the use of enhanced methods to investigate child abuse cases.

"We see the pain and fear in children’s eyes who have to endure multiple interviews, then often a physical examination and later a court trial. Having all agencies come to the same table with a CAC, we will have better continuity, consistency and success for prosecution of these cases," said Chief Kinmond.

"Carroll County Mental Health supports the development of the Child Advocacy Center and is very happy to be a partner in this process. Many of the children with whom we work will be positively impacted by the coordinator of information and care that is necessary at times when the children may be experiencing significant difficulty in their lives," said Laurie Brodeur CCMH director.

Development of the CAC in Carroll County has already come with training at no cost. In December of 2004, a team of eight professionals from Carroll County from law enforcement, child protective services, the mental health profession, the medical profession, victim advocacy and prosecution, attended a week-long training in

Portsmouth entitled Child Abuse and Exploitation Team Investigative Process, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Fox Valley Technical College. In March 2005, two police officers and one child protection worker from Carroll County were selected and sponsored by their agencies to attend the Childhood Trust Forensic Interviewer Training sponsored by the New Hampshire Network of Child Advocacy Centers and the N.H. Attorney General’s Task Force on Child Abuse & Neglect.

Detective Jill Barbour of the Conway Police Department; Detective Scott Moore of the Wolfeboro Police Department and Lisa Dekutoski, a child protection social worker based in Conway, all attended the week-long training held in Concord.

The CACCC is currently filing for status as a tax-exempt charity in an effort to enhance their abilities to receiving donations and gifts. Anyone interested in learning more about the CACCC can contact Chief Scott Kinmond at the Moultonborough Police Department at 476-2400. Donations can be sent to the Child Advocacy Center of Carroll County at P.O. Box 218, Ossipee, N.H. 03864

Posted by Nancy at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2005

Fort Worth Diocese agrees to pay $1.4 million in abuse case

April 2, 2005 [Associated Press]

A Texas man who alleged that a priest now living in Massachusetts molested him when he was a minor will be paid $1.4 million by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, court records indicate.

Details of the out-of-court settlement were included in court documents filed last week, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Saturday.

The lawsuit against the dioceses of Fort Worth and Worcester, Mass., contended that Fort Worth Bishop Joseph P. Delaney knew that the Rev. Thomas Teczar posed a threat to children because of a "sexual interest" in adolescents, according to court documents.

Before moving to the Fort Worth area, Teczar had worked as a priest in the Worcester Diocese, where he was forced out after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a teenage boy.

Diocese spokesman Jeff Hensley declined to comment Friday and said Delaney could not speak because he was ill.

As part of the lawsuit, Delaney gave a deposition in which he said he was aware of the allegations against Teczar before bringing him to Fort Worth and that Teczar had admitted to Delaney his sexual feelings for adolescent boys.

Teczar worked at parishes in Fort Worth, Bedford and Ranger from the late 1980s until 1993, court documents state. A man who answered the phone at Teczar´s home in Dudley, Mass., declined to comment. Teczar is no longer practicing as a priest.

In February, Teczar denied the allegations in a telephone interview with the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester.

Daniel J. Shea of Houston, an attorney representing the man who says Teczar molested him, said the size of the settlement is commensurate with the damage done to his client. His client is identified by the name John Doe in court filings.

"Bishop Delaney was gracious and apologetic," Shea said. "I think they were sincere. And a measure of sincerity is when you put your money where your mouth is."

The lawsuit alleged that Teczar groped and raped two minor boys beginning in the early 1990s when he was serving as parish priest in Ranger, which is part of the Fort Worth Diocese.

Since its founding in 1969, the Fort Worth Diocese has settled one other sexual abuse case for $12,500. Shea said that some or all of the $1.4 million settlement could be paid by the church´s insurance.

Shea said he believes that the Fort Worth Diocese is responsible for the entire settlement amount. A report published in the Worcester newspaper quoted Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus as saying that his diocese will not pay any of the settlement because it had no responsibility for Teczar.

Raymond Delisle, spokesman for the Worcester Diocese, could not be reached for comment.

The dioceses and Teczar are still being sued by another Texas man who was part of the lawsuit. His part of the case is pending in a Fort Worth court.

Teczar has been charged in Eastland County with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecency with a child with sexual contact, according to the Eastland County Sheriff´s Department. Teczar said last year that he did not abuse anyone and that the church is a target because it has money.

Posted by joshua at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2005

Jury told of Jackson 'past abuse'

April 1, 2005 [BBC News]

Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial have heard for the first time about previous claims of child abuse against the singer from a key witness.
Larry Feldman, a lawyer who also represents the current accuser, spoke about a 1993 out-of-court payment made by Mr Jackson to an alleged victim.

But the court also heard investigators who had tested the star's bedsheets had found no DNA from his current accuser.

The star denies 10 charges, including child abuse and false imprisonment.

Also in court on Friday, an investigator defended the search of the singer's ranch.

Sgt Jeff Klapackis of Santa Barbara county sheriff's office answered claims by the defence that the 2003 search was overdone because Mr Jackson was a celebrity, saying that there was a high concentration of officers because they were only given one day to cover the whole ranch.

He also said it was unlikely his department had leaked news of the search to the press.

But he added that no traces of DNA from the current accuser, Gavin Arvizo, had been found in Michael Jackson's bed.

Both the accuser and his brother have claimed that they frequently slept in the bed.

'No lawsuit intended'

The judge had ruled on Monday that the jury could hear about five more boys the prosecution claim were sexually abused by the star.

Mr Feldman did not say how much the 1993 alleged victim had received in an out-of-court settlement, but said the matter had been "resolved in his favour".

Turning to the current case, he said the Arvizo family sought legal advice from him before alerting the authorities to abuse claims.

But the lawyer said he did not intend to file a civil lawsuit against Mr Jackson at that time.

He referred the family to psychologist Stan Katz, and then called prosecutors who later brought charges against the accused.

Mr Katz gave evidence in the trial earlier this week.

The psychologist also interviewed the 1993 alleged victim, and may be recalled to give further evidence when prosecutors start presenting testimony about previous allegations in three days' time.

Posted by Nancy at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2005

Former boy scout official admits child porn charge

March 30, 2005 [Associated Press]

Fort Worth, Texas - former Boy Scouts of America official who ran a task force to protect children from sexual abuse yesterday admitted a child pornography charge.

Douglas Smith, 61, was accused of receiving internet images of children engaging in sex acts. He admitted possessing and distributing child pornography.
Smith, who lives in Colleyville, near Fort Worth, Texas, faces five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (£133,000). He will be sentenced on July 12.

Smith, who worked for the scouts for 39 years, was a national programme director and for two years had led its youth protection task force which worked to shield young people from sexual abuse. However, he did not work directly with children, officials said.

He was put on leave last month as soon as the organisation learned of the allegations, and he then retired.

Gregg Shields, national spokesman for the Boy Scouts, said the organisation was shocked and dismayed.
"This is the action of one individual. It certainly doesn't represent our values or mission," Shields said.
Law enforcement officials indicated the pictures did not show boys who were scouts, he added.

Posted by Nancy at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)

DHS has backlog of over 2,000 child abuse cases, documents show

March 30, 2005 [Associated Press]

JACKSON, MS - Mississippi's child protection agency has a backlog of 2,863 child abuse case and its caseworkers take an average of 76 hours to respond to abuse allegations, documents show.

The backlog was revealed in documents obtained by lawyers suing the Department of Human Services. The backlog numbers, however, represent children who are not in DHS custody and not directly involved in the suit.

The lawsuit alleges the state failed to protect children who depend on DHS and the Division of Family and Children's Services.

Betty Mallett, an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford PLLC representing DHS, said the federal court has already dismissed similar claims by New York-based Children's Rights, which sued DHS.

"This is just another attempt by (Children's Rights) to embarrass the Mississippi Department of Human Services," she said in a written statement. "We believe that (Children's Rights) is just trying to intimidate the state of Mississippi, especially during this legislative session."

While similar data for other states is not readily available, Eric Thompson, an attorney with Children's Rights, said the numbers from Mississippi are unusually high.

"We've seen in other dysfunctional systems we have sued because they were not protecting children, we have seen backlogs in the hundreds, but I don't know of any other system where we're talking thousands," he said. "This has been a hidden crisis."

One document shows the number of investigations open for more than 30 days as of Jan. 15.

Of those 2,863 investigations, the region including Chickasaw, Clay, Itawamba and other counties had 79. The region including Covington, Forrest, George and six other counties had 817, while the region with Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties had 823.

Thompson said DHS' policy says caseworkers need to determine whether abuse or neglect has occurred within 15 days.

Another DHS document shows the number of investigations opened in each of the department's nine regions, along with the percentage of cases in which a caseworker responded within 24 hours.

While 87 percent of the investigations had a response within 24 hours in the region including Chickasaw, Clay, Itawamba, Lee and six other counties, that number dropped to 60.2 percent for the region including Hinds and Warren counties.

For the region including Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, the number was 66 percent.

Caseworkers in that region also take about 270 hours - or nearly seven days - before they make an initial response, contributing to a statewide average of 76 hours, documents show.

Posted by Nancy at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

March 29, 2005

Seattle Area Priest resigns from Church to seek Healing from Abuse He Suffered as a Child

March 26, 2005

A priest in Bothell, Washington has resigned, because of abuse that he suffered as a child in the Yakima diocese. The Rev. Lawrence Minder had earlier taken a leave of absence, but has now resigned. He has been in inpatient treatment at a trauma center in Arizona.

Minder has said that he intends to write about the abuse that he suffered as a teen in the Yakima diocese 30 years ago.

To read more visit this article at the Seattle Times

Summary of this news article has been written with permission from the Seattle Times

Posted by Nancy at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)

March 24, 2005

Jury awards victim $437,000 from San Jose priest's sex abuse

March 24, 2005 [Associated Press] By Lisa Leff

SAN FRANCISCO – The Archdiocese of San Francisco was ordered by a jury Thursday to pay $437,000 to a California man who says he was repeatedly fondled by a San Jose priest during the 1970s in a ruling that could influence hundreds of potential settlements statewide.

The San Francisco County Superior Court jury deliberated on damages for less than five hours before putting a price on Dennis Kavanaugh's emotional suffering, troubled personal life and lost wages.

Neither Kavanaugh nor his attorney would say whether they were pleased or disappointed with the size of the award.

"A positive statement was made for the survivors, including myself," Kavanaugh said outside of court. "I look forward to being helpful any way I can to the other survivors who are still to come."

Bishop John Wester said the church had no plans to appeal the verdict and is "committed to a just compensation to all victims of clergy sexual abuse."

Wester added that he admired Kavanaugh's courage for coming forward and "pray that this will bring closure to him and is part of his healing."

David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, praised Kavanaugh for coming forward.

"No amount of money can magically restore a stolen childhood, a shattered self-esteem or a devastated faith life," Clohessy said in a statement. "Still, I'm confident that Dennis and his family will feel very proud of what they have achieved – finally holding church officials accountable in court for horrific cover-ups of horrific sex crimes."

During the weeklong trial, Kavanaugh's lawyer, Larry Drivon, linked the molestation by Pritchard to Kavanaugh's dropping out of college, divorcing his wife, serving prison time for assault and feeling guilty and ashamed.

"They took away his belief in God, they took away his faith, they removed a large portion of his soul," Drivon said in closing arguments, urging the panel to be generous in compensating his client.

Church attorneys did not question Kavanaugh's claim of abuse and acknowledged he suffered from it, but disputed whether the molestation is the sole source of his problems.

Kavanaugh had asked for unspecified damages, but a lawyer for the archdiocese said during his closing argument that $200,000 would be proper.

Kavanaugh's civil lawsuit was the first of more than 750 against Roman Catholic dioceses in California to go to trial since the state temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for filing sex-abuse claims in 2002. The new law gave victims, whose allegations had previously been considered too old, one year to file molestation claims.

More than 150 lawsuits have been filed in Northern California, including about 75 naming the San Francisco Archdiocese.

Damage awards in Kavanaugh's case, along with another case headed to trial against the Oakland diocese, could influence eventual settlements statewide.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese Maurice Healy said it was difficult to predict how this verdict would impact the other pending claims.

"We let the faithful know we are going to reach settlements and in total it can be a significant financial impact," Healy said.

Posted by Nancy at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2005

Youth Minister Convicted Of Child Sex Abuse

March 23, 2005 [Associated Press]

Teen Said He Had Sex With Man At Age 16

ARLINGTON, Va. -- An Arlington County jury has acquitted a former youth minister of charges that he raped a teenage choirboy.

But 29-year-old Antawn McCullum was found guilty of taking indecent liberties with the boy, who was 16 at the time.

McCullum has been in jail since his November arrest on the felony charges.

The two-day trial hinged on the testimony of the victim. He described several occasions when the two had sex about two years ago.

The penalty phase of the trial begins Wednesday. McCullum faces up to five years in prison.

Posted by Nancy at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2005

Child Sodomy Suspect Confesses To More Abuse

March 21, 2005 [Associated Press]

NEW YORK -- A man who was charged with raping and sodomizing seven children in Queens has confessed to assaulting more children, authorities said.

Michael Flory, 48, was arraigned Friday on five charges of rape, criminal sexual acts and sexual abuse against five girls and two boys aged between 7 and 11 years old. Some of them lived near Flory's former home in College Point section of Queens.

He allegedly raped, sodomized and otherwise sexually abused the children in his home and in his van between March 1 and March 11.

He was arrested when one of alleged victims reported being abused, police and prosecutors said. Other parents who lived near Flory's former home in College Point, Queens, spoke to their children and discovered they also had been abused.

Authorities are also investigating whether he assaulted any of the three children he has with his wife, with whom he lives in West Hempstead in Long Island.

Police officials said Flory, an unemployed auto mechanic admitted the additional crimes when he was questioned after being arrested. It was unclear how many other children may be involved in the assaults.

He faces first-degree rape and other charges and could face as many as 50 years in prison if convicted.

Posted by Nancy at 04:46 AM | Comments (0)

Crisis Center offers two groups for child victims of abuse

March 21, 2005 [Jacksonville progress]
By Lauren LaFleur - Progress News Writer

Approximately one out of three girls and one out of five boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18, according to the Crisis Center of Anderson and Cherokee County's Web site, www.mycrisiscenter.com

"Approximately one half of batterers also intentionally injure their children physically and/or sexually," the site states, but "regardless of whether children are physically abused, the emotional effects of witnessing domestic violence are very similar with the psychological trauma associated with being a victim of child abuse."

For just those reasons, the center will begin two special groups this week - one aimed at teenage victims of sexual abuse and the other designed for child victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

"The reason we decided to do kids groups is because sometimes peers give feedback that a parent or counselor can't," said Amanda Cordova, Crisis Center counselor and facilitator for the two new groups.

TASA - or Teens Against Sexual Abuse - is designed with the female teenage victim of sexual assault in mind.

"We're hoping (through the group's work) they can build trust and understanding," Cordova said. "Also, we want them to develop some social skills and self-esteem and self-responsibility."

The group will meet 3-4 p.m. every Tuesday, beginning Tuesday through April 26, at the Crisis Center in Jacksonville.

The group will be led by Cordova and counselor Sherrie Saenz.

The second new group - Kids Interactive Discovery Station, or KIDS - will also meet for six weeks, 3-4 p.m. Thursdays at the center's Jacksonville location.

The group is designed for kids ages 5-6 years old who are victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, Cordova said.

"We are planning on using some play therapy technologies in the group," Cordova said. "In play therapy, children will work their problems out through play, because that's their natural environment."

Cordova and Saenz will both facilitate the KIDS group.

For more information about either group, or to sign up for the groups, call the Crisis Center at 903-586-9118 or 1-800-232-8519

Posted by Nancy at 04:27 AM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2005

Teacher pleads guilty to child abuse

March 7, 2005 [HernandoToday.com]
By Paul Quinlan

BROOKSVILLE - The trial of a former West Hernando Middle School teacher accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old female student ended suddenly Monday when he agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge.

Dennis Lawrence Morrissey, 59, of 7136 Pinehurst Drive in Spring Hill, will serve six months in the Hernando County Jail, five months of probation and undergo sex offender treatment after pleading guilty to child abuse, according to Assistant State Attorney Marlene Wells.

Though he will not have to register as a sex offender, Morrissey must surrender his teaching certificate and may not have contact with a minor without the supervision of an adult, Wells said.

During a 20-minute recess that followed more than two hours of jury selection, Wells said she offered Morrissey the option to plead guilty to child abuse, a third-degree felony that carries a lighter penalty.
When the trial began Monday, Morrissey's Tampa defense attorney, John A. Grant III, was prepared to defend the former teacher on second-degree felony charge of lewd and lascivious molestation, a second-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' jail time.

Morrissey changed his plea to guilty before Circuit Court Judge Jack Springstead.
Wells said the offer was intended to keep the 13-year-old girl from having to testify in front of the courtroom.

"This is basically to spare the child from having to testify and go through this," Wells said. "She's young."

Morrissey had rejected an earlier plea deal made last year when prosecutors offered him six years' jail time followed by sex offender probation, Wells said.
"We were able to negotiate it to child abuse," Wells said of today's agreement.

Morrissey was accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old female student and telling her he loved her last year. The teacher became acquainted with the girl in 2002, when she enrolled in his geography class.
An arrest report said the incident occurred on May 11, 2004, when the then-13-year-old girl and a friend went into his classroom to say hello to him.

The report said Morrissey, then a social studies teacher, began rubbing the girl's back. He then put his hands down the back of her pants and began rubbing her buttocks, according to police.

After she pulled away, the teacher approached her again, put his arms around her and began squeezing her breasts, the report said.

The girl left and went into another classroom. Morrissey followed her, the report said, and asked the teacher in the other classroom if he could speak with the girl.

He walked with her around campus, telling her that although he knew it was wrong, he loved her, investigators said.

When the Hernando County Sheriff's Office began investigating, Morrissey made a call from the sheriff's office on a recorded line.

Investigators said Morrissey referred to the girl "babe" several times and ended the call by saying he loved her.

The Hernando County School Board suspended the teacher after his arrest and eventually fired him in July of 2004.

Morrissey joined the county school system in 1977 as a teacher at Mitchell Black Elementary School. He joined the faculty at West Hernando Middle School in 1981, where he taught full-time and coached boys' and girls' sports.

During the 2002-2003 school year he received his full salary of $45,800.

Reporter Cliff Hightower and researcher Buddy Jaudon contributed to this report.
Reporter Paul Quinlan can be contacted at (352) 544-5289

Posted by Nancy at 07:29 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2005

Sex abuse case ends in deal

March 7, 2005 [Selma Times Journal]
By Steven Jones, Times-Journal City Editor
[Posted here with reporters permission]

A Perry County man pleaded guilty to a charge of first degree sex abuse and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Kelvin Woods, 19, was accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy last year. He was 18 when the crime was committed.

Woods and four other individuals grabbed the boy and forced him to perform oral sex on Woods, According to assistant district attorney Shannon Lynch.

The boy was unable to identify the other four attackers, Lynch said, but she said he did pick out Woods in a police lineup.

"(They) grabbed the kid from behind," Lynch said, explaining why he couldn't identify them.

Lynch said the attack occurred when the child was visiting a friend at a Marion apartment complex.

Lynch said she was content with the sentence, but would have like to had a longer one.

She said that for her the main focus was to protect the victim and see to it that justice was served.

"This kid was terrified and embarrassed," she said. "Three years in (the victim's) mind was enough justice to where people would believe him that it was a crime."

Lynch said she was grateful for the opportunity to serve the boy's interests in the case.

"I greatly respect (District Attorney) Michael Jackson for allowing the District Attorney's office to crack down on violence against women and children in every form," she said.

Jackson said the drive would continue.

"People need to realize the punishment will be severe to those who try to destroy an innocent life," she said.

Ultimately, Lynch said, all sex abuse cases are about protecting the victim.

"I just want him to go back to being a normal little boy again," she said, " and play with his video games."

Lynch did say the case ended happily for her at least, with the conviction and helping the victim.

"That was the perfect day," she said. "I finally made him smile."

Posted by Nancy at 06:31 AM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2005

Woman settles Nome clergy abuse case

March 3, 2005 [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]
By Mary Beth Smetzer, Staff Writer

A settlement in the $1 million range has been reached in a child sexual abuse case against Father Jim Poole--who founded radio station KNOM in Nome--as well as the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese and the Society of Jesus Oregon Province said Ken Roosa, the attorney for Elsie Boudreau, formerly identified as Jane Doe 1.

Monday, lawyers on both sides of the case signed off on a binding agreement for a settlement that is still being worked out, Roosa said.

"We're working on it. I don't know anything more than that," Roosa said. "All we've got to be is be patient."

Boudreau claims Poole sexually abused her repeatedly from the time she was 10 until she was 16 years old.

A year ago this month, Boudreau sued Poole, a Jesuit who worked 40 years in Alaska.

Boudreau accused Poole of kissing and fondling her dozens of times, starting in 1978, during summer visits to Nome, and continuing until she was 16. The abuse included heavy petting and having her lie on top of him, the lawsuit stated.

Poole, 82, now living in a Jesuit retirement community in Spokane, Wash., first arrived in Alaska in 1948 as a seminarian. He was assigned to Holy Cross, Pilot Station, Marshall, Mountain Village, St. Marys, Barrow and Nome.

In a recent interview, Boudreau said she decided to report Poole during the summer of 2003 when her own child was turning 10, the age she was when Poole began abusing her. Boudreau said she only decided to file suit after getting an inadequate response from the church hierarchy.

Boudreau, a Yupik woman in her mid-30s with a master's degree, said Wednesday that she decided to reveal her identity so that people could see that she is a real person and perhaps come forward with their own stories.

"Just getting to the settlement doesn't mean it is over in terms of healing. There's other work that needs to be done. It's not over," Boudreau said.

In addition to the monetary settlement, Roosa said Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler will help Boudreau acquire a licensed use or long-term easement on the Andreafsky River near St. Marys, where she wants to build a memorial to the children who lost their innocence to sexual abuse by priests and clerics. She envisions it as a contemplative, quiet setting, Roosa said.

Ronnie Rosenberg, human resources director for the Fairbanks Diocese and a retired attorney, confirmed that the diocese is anticipating finalizing a settlement in the Jane Doe 1 lawsuit shortly.

In December, Patricia Hess of Anchorage, who alleged she suffered abuse at the hands of Poole, reached a monetary settlement with the Fairbanks Diocese and the Society of Jesus Oregon Province, without filing a lawsuit.

A second lawsuit against Poole, filed in Bethel Superior Court last June by Jane Doe 2, also alleges sexual abuse by Poole over an eight-year period beginning when she was age 12. The complaint states that Poole impregnated Jane Doe 2 at age 14, and told her to "get rid of the baby" and blame the pregnancy on her father.

That lawsuit is still pending, and is not actively being negotiated at the present time, Rosenberg said.

"We would like to get all these cases settled, if we could come to a meeting of the minds," Rosenberg said, referencing more than 50 unsettled complaints filed against four other Catholic priests and a brother that remain unresolved.

How the mounting monetary settlements will affect the financial health of the missionary diocese hasn't yet been determined.

"Obviously, the bishop is needing to strike a fair balance between people who may have been injured decades ago, and the current needs that the diocese serves today," Rosenberg said.

"We would urge people again to come forward. We all abhor the crime of sexual abuse against children and would like to do anything possible to root it out and to heal people who have been affected by it," Rosenberg said.

Mary Beth Smetzer can be reached at msmetzer at newsminer.com or 459-7546. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Posted by Nancy at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2005

Pervert Catweazle's Last Wish to Prey on a Child

March 5, 2005 [sundaymail.co.uk]
By Marion Scott

THE dying wish of paedophile George 'Catweazle' Belmonte was to abuse one more child.

The ex-wife of the 72-year-old pervert has revealed he remained a danger to children until his death last week. Belmonte left a sickening book trying to justify why he abused children for more than 40 years.

Ex-wife Laura, 65, said: 'He blackmailed me into staying in touch with him by threatening to make up lies about me in his book.

'George claimed he'd written about all the hundreds of children he'd touched.

'He told me his dying wish was to abuse 'one more child'. He was still determined to abuse children as long as he had breath in his body.'

The pervert, who died in a Dumfries hospital from cancer on Thursday, spent almost 20 years behind bars for abusing children.

He left his book to local writer Frank Ryan, who said yesterday: 'There's no doubt Belmonte was a truly evil man.

'Right up until his last days, I would have judged him to be a danger to children. He never expressed a shred of remorse.'

Belmonte was freed just four months ago after serving part of a two-year sentence for luring a boy of seven and a girl of 12 to a picnic and taking pictures of a schoolgirl.

Likened to Moors Murderer Ian Brady because he taped his victims'desperate cries for help, Belmonte surfaced in Dumfries six years ago.

The Jersey-born pervert was put up in a £200,000 luxury mansion by social workers while locals threatened to lynch him.

He had six children, all of whom have changed their names to be free of their monster father.

Third wife Laura, a prison visitor, married Belmonte in 1998 during one of his spells in jail without knowing his full identity.

She said that he hinted he may have even killed.

Laura said: 'He would laugh at how easy it was to get to little children in quiet country areas like Dumfries. He'd say poor parents in council estates were easy fodder.

'He'd ask me if I realised just how easy it was to get rid of a body, especially a little body of a child. It chilled me to the bone.

'I'd ask him if he'd killed and he'd laugh and say, 'Wait till you read my book.'

Posted by Nancy at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2005

Archdiocese: New Allegations Of Abuse Against Dead Priest

March 4, 2005 [Associated Press]

St. Paul (AP) The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reported that the most recent annual survey by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops revealed new allegations of child sex abuse against one additional priest.

The allegations surfaced as 18 new victims came forward to the archdiocese in the 14 months ending in August. The archdiocese said the additional priest who was identified recently died in 1971 and the alleged abuse occurred 40 years ago.

Archdiocese spokesman Dennis McGrath said the archdiocese does not identify alleged perpetrators who are dead. "We will identify perpetrators who are still in active ministry, if anyone comes forward," he said.

That's not good enough for a local victims support group, which wants any alleged perpetrator to be publicly identified, along with that priest's work history.

Mike Wegs, a spokesman for the Minnesota chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said doing so would encourage other victims to come forward.

If the alleged perpetrator is alive, "then it's the job of the police, judges and juries to separate fact from fiction and figure out if it's true or not," Wegs said. "It's not up to the church."

All of the other alleged abusers had been known before and the archdiocese said none of them are active in ministry.

Posted by Nancy at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2005

Child sexual abuse trial opens in France

March 3, 2005

66 men and women went on trial today on charges of child sexual abuse involving 45 children that has shocked France.

39 men and 27 women are facing charges. Prosecutors say a child prostitution ring operated from January 1999 to February 2002, in which about 15 couples offered their children for sex in exchange for small sums of money or food. They say the youngest victim was about two months old.

The hearings, in a specially built courtroom in the town of Angers, are billed as France's biggest criminal trial. The most serious charges carry possible jail terms of up to 20 years.

The main hearings are due to start on March 10, but the first part of the trial began today, with the court due to announce a ruling on a request for the proceedings to be heard behind closed doors.

The prosecution says most of the cases of abuse took place in the house of a man and woman who live in the Saint-Leonard suburb of Angers, a town that promotes itself as a gateway to the picturesque Loire valley which is popular with tourists.

Posted by Nancy at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2005

New CPS statistics released

February 26, 2005 [Associated Press]

HOUSTON, February 26, 2005 — Of the 204 children who died from abuse or neglect in fiscal year 2004, 45 were previously reported as possible abuse or neglect victims to the state Child Protective Services agency, according to data released this week.

The figures come as lawmakers are working to reform CPS during the legislative session.

Gov. Rick Perry has endorsed a $329 million CPS reform plan. Among the reforms is developing a more precise way to investigate for signs of future abuse that would reduce the number of cases occurring after investigations are closed.

“At this point we’re trying to look forward to see what we can do to improve this,” Darrell Azar, CPS’ spokesman in Austin, said Thursday. “We’re trying to do anything we can to prevent the death of a child.”

Since 2002, about a quarter of the 591 children who died of abuse in Texas had a previous referral for abuse or neglect to CPS. In the 2004 fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, the 45 children represented 22 percent of all children who died of abuse and neglect.

The year before that, 28 percent of all children who died had a prior abuse or neglect allegation investigated by CPS. In 2002, that figure was 26 percent.

From Sept. 1, 2003, to Sept. 1, 2004, four Cameron County children died from child abuse. They include a 21-month-old child that died Sept. 14, 2003; a 4-year-old child that died Oct. 9, 2003; a 5-month-old child that died Aug. 9, 2004; and an 18-month-old child that died Aug. 28, 2004

The child that died in October had been previously been suspected of being abused and was a CPS case.

Bexar County led the state in 2004 in the number of children previously reported to CPS who later died with seven. Harris County had six deaths and Dallas County had four.

Agency officials said the deaths occurred before or as Perry, a Republican, launched an investigation into the agency and imposed a series of emergency measures as a string of startling child deaths occurred last year.

“We’re really looking at the pre-reform effort data,” Azar said.

Perry in January ordered that an investigations division be created within CPS and the agency is looking for a person with a law enforcement background to fill the leadership post in that office.

The reform plan proposed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and backed by Perry also calls for 848 more caseworkers by 2007. It also suggests that investigative techniques used by law enforcement would greatly improve the state abuse investigation system.

“It’s an approach that you take, a little more emphasis on critical thinking skills and a more thorough job of ferreting out information,” said Geoffrey Wool, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Protective Services, CPS’ parent agency.

Brownsville Herald reporter Laura Martinez contributed to this report.

Posted by Nancy at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)

Former advertising salesman pleads guilty to sex abuse

February 25, 2005 [Fox 12 Oregon]

PORTLAND -- A former advertising salesman at a Portland radio station is headed to prison.

David Neel was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one charge of sex abuse in Linn County.

After serving his sentence, Neel will be placed on parole for five years.

Neel also faces charges in Multnomah County for abusing a child during a station sponsored event at Oaks Park skating rink.

Detectives say in November of last year, Neel used his position at the Mix 107.5 to gain access to kids.

Posted by Nancy at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

Jackson's Lawyer Previews Strategy

February 26, 2005 [Associated Press]
By Tim Molloy

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A judge has ruled that Michael Jackson (news)'s lawyers can present evidence at his child molestation trial that his accuser's mother has made abuse charges in the past.

The allegations relate to the credibility of the accuser's family. The defense is expected to portray them as after Jackson's money.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old at his Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara County, plying the boy with alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.

The prosecution alleges the boy was molested after the airing of a TV documentary that showed the boy with Jackson, who said he allowed children to sleep in his bed.

Lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. laid out much of his case Friday during motions on whether evidence could be admitted about the accuser's family's lawsuit against J.C. Penney.

The lawsuit claimed J.C. Penney security guards beat them, held them against their will and groped the mother after the boy left a store without paying for clothes.

Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville agreed to allow jurors to hear about the lawsuit, although he was critical over how much Mesereau was revealing about his case ahead of opening statements, set to begin Monday.

"You almost laid out your whole case, not for me, but for other people," Melville said, referring to the courtroom packed with observers, including a dozen reporters. Others watched in an overflow room.

Mesereau told the court that the day after the alleged beating by guards, the mother returned to the store and hugged employees, then filed the lawsuit and later amended it to add the groping claim.

Mesereau also said the woman testified in the J.C. Penney case that her husband had never hit her, but later alleged in her divorce that he had beaten his family for years. She also accused her ex-husband of inappropriately touching her daughter, the lawyer said.

The family's lawsuit ended in a $150,000 settlement from J.C. Penney and Tower Records. Mesereau said the mother hid assets from the settlement to get welfare payments from Los Angeles County.

He also said the mother had her son ask celebrities including TV host Jay Leno for money and spent some of the funds on cosmetic surgery.

Prosecutor Ron Zonen argued that the issue was how the mother acquired the money, not what she spent it on, and that the issue was largely irrelevant.

"The question is whether a man who admits to sleeping with children was sleeping with this child, and what he did with this child. That's what this case is about," Zonen said.

Mesereau argued that it all showed a pattern of fraud.

"She got a breast enhancement and a tummy tuck and then told Mr. Jackson and all these people that she was destitute," the attorney said.

The judge ruled that during opening statements lawyers may not show the jury the entire "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary but may use a clip. The prosecution plans to use a two-minute segment. The first prosecution witness is expected to be the documentary's maker, Martin Bashir.

Posted by Nancy at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2005

Jackson abuse trial jury selected

February 24, 2005 [Associated Press]

A jury of four men and eight women has been selected for the trial in California of pop star Michael Jackson on charges of child abuse.

Lawyers must now select eight alternates, who would take the place of any jurors dismissed during trial, at a court in Santa Maria.

Opening statements in the case could begin early as next week.

Mr Jackson denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. The trial could last up to six months.

If convicted, he could face a maximum 21 years in prison.

Swift process

"We have a jury," Superior Court Judge Rodney S Melville announced.

The jurors range in age from 20 to 79.

The racial and ethnic breakdown appeared to be seven whites, four Hispanics and one Asian. There were no African Americans.

Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but took only five court days.

The process was interrupted by a one-week break due to the death of a lawyer's sister, and by another week break after Mr Jackson was hospitalised with flu-like symptoms.

Among the jurors was a woman who said her grandson was required to register as a sexual offender because of a crime.

Posted by Nancy at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

Talking about kids: The blunt reality of child abuse on the South Coast

February 24, 2005 [The worldlink.com] Southwestern Oregon Publishing Co.
By Elise Hamner, City Editor

Coos County's statewide ranking for child abuse can get a person down, or it can get people talking.

Earlier this year, when the nonpartisan children's advocacy group Children First For Oregon reported the county's child abuse and neglect rate is 189 percent worse than the state average, a lot of people were talking locally. And they still are.

Tuesday the group's policy and outreach associate, Beth Kapsch, came to Coos Bay to discuss the report that compared the status of children health and safetywise county by county. And she did most of the talking, as about two dozen people at the Coos County Commission on Children and Families meeting listened.

Kapsch bluntly reminded them of the realities.

There were 9,447 confirmed child abuse/neglect cases in the state in 2003; about 490 in Coos County. Reports of child abuse in Oregon increased steadily over the past decade, by more than 61 percent, she said. There was no corresponding increase in the level of resources for investigations.

"Coos County is doing a really good job of going out and assessing those cases," she said.

Maybe that explains the county's higher confirmed child abuse statistics, she suggested, or maybe there just are more cases.

Kapsch's statistics left people shaking their heads. But more, she talked about how state policies and spending can help struggling families.

The state needs to expand alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment programs. It needs to adequately fund child welfare, police and court systems so all reports are investigated. And, Kapsch said, the state needs to be working for vulnerable families to get support, for instance to ensure they have housing and health care.

"It seems the No. 1 priority should be promoting economic opportunities, ..." interjected county Commissioner Nikki Whitty, also a commission member.

Kapsch didn't disagree. And she kept talking.

Foster care was next on her list. In 2003, she said, 339 kids locally stayed in foster homes at least once. Almost 27 percent of them were moved to more than one home that year.

Being a foster care provider is tough, she said. Add to that the fact there aren't enough homes and those families are taking in more kids - that brings even more instability.

Children First's staff of four is making sure individual Oregon lawmakers know foster care families need better support and continued reimbursement for taking in children. They are lobbying at the state Capitol, meeting with legislative committees. They are sending messages out to schools that something as simple as changing residency policies can make a huge difference on success for children forced to move from home to home.

"We want to make sure these kids stay in their home school," Kapsch said, adding there may be such legislation this session.

More, she said, older foster kids need continued insurance coverage and scholarships as they age out of the system.

Most of the people listening to Kapsch were commission members or people working in social service programs, but not all."It's very depressing, but it's not surprising," Coos Bay resident Marie Hopkins said of Kapsch's talk.

Hopkins moved the area a few years ago and said while her family has grown, she is concerned about the community's children. That's why she came. She said she felt listening would help her become a better voter, and she walked away having learned about one promising program.

"The summer food program was a real positive thing I haven't seen in other states," she said.

Kapsch had mentioned hunger. She reminded her audience that Oregon is a leader for having residents without enough food to eat. Coos County is no exception.

Eleven percent of eighth-graders here report family members skip meals because they don't have enough money, she said. The state needs to invest more in children's nutrition programs. During the school year, more than 2,800 Coos County children ate free or reduced-cost lunches at school. In summer, she said, only 906 local children received the service.

"During the summer, these kids are still hungry. These kids need to eat year-round," Kapsch said.

The state can help families free up money for food by giving out more food stamps and ensuring there is more affordable child care, housing and health care.

And it was health care, that Kapsch mentioned again and again.

"Medical debt is a huge reason that families become financially vulnerable," she said.

And Kapsch wasn't done speaking.

On any day in Oregon, more than 113,000 children have no health care; in this county more than 1,600 daily. The state needs to continue to support and increase school-based health centers where young people can get medical care. Marshfield High School will be next, she said, explaining a center is in the works.

All of the money does not have to come from the state, Kapsch said. Federal officials will pay $2.50 for every $1 Oregon invests in health insurance for children.

"So it makes sense. It makes good economical sense," she said.

This is the first county this year Kapsch has traveled to discuss Children First's report. She expects more counties to call. They always do. And when they invite her, she plans to show up talking.

Children First for Oregon http://www.cffo.org

Posted by Nancy at 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2005

Childrens Resource Center receives $30,000 donation

February 23, 2005 [TheWGALChannel.com]

Dauphin County commissioners presented a check for $30,000 Wednesday to the Children's Resource Center to help young victims of child abuse and aid in prosecutions.

The grant will be used to purchase videotape and audiotape equipment to conduct interviews of children who are suspected of being abused.

Last year, the Children's Resource Center helped 621 children from 25 counties.

Posted by Nancy at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)

February 22, 2005

Former Portsmouth Teacher Receives 45 Year Prison Term on Child Pornography Charges

February 22, 2005

A former Portsmouth school teacher was formally sentenced to 45 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to 24 counts of child abuse and pornography.
Kelly Karl Bowen pled guilty back in December.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Bowen also agreed to help authorities identify all of the victims so they can get proper counseling.

Bowen's alleged crimes date back as far as 2002, and prosecutors said the 24 counts involved 24 separate individuals. The individual charges included forcible sodomy, using an electronic means to procure minors for sexually explicit material, producing sexually explicit material, and possession of child pornography.

Authorities say Bowen, also a former dance instruction, was able to get computer e-mail addresses of children, then posed as a teen girl in Internet chat rooms and was able to get kids to send him nude pictures of themselves. Authorities say he had sex with one of the children. Just how many total children were involved, authorities can't say.

Bowen was arrested last June 23rd at this home in the 100 block of Oxford Drive in Portsmouth following an investigation by the Virginia Attorney General, Portsmouth and Gloucester Police.

At that time, he was charged with nine counts of possession of child pornography and one count of computer solicitation of a minor for sexual exploitation. More charges were added later.

According to the state attorney general's office, Bowen is a former teacher in the Portsmouth public school system and at the time of his initial arrest, was employed as an instructional specialist with Portsmouth public schools. Bowen was fired by the school system in August.

Police said in June they became aware of Bowen when a Gloucester police officer - working undercover online to catch sexual predators - came in contact with him in an online chat room June 17. Prosecutors say Bowen used the screen name 'HOTLILFLGURL.'

With additional information obtained through a court order in Gloucester County Circuit Court, the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office obtained a list of additional America Online (AOL) screen names also believed to belong to Bowen:

SEEKELLDAZZLE2
DASTARISOUT
KBSOCIALSTUDIES
HOTLILFLGURL
DOINGYOUWELL
SEXXICHICKNVA
DANCEDYNAMICSVA
HOTTYCHEEERGIRL
NONRATED
NONRATED2

For tips on keeping your children safe while they're online, visit the websites below:

GetNetWise.Org

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

SafeKids.Com

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Microsoft

Virginia Attorney General 'Safe Surfing' Website for Kids

You'll need Real Player to view this video clip.

Posted by Nancy at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2005

67 clergy abuse complaints reported in '04

February 21, 2005 [Boston Globe] By Donovan Slack

The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston fielded 67 new complaints last year of sexual abuse by clergy, including one alleging abuse within the past 12 months, according to an archdiocese statement.

The allegations were made against 40 diocesan priests or deacons and 16 priests from religious orders, the statement said.

The bulk of the complaints involved alleged abuse in 1995 or earlier.

Results of the first annual survey of clergy abuse allegations and costs, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, were released Friday by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Boston Archdiocese spent $5 million on settlements of abuse claims and about $1 million on treatment of victims and their families, the statement from the archdiocese said.

It spent $740,000 on child protection initiatives, including training.

Since the sexual abuse scandal became public three years ago, the archdiocese said it has trained between 30,000 and 40,000 children in how to respond to abusive situations, and it has conducted approximately 60,000 criminal background checks on priests, staff members, and volunteers.

Nationally, 1,048 people came forward in 2004 to say they had been sexually abused by a priest or deacon, the audit shows, and American dioceses spent $157 million last year on abuse-related costs, including legal settlements. The Vatican defrocked 148 priests in 2004

Posted by Nancy at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2005

New Abuse Allegations In Catholic Church

February 18, 2005 [Associated Press]

Dubuque - Officials say that over the last two years, 34 individuals have reported incidents of child sexual abuse by priests to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Archbishop Jerome Hanus says in a letter to Catholic households in the archdiocese that each person comes forward with a story and often much hurt and pain. The archdiocese covers 30 northeast Iowa counties and the cities of Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Mason City.

Hanus' letter was meant to update members of the Archdiocese on its response to the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops say the 34 incidents are among 1,092 new allegations of sexual abuse that have been reported against at least 756 priests and deacons across the country.

Posted by Nancy at 11:49 PM | Comments (0)

Child abuse allegations skyrocket in ACT

February 18, 2005

Australia/New Zealand - The ACT Youth and Family Services Minister, Katy Gallagher, says she is extremely concerned about a near doubling of allegations of child abuse in the current financial year.

Reports are expected to reach 8,000 - around 20 calls a day.

Reports are expected to reach 8,000 - around 20 calls a day.

Ms Gallagher says the increased pressure has prevented child protection workers implementing recommendations from the Vardon report, aimed at prevention.

She says this may be helped when 30 additional workers from overseas arrive in the next couple of months.

But Ms Gallagher says the team is being kept busy with up to 650 calls a month, leaving little time to work on other areas.

"Ninety per cent of our energy is focused on the statutory end and we're not doing as much in the early intervention and prevention side as I would like," she said.

"I guess that's the aim of this reform program - to turn it around from the statutory end to the prevention side.

"But whilst these numbers continue to increase, we are not in a position to do that."

Ms Gallagher says a worrying aspect of the figures is the number of cases being substantiated.

Posted by Nancy at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2005

Defrocked Baltimore Priest Guilty Of Child Sex Abuse Charges

February 17, 2005 [Associated Press]

BALTIMORE - A jury convicted defrocked priest Maurice Blackwell of three of the four child sex abuse counts involving Dontee Stokes, an altar boy who shot Blackwell years later.

The verdict follows roughly 5.5 hours of jury deliberations over two days.

Blackwell showed no sign of emotion as the verdicts were read. He was acquitted on one charge, the abuse charge dating from 1989. The three guilty verdicts were for offenses that allegedly took place in 1990 and later.

After the verdict, Stokes said he felt vindicated. Stokes said, "Mr. Blackwell was at no point on trial. It was all about me." Stokes admitted he is not a perfect person, but said he was right and Blackwell was wrong.

Blackwell, 58, was accused of molesting Stokes, 29, when Blackwell was a Roman Catholic priest and Stokes a teenager in Baltimore. Stokes shot Blackwell three years ago.

Defense attorney Kenneth Ravenell said he and his client are disappointed with the verdict and the way the case was handled. He objected to police testimony about other victims of abuse, and said the case was decided on evidence the jury shouldn't have heard.

Ravenell said he will seek a retrial. If that fails, he said he would appeal that decision.

The attorney who defended Stokes at his trial for the shooting, Warren Brown, said Stokes stood up for "all those who were afraid to come forward." Brown said there are no plans for a civil suit, debunking claims that Stokes was after money.

Prosecutor Jo Anne Stanton praised the jury, saying it rose to confront a difficult task. She praised Stokes' bravery for coming forward and facing the attacks on his credibility.

Meanwhile, another man who said he was abused as a teenager by Blackwell, Robert Martin, 50, of Baton Rouge, La., said justice was done. Martin was at Stokes' side throughout the trial.

Blackwell was stripped of his church authority after acknowledging having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy in the early 1970s. The Vatican defrocked him in October.

Posted by Nancy at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2005

Westminster Man Pleads To Abuse Charge In Child's Death

February 16, 2005 [Associated Press]

Westminster, MD - A Westminster man will serve five years behind bars for his child abuse conviction in the death of his fiancee's young daughter.

Anthony Flakes, 48, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Tuesday.

The girl, 14-month-old Mikayla Barrett, died on Thanksgiving Day 2003 about three hours after she was left in Flakes' care when her mother went to work.

The medical examiner ruled the case a homicide due to asphyxiation and blunt trauma. Prosecutors said Flakes gave varying accounts of what happened.

Under the plea agreement, charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter were dropped.

Stay with TheWBALChannel.com and 11 News for the latest news updates.

Posted by Nancy at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2005

Defrocked Priest Sentenced for Raping Boy

February 15, 2005 [Associated Press]
By Denise Lavoie

Defrocked priest Paul Shanley, a central figure in the Boston Archdiocese clergy sex abuse scandal, was sentenced Tuesday to 12 to 15 years in prison for repeatedly molesting a boy at a suburban parish in the 1980s.

"It is difficult to imagine a more egregious misuse of trust and authority," Judge Stephen Neel said in imposing the term. But he turned aside a prosecutor's request for a life sentence

Shanley, 74, once known for a being a hip "street priest" who reached out to troubled children and homosexuals, was convicted last week of two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child.

He will eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of his sentence. He was also sentenced to 10 years' probation.

The case hinged on the reliability of the accuser's memories of the abuse, which he said he recovered three years ago as the clergy sex abuse scandal unfolded in the media.

Prosecutor Lynn Rooney had recommended a life sentence, saying Shanley used his position of authority to gain the trust of the boys he then molested.

"He used his collar and he used his worshipped status in that community," Rooney said. "There has been no remorse shown on the part of this defendant. There has been no acceptance of responsibility."

His lawyer, Frank Mondano, did not make a specific sentencing recommendation but asked Neel to allow Shanley to serve his sentence in a county house of correction rather than at a state prison.

He also said the prosecution's case was built on "vilification, half truths and lies." He has said he plans to appeal.

Shanley's accuser, now a 27-year-old firefighter in suburban Boston, said the former priest would pull him from Sunday morning catechism classes at St. Jean's parish in Newton and rape and fondle him. The abuse began in 1983, when he was 6 years old, and continued for six years, he said.

Rooney read a written statement by Shanley's accuser.

"I want him to die in prison," he said. "I hope it is slow and painful."

His wife addressed Shanley in court Tuesday, saying "no words can ever explain my disgust for you. You are a coward. You hid behind God."

"You robbed my little boy of his innocence," the accuser's father told Shanley. "You destroyed his understanding of good and bad and right and wrong."

Some inmate advocates say whatever prison term Shanley gets could amount to a death sentence.

Another key figure in the scandal in Massachusetts, former priest John Geoghan, was beaten and strangled behind bars in 2003, a year after being convicted of molesting a 10-year-old boy. A fellow prisoner later told investigators he killed Geoghan "to save the children."

"He's so high-profile that that puts a big target on his back," said James Pingeon, a lawyer at Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, a group that provides civil legal services to inmates. "We feel concerned. Obviously, he's a vulnerable person because of his notoriety and his age."

Posted by Nancy at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2005

Barnardos tells of Ulster's growing trade in child sex

February 14, 2005 [Belfast Telegraph] By Jonathan McCambridge

Children's charity Barnardos has warned about the growing number of young people being illegally brought to the province as child prostitutes.

The charity and the PSNI recently briefed the Policing Board on the growing problem of sexual exploitation of children through prostitution and trafficking.

Barnardos is running a campaign 'Beyond the Shadows' as well as awareness training programmes.

Jacqui Montgomery Devlin from Barnardos said: "Sexual exploitation is a hidden problem and just because people don't see it on the streets doesn't mean it is not happening here.

"Our task has been to initiate an awareness training programme on this and to date we have spoken to more than 1,000 people working in social and youth work, education, housing and members of the PSNI."

The charity also stressed the dangers of new technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet.

It said the use of such technologies has made the abuse of children through prostitution even easier to hide.

Detective Chief Inspector William McAuley said: "Police recognise that child sexual abuse throughout the UK has become a very significant issue for society.

"Recorded cases are increasing year on year and neither the process of crime recording, the national crime survey for the NI Crime Survey have picked up on the size of the problem.

"We know from research carried out by both statutory and non-statutory child protection agencies that somewhere around 70% of child sexual abuse does not come to the attention of the police. Of those cases that are reported only about 8% are cleared by way of criminal prosecution.

"It is important that statutory bodies now start directing resources towards pro-active rather than reactive initiatives to address this serious issue."

Policing Board vice-chairman Denis Bradley said: "The protection of children from abuse including sexual exploitation is the responsibility of all in the wider community."

Posted by Nancy at 08:35 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2005

Four Priests Defrocked for Alleged Abuse

February 12, 2005 [Associated Press}

BOSTON — Four priests accused of sexually abusing children have been defrocked by the Vatican, the Boston Archdiocese said.

Robert D. Fay, Kelvin Iguabita, Bernard Lane and Robert Ward are "no longer in the clerical state," meaning they can no longer function as priests and will no longer receive any financial support from the Boston Archdiocese, the archdiocese announced Friday.

Iguabita was convicted in June 2003 of raping a 15-year-old girl while he was assigned to a church in Haverhill in 2000. He was sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison.

Lane was accused by at least 17 men of abusing them as children. Some of the alleged abuse took place at the Alpha Omega House for troubled youth in Littleton, a facility he founded and directed in the 1970s. Lane retired in 1999, but remained a priest.

Fay was accused of molesting a Melrose teenager in the 1970s at a New Hampshire home, according to a lawsuit included in Fay's archdiocese personnel file. He has denied the allegations.

Ward was suspended by the archdiocese in February 2002 after it received an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a minor. Ward previously had several church assignments and later worked in the archdiocese's development office.

The four men can no longer perform any priestly duties, with the exception of offering absolution to the dying.

Several other priests from the Boston Archdiocese have been defrocked after being accused of sexual abuse, including John Geoghan, who was convicted in 2002 of molesting a 10-year-old boy and was killed in prison in 2003.

Paul Shanley, who was convicted earlier this week on child rape and indecent assault charges, was defrocked last year.

Posted by Nancy at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2005

Priest's assailant recalls sex abuse

February 11, 2005 [Associated Press]

BALTIMORE (AP) - A man who shot and wounded a former priest three years ago, accusing him of abuse, testified against him Friday.

The former priest, Maurice Blackwell, is charged with four counts of child sex abuse. His accuser, Dontee Stokes, served home detention for accosting him on a city street in 2002 and shooting him.

Stokes, 29, said pats on the back and ear-tugging from the popular priest led to sexual molestation. But the former altar boy acknowledged that he told no one about the abuse until a year after it ended.

"I didn't want to get him in trouble and have him removed," Stokes said.

Defense attorney Kenneth Ravenell suggested Stokes has trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, referring to reports from psychologists after Stokes' arrest for shooting Blackwell, and Stokes' belief that a friend who died once took possession of his body.

Stokes acknowledged the out-of-body experiences, testifying "It has happened kind of often."

But he emphasized the alleged abuse was real. "Mr. Blackwell did what I said he did to me," Stokes testified.

In opening statements earlier Friday, lawyers for Blackwell described Stokes as a confused young man, afraid to admit he was a homosexual for fear of being ostracized by his family.

Prosecutors disagreed.

"This is a case about faith and trust and a violation of that faith and trust," prosecutor Joanne Stanton said.

Once a highly regarded pastor at St. Edward's, Blackwell is accused of abusing Stokes between 1989 and 1992. He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

Stokes made his allegations in 1993, at age 17, but prosecutors declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence. Blackwell was returned to the church after receiving psychological counseling.

Blackwell was stripped of his church authority in 1998, after acknowledging having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy in the early 1970s.

In May 2002, in the midst of the national scandal involving Catholic priests, Stokes confronted Blackwell on a city street and shot him three times. After the shooting, prosecutors reviewed Stokes' allegations and charged Blackwell.

Stokes was acquitted of attempted murder in December 2002, but convicted on gun charges.

Posted by Nancy at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)

Accuser who shot ex-priest testifies

Dontee Stokes says pats on the back led to molestation
February 11, 2005 [Associated Press]

The former priest, Maurice Blackwell, is charged with four counts of child sex abuse.

His accuser, Dontee Stokes, served home detention for accosting him on a city street in 2002 and shooting him.

Using explicit language and demonstrating with gestures, Stokes, 29, said pats on the back and ear-tugging from the popular priest led to sexual molestation.

He testified he was "in disbelief" and "disgusted."

But the former altar boy acknowledged that he told no one about the abuse until a year after it ended.

"I didn't want to get him in trouble and have him removed," Stokes said.

In opening statements earlier Friday, lawyers for Blackwell described Stokes as a confused young man afraid to admit he was a homosexual for fear of being ostrascized by his family.

Prosecutors disagreed.

"This is a case about faith and trust and a violation of that faith and trust," said prosecutor Joanne Stanton.

Once a highly regarded pastor at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Baltimore, Blackwell is accused of abusing Stokes between 1989 and 1992. He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

Stokes made his allegations in 1993, at age 17, but prosecutors declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.

Blackwell was returned to the church after receiving psychological counseling.

Blackwell was stripped of his church authority in 1998, after acknowledging having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy in the early 1970s. He was defrocked by the Vatican in October.

In May 2002, in the midst of the national scandal involving Catholic priests, Stokes confronted Blackwell on a city street and shot him three times.

After the shooting, prosecutors reviewed Stokes' allegations and charged Blackwell.

Stokes was acquitted of attempted murder in December 2002, but convicted on gun charges.

Posted by Nancy at 01:38 AM | Comments (0)

Montgomery woman convicted of child abuse in toddler scalding

February 11, 2005 [The Associated Press]

A jury convicted a Montgomery woman Friday of child abuse for severely scalding a 2-year-old boy in her foster care a year ago.

Velnetia Williams, 38, who may receive up to 10 years in prison, remains free on $10,000 bond. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 28

Williams had testified that the boy turned scalding water on himself in a bathtub while she had left him for a few seconds to get his pajamas, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, which reported Friday's verdict.

She also told the court she wasn't aware of the seriousness of the burns until the following day. Williams said she had almost arrived at the emergency room when she panicked and returned home, fearing repercussions from the Department of Human Resources. A pastor finally convinced her to seek medical attention for the child.

"He had little blisters, but they weren't big or major," she testified.

But a state's expert, Dr. James Lauridson, rebutted her testimony, saying the photographs of the burns indicated that hot water was poured down the back of the child's pants.

Lauridson presented graphic photographs to the jury of the boy's second-degree burns, saying the blistering could not have occurred in the bathtub as Williams had suggested.

"He would have backed out," the doctor testified. "People don't stay in hot water long enough to get second-degree burns."

Williams testified that she had cared for 16 children under DHR's foster care program and never had a serious problems in the past, though she did admit to using corporal punishment on some of the children.

Prosecutors, however, elicited testimony from Williams that two children had been removed from her care in 2000 and 2001

Posted by Nancy at 01:27 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2005

Child abuse prevalent in Miss.

February 10, 2005 [Daily Mississippian]
By Hannah Donegan, Staff Reporter

Though there have been numerous cases of child abuse in the news, many people do not believe child abuse can happen in their family or community. However, child abuse is prevalent everywhere, including Mississippi.

According to the Associated Press, a Florida couple, John and Linda Dollar, faces multiple counts of aggravated child abuse. The Dollars’ adopted children had been subjected to multiple forms of child abuse, including malnutrition, electric shock and being locked in a closet.

A young Texas couple also faces charges of injuring a child after they took their 6-month-old daughter to the hospital. The baby suffered from several broken bones, her tongue had been nearly severed and she had been sexually assaulted. The baby’s 15-month-old sister had also been abused.

The Mississippi Code, in Section 43-21-105, defines an abused child as a child whose parent, guardian or any other person responsible for the child, whether or not they are legally obligated, has caused sexual abuse or exploitation, emotional abuse, mental injury, non-accidental physical injury or other mistreatment.

Physical discipline is not considered abuse as long as it is performed in a reasonable manner by a parent, guardian or custodian, according to the statute.

In 2003, Mississippi Department of Human Services investigated 17,278 reports of child abuse involving 28,388 children in the state.

There were 835 cases of evidenced sexual abuse, 1,341 evidenced cases of physical abuse and 288 evidenced cases of emotional abuse, according to the Mississippi DHS Web site, http://www.mdh.state.ms.us.

Repeated attempts to get information from the Lafayette County Department of Human Services failed.

There is no substantiation needed to report abuse, according to Lea Anne Lemmons, interim executive directory of the Family Crisis Center of Northwest Mississippi.

“You don’t have to have any proof that anything’s happened,” Lemmons said.

Because there are no federal child abuse reporting laws, laws vary from state to state, according to Sam Davis, dean and professor of law at Ole Miss.

Section 43-21-353 of the Mississippi Code puts a mandate on attorneys, physicians, healthcare workers such as nurses, psychologists, ministers, law enforcement officers, caregivers and school employees to report abuse.

The first child abuse reporting laws in the United States were enacted in the early- to mid-1960s after medical studies revealled broken bones, bruises, lacerations and burns were identified in many children as Battered Child Syndrome, Davis said.

These laws set up mandates determing who was required to report abuse and gave immunity from civil suits to those who report abuse in good faith, according to Davis.

According to Davis, the definition of child abuse has been expanding to include psychological and emotional abuse, as well as sexual abuse which may or may not result in a physical injury.

Exploitation, such as child pornography, was added after a longer period of time starting in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Davis said.

Davis also said the average person may not know a lot about abuse or be able to identify abuse when they see it

“If in doubt, report it,” Davis said.

In 2002, there were 1,400 child fatalities due to abuse and neglect nationwide.

Of these deaths, 41 percent were under the age of 1, according to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information.

One or both parents were involved in 79 percent of the fatalities.

Posted by Nancy at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2005

State: 19 deaths in homes with previous child abuse

February 9, 2005 [Associated Press]

Abuse deaths totaled 57 over a 12-month period from 2003 to 2004

INDIANAPOLIS — Child protection caseworkers had confirmed cases of abuse or neglect in the homes of at least 19 children who died during a 12-month period that ended last year, a new state report said.

Those deaths were among 57 that state officials blamed on abuse for the time between July 2003 and the end of June 2004

The 19 deaths in homes with previous abuse cases represented an increase from 11 during the same time one year earlier. The report released Monday by the state Department of Child Services said five of the deaths were in families that had three or more substantiated cases of abuse or neglect.

James Payne, who became the agency’s director last month, said those 19 deaths were “unacceptable,” but that they could reflect the struggles of caseworkers overwhelmed by a large number of cases they must handle.

“When you are struggling just to stop the bleeding, the prevention message doesn’t always get through,” Payne told The Indianapolis Star for a story Tuesday.

Statewide, 22 deaths were attributed to abuse and 35 were blamed on neglect – defined as failure to provide for basic needs and safety.

As has been the trend in past years, children younger than 6 accounted for the majority of the state’s child abuse and neglect fatalities. The report showed three out of four abuse victims and half the neglect victims were 5 or younger. Parents were the main perpetrators, with those between ages 20 and 24 making up the largest group.

Payne said the report countered common stereotypes about abuse and neglect.

“What people like to think is that this is somebody else — ‘those people,’” he said. “But when we look at these statistics, it shows that abuse and neglect and the stress factors cut across those perceived lines of age, race, gender and marital status.”

Child advocates say that while the 19 deaths that occurred in families with previous abuse cases showed the need for more effective government services, the other 38 deaths indicated the need for solutions beyond the child protection agency.

“In many cases, people like spouses, parents, grandparents and neighbors often have more information than CPS,” said Dr. Roberta Hibbard, chairwoman of the Child Abuse Program at Riley Hospital for Children. “In a significant number of the devastating and lethal cases I see, there were clues but everyone wanted to believe the innocent story.”

The 57 child abuse or neglect deaths reported during the 12-month period continued a decade-long trend of at least one such death during an average week in Indiana. Those deaths were six more than the number recorded during the previous year.

Abuse causes
Causes of the abuse or neglect deaths of 57 children in Indiana between July 2003 and the end of June 2004:

♦Physical abuse and beating: 12
♦Motor-vehicle accident: 11
♦Fire: 6
♦Drowning: 5
♦Poisoning: 5
♦Gun-related: 4
♦Medical neglect: 4
♦Other or undetermined: 10

Source: Indiana Department of Child Services

Posted by Nancy at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2005

‘Victory,’ vindication: Former priest convicted in landmark abuse case

February 8, 2005 [Boston Herald]
By Brian Ballou and J.M. Lawrence

Defrocked Roman Catholic priest Paul Shanley became a convicted child rapist yesterday, bringing an end to a case that came to embody the church abuse crisis that shook the Boston archdiocese.

"This is a victory for the many, many people victimized by Paul Shanley", said attorney Carmen Durso, representing seven people who claim they were sexually abused by Shanley between 1963 and 1994.

At trial, Shanley's accuser testified he was groped and raped by Shanley in the early 1980s at St. Jean's Catholic Church in Newton. The victim, a member of the parish's CCD class when Shanley was assigned there, said Shanley carried out the assaults beginning when he was 6 in the bathroom, the rectory, the pews and the confessional.

The jury deliberated for 14 hours before finding Shanley guilty of two counts of child rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

Juror Patrick Kierce said prosecutor Lynn Rooney nailed the case. ``She hit every point she needed to. Where they put some bit of doubt, she canceled it when she got back up,'' Kierce said last night.

Kierce said a combination of the victim's ``heartfelt'' testimony coupled with the testimony of the victim's wife made him believe Shanley was a child molester.

Kierce was unimpressed by defense attorney Frank Mondano's only witness, a California psychologist who testified she did not believe victims could recover memories of trauma years later. The juror said he found Elizabeth Loftus' statements ``contradictory.''

Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley revealed yesterday how close the case came to falling apart two weeks ago when the accuser made a tearful plea to spare him from another day of emotionally wrenching testimony.

``If that young man had not come back into the courtroom, we would have had to let the case go,'' Coakley said. ``This has been a very long journey for everyone involved in this case, but especially for the victim and his family.''

One of Durso's clients, John Ha