Jerry Sandusky, ex-Penn State Coach, Guilty on 45 of 48 Sex Abuse Counts

He may not last long in jail...

ABC- Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of nearly all of the allegations of child sex abuse leveled against him.




After 20 hours of sequestered deliberations, the jury of seven women and five men read 45 "guilty" verdicts late Friday as Sandusky stood and looked at the jury with his left hand in a pocket of his brown sport coat. There were three not-guilty verdicts.



One of the victims -- identified as Victim 6 during the proceedings -- was surrounded by his family and they cried as the verdict was read.



After court was adjourned, the former Penn State defensive coordinator was led in handcuffs to a waiting police car to be taken to the local county jail.



"The legal process has spoken and we have tremendous respect for the men who came forward to tell their stories publicly. No verdict can undo the pain and suffering caused by Mr. Sandusky, but we do hope this judgment helps the victims and their families along their path to healing," Penn State president Rodney Erickson said in a statement.



Sandusky likely will be sentenced to life in prison. He faces a maximum sentence of 442 years and will be sentenced in approximately 90 days.



Sandusky's wife, Dottie, looked forward stoically as the counts were read off and her husband repeatedly was found guilty. At one point, dozens of counts in, she started shaking her head.



Sandusky's daughter, Kara, broke down as her dad was handcuffed, and held her hand over her heart as her father walked out of court.


The jury found Sandusky not guilty of three sex abuse crimes, including the alleged rape of Victim 2, the boy assistant coach Mike McQueary said he saw being raped by Sandusky in a Penn State locker room shower in 2001. He was also acquitted of indecent assault on Victim 5, who testified in court, and Victim 8, who was the subject of an eyewitness account from a Penn State janitor.




Sandusky and his lawyers, along with prosecutors, had been summoned to court to hear the verdict. Assembled spectators shouted jeers such as "pervert" as Sandusky and his wife walked into the courthouse lit up by flashbulb bursts.



The crowd of hundreds outside the courthouse let out a cheer as word emerged that Sandusky was guilty.



After the verdict, Attorney General Linda Kelly said the jury believed that Sandusky "calculatingly and with meticulous planning mercilessly preyed" upon his victims.



"The jury here in Bellefonte, Pa., would and did believe a kid," she said, referring to testimony by Sandusky's victims. "I hope this outcome allows the victims to heal and encourages other victims to come forward."



Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, said the defense plans to appeal the guilty verdicts, arguing it was not prepared to go to trial as soon as the judge ordered.



"The Sandusky family is very disappointed, obviously, by the verdict of the jury but we respect their verdict," he said. "We had a tidal wave of public opinion against Jerry Sandusky."



He added that Sandusky fully planned to testify in his own defense, but the plan to have him do so was scuttled when the prosecution threatened to have Matt Sandusky, his adopted son, testify as a rebuttal witness that he was molested by his father.



After the verdict, the family of the late Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State head coach who was Sandusky's boss, released a statement.



"Although we understand the task of healing is just beginning, today's verdict is an important milestone," it read. "The community owes a measure of gratitude to the jurors for their diligent service. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims and their families."

The two-week trial was remarkable for the graphic tales of abuse that ranged from Sandusky playing tickle monster in the shower to aggressive sex including oral and anal sex on boys as young as 8. At one point, jurors were brought to tears by the testimony of the alleged victims who are now grown men.




The defense scored some points back during week two of the trial by putting Sandusky's wife on the stand and hearing her testify that she never saw anything inappropriate between her husband and children and knew some of the accusers to have behavioral issues. They also poked holes in the stories of two lead investigators on the case by showing that the men told potential victims that others had already come forward claiming Sandusky raped them.



During 30 hours of testimony over two weeks, the jury heard from eight accusers, one eyewitness, a string of character witnesses testifying to Sandusky's character, and members of the police who investigated the case.




Two people the jury did not hear from include Sandusky himself, who waived his right to testify, and Sandusky's adopted son Matt. Matt Sandusky was one of his father's most ardent supporters following Sandusky's November arrest, but contacted prosecutors at the end of last week saying he was, in fact, a victim of his father's abuse and would be willing to testify, sources told ABC News. The prosecution did not put him on the stand, and the revelations about Matt Sandusky's willingness to testify are not known by the jury and will not factor into deliberations.

Heroic Father Kills Man Who Molested His Daughter, Gets Away With It

ROOT ROOT ROOT!

Gossip- Deputies in Texas say that they are NOT going to pursue charges against a father who used his bare hands to kill another man after he caught him sexually assaulting his 4-year-old daughter.


According to CNN, during a social gathering last Saturday (Jun 9) at his home in Lavaca County, Texas … the father caught a 47-year-old man — whom he was reportedly “casually acquainted” with — attempting to molest his daughter, who had earlier disappeared inside the home, while other family members were outside tending to horses.

Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon says that when the homeowner caught the acquaintance in the act of molesting his young daughter (after hearing her scream), he reacted by repeatedly punching him in the head and face.



The father claims he heard screaming from the barn and arrived to find the man molesting his daughter.



The father struck the would-be abuser so hard, that he was instantly killed … and he was pronounced dead at the scene by responding paramedics.



The names of the father and daughter haven’t been released in an effort to protect the identity of the 4-year-old victim, who was described by Sheriff Harmon as “okay, besides the obvious mental trauma” of the incident.



Pending the announcement of his death to his family, the name of the pedophile wasn’t released either … but officials say he was a ranch hand from the nearby town of Gonzales.



The Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office says that they will defer the case to a grand jury to decide whether or not charges will be brought against the father, who is being hailed as a hero.



“You have a right to defend your daughter,” Harmon told CNN. “[The girl's father] acted in defense of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him.”



Harmon said that the dad was “very remorseful,” and he had no intentions of killing the man.



He was just a father trying to protect his daughter, and he definitely succeeded. (Just in time for Father’s Day, too!)

A preliminary autopsy report indicated that the victim — who definitely got what he deserved — died as the result of “blunt-force head and neck injuries.”

Father Being Charged in Deaths of Alabama Children

(CNN) -- Police believe they found the skeletal remains of a 3-year-old Alabama boy and were charging his father with two counts of murder as they prepared to search for the man's missing young daughter, also believed dead, authorities said Wednesday.

Authorities are working to verify the remains found Wednesday near Vancleave, Mississippi, belong to Jonathan Chase DeBlase. Police believe he was killed by his father, John Joseph DeBlase, 27, and the father's girlfriend.

Jonathan had not been seen since June, police in Mobile, Alabama, said. Investigators believe he was slain around that time. His sister, 4-year-old Natalie, was last seen in March, when authorities believe she was killed. Earlier, police had reversed the order of the last sightings of the children, but they clarified that timeline Wednesday.

Police, who did not know the children were missing until November 19, contend that the elder DeBlase allowed the girlfriend, Heather Keaton, to abuse the children by restraining them with tape, putting socks in their mouths and confining them.

The boy's skeletal remains were found about 12 miles north of Vancleave, after the boy's father -- who is in police custody in Alabama -- gave authorities information on where the body might be buried, said Jackson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Mike Byrd.

"It was the father who gave us the general area," Byrd told HLN. "He wasn't real sure exactly where he was. ... He claimed he had taken a lot of sleeping pills and didn't quite remember exactly where he was."

Based on that information, the sheriff's office cordoned off a five-mile stretch along a highway and dispatched eight 10-man teams to locate the remains. The body was found about 10:30 a.m., Byrd said.

"We're very certain" the remains are that of the missing boy, Byrd said. "We're just thankful that we found this little boy. Nothing's left but just the skeletal remains."

The body of Natalie DeBlase has not been found, Byrd said, but he indicated authorities believe it near Citronelle, Alabama, about 50 miles north of Mobile.

A spokesman for Mobile Police told HLN that prosecutors are signing two murder warrants against John DeBlase.

Authorities will decide in the next few days whether to charge Keaton in the deaths, Officer Christopher Levy said.

Police believe both children died in Mobile, Levy said.

Levy was not sure when the search for Natalie near Citronelle will begin in earnest.

"This is a one-step-at-a-time, one-day-at-a-time operation," Levy said. "We've had some success with it today. We're going to evaluate our results, then begin the next step."

Levy said he was relieved at the new findings, but said the investigation had taken a toll.

"I have kids that are of similar age and it makes me think about them while I'm out here," Levy told HLN.

Investigators believe that after Jonathan's death, John DeBlase, Keaton and Natalie continued to live in the Peach Place Apartments in Mobile for months, Levy said Monday. They didn't leave until the summer, after Natalie was last seen in June.

"It's really terrible, as if nobody really cared," Levy said of the time that transpired between the sightings and launch of the search. "That's what we can't seem to understand at this point."

Both DeBlase and Keaton are now in custody, and blaming each other for the siblings' deaths.

The investigation kicked off November 18, when Keaton told Louisville, Kentucky, police that she needed protection from DeBlase, who she claimed was holding her against her will.

According to the domestic violence petition, signed "Heather L. Leavell-Keaton," she said, "I feel he may have murdered his children, because he said they were non-responsive. He would not let me check on them." She said DeBlase had told her "choices were made ... and he had to do what he had to do."

Keaton was arrested last week, charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child.

Three days later, Randall Melville -- who for two days had been hosting DeBlase, his longtime friend -- called Santa Rosa County, Florida, police after hearing news reports about the children's disappearance, according to a report from the county sheriff's department.

When Melville asked DeBlase about it, the children's father yelled, "I didn't do it" and left the home, the report said. Police eventually tracked down DeBlase, who again asserted his innocence before his arrest Friday.

He had been charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and two counts of abuse of a corpse -- the latter because, Levy said, of his "disposing of the bodies in the woods."

DeBlase had a first appearance on the abuse charges Wednesday and a judge entered a not guilty plea, said Jim Sears, who was assigned to represent the father at the Mobile proceedings.

Sears described his client as being very upset about developments. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 4.

On Monday, Mobile County District Judge Charles McKnight set bail for DeBlase at $206,000 -- $100,000 each for the child abuse charges and $3,000 for each count of corpse abuse, according to CNN affiliate WALA.

According to a police complaint, DeBlase between March 1 and November 19 allowed Keaton to tape Natalie's hands and feet, put a sock in her mouth and place her in a suitcase that was put in a closet for 14 hours. He also allowed Keaton to tape Jonathan's hands to the side of his legs, tape a broom handle to his back, place a sock in his mouth and then make the child stand in a corner all night when the couple went to bed.

DeBlase and Keaton had one infant daughter together, according to Keaton's account in the Kentucky police report. Police said one reason Keaton claimed she needed protection from DeBlase was that she feared for the safety of the infant, who was with her in Kentucky.

Levy said the two slain children's biological mother lives in Mobile, but she did not have custody "because, at the time, she didn't have a place to live."

Girlfriend Faces Upgraded Charges in Case of Tortured Alabama Kids

ABC- The girlfriend of John DeBlase, the Alabama man accused of murdering and discarding of the bodies of his two young children, is on her way back to Alabama where she will face upgraded charges, court officials told ABC News.

One attorney involved in the case said he expects the woman to be charged with murder.

Heather Leavell-Keaton is expected to arrive in Mobile, Ala., later today. She is currently charged with child abuse, but police want to talk to her about the deaths of DeBlase's 3-year-old son Chase and 5-year-old daughter Natalie.

Natalie was killed and buried in Alabama in March and Chase was killed and buried in Mississippi in June, police said. Mobile Police Officer Christopher Levy said confusion over DeBlase's statements initially led to believe that the boy was the first to die.

Neither child was reported missing until November when Leavell-Keaton went to police saying she feared for the safety of an infant that she had with DeBlase. The baby is currently in state custody.

DeBlase is already charged with two counts of murder. DeBlase's lawyer Jim Sears told ABC News told ABC News today that he was informed that Leavell-Keaton would also be charged with murder when she arrives in Alabama.

"She will be charged with the murders, that's my understanding from the prosecutors," Sears said.

Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson would not confirm Sears' statement.

"At this point murder charges are not authorized by the facts we have discovered. Any investigation takes as long as it takes, and we will absolutely charge what we can as the facts are discovered," Tyson said.

"Currently we have upgraded her charges to aggravated child abuse, abuse of corpses... The investigation is vigorous, ongoing," he said.

Leavell-Keaton was being held in Louisville, Ky., on charges of child abuse in connection to the case. According to arrest warrants from the Mobile Police Department, she has been accused of submitting Chase and Natalie DeBlase to horrific abuse.

The arrest warrant charges DeBlase with allowing Leavell-Keaton to torture Chase while the two slept.

"Allowing Heather Leavell-Keaton (his girlfriend) to duck-tape the childs hands to the side of his legs, tape a broom handle to his back, placing a sock in his mouth and duck-taping it to his mouth, then making the child stand in a corner all night when they went to bed," the warrant says.

According to police Natalie was not spared the abuse allegedly meted out by DeBlase and Leavell-Keaton, his girlfriend since 2008.

A separate arrest warrant outlines that Deblase allegedly allowed Leavell-Keaton to duct-tape Natalie's hands and feet before stuffing her in a suitcase.

"Duck-tape the child's hands and feet, place a sock in her mouth, place her inside a black suitcase and leave it inside a closet from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.," the warrant says.

Police have not yet given a cause of death for Chase or Natalie, but they believe the abuse played a major factor.

-more details-

Baby Injured During At-Home Circumcision

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A 3-month-old child was taken to a hospital in critical condition after his mother attempted to circumcise him at home, police said.

Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson said officers arrived at a home at Northeast 127th Avenue and Burnside Street at about 2 a.m. Sunday to assist medics after a call of an injured child.

Police said they learned the mother had attempted to perform a medical procedure on the infant.

The child was taken to a hospital, Simpson said, and is expected to survive.

Detectives from the police bureau’s child abuse team and state officials are investigating.

No arrests have been made at this point, Simpson said.

Dad Charged With Murder In Toddlers' Deaths

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- A metro Detroit man declared, "I didn't hurt my babies," after he was arraigned on murder charges Friday in the drowning deaths of his two toddlers.

Steven Nicholson sobbed as he entered the 24th District Court in Allen Park and listened as a judge read the charges against him: two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony homicide and two counts of child abuse. If convicted, he could spend life in prison.

His daughter, 15-month-old Ella Stafford, and his son, 13-month-old Jonathon Sanderlin, were discovered unresponsive in Nicholson's Allen Park apartment on Tuesday -- after Nicholson called 911at about 2 a.m..

When officers arrived, Nicholson was sitting on the floor with the bodies in front of him, Allen Park police Detective Jeff Miller told a judge.

Nicholson told police that he woke up and found the kids in the bathtub but his statements are "inconsistent with evidence found at the scene," Miller said without elaborating.

The Wayne County medical examiner ruled that the toddlers died from drowning and scalding.

Nicholson was being held without bond. No defense attorney was present at the court and it was unclear if he had retained one.

“The alleged facts in this case have affected even the most seasoned prosecutors in this office," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. "We stand ready to bring this case to justice in a court of law."

Local 4 has learned Ella Stafford's mother, Taylor Stafford, was questioned by Allen Park police in connection with the case.

Police said they asked the mother pointed questions about where she was the night the children died.

Several neighbors reported to police that Taylor Stafford was at the home and fighting with Nicholson in the hours before the children were found dead. However, police said Nicholson told investigators he was the only adult home when the children died.

Stafford said she was supposed to go to a movie Monday night with Nicholson, but when he didn't call, she went to bed. The next morning, she found a missed call from him -- about the time police said he called 911.

"Right now, I'm trying to get them to give me a polygraph test, get my phone numbers, get my phone records. They have permission to do all that," Taylor Stafford said.

Nicholson's aunt, Sandra Kirby, told Local 4 she spoke to him on the phone while he was in police custody.

"He was broken down. He was crying, hysterically crying, and the words he said to me, 'Aunt Sandy, I did not hurt my babies. You know what those babies meant to me' and I do believe him because I seen him with them," she said.

“I’ve never been through this before. So, my first instinct, because I know Steve Nicholson so well, was that it was done intentionally,” said Jonathan’s mother, Sara McGee.

The children's mothers said they had talked recently about concerns for their children’s safety.

In one e-mail, she wrote to McGee that she thought the children were being abused.

“We’ve been fighting so hard to get the babies out of the house, but nobody would listen to us,” McGee said.

Police said Nicholson had full custody of Jonathon and court-ordered visitations with Ella.

McGee said she never trusted Nicholson and didn’t want him to be a part of raising her son, so she moved to Cadillac, Mich.

She said she was contacted by the court and told that Nicholson had been given sole custody because it had been decided that she was attempting to kidnap the child by leaving the area and refusing to allow Nicholson to see him.

“I’ve been through the police, I’ve been through the friend of the court, I’ve been through Child Protective Services numerous times, and nobody would listen to me,” McGee said. “Even when I brought evidence, they didn’t do anything.”

Police said Nicholson maintains that the children somehow turned on the tub and got in.

“He was such a good dad. Every time I seen him, he was feeding them or bathing them or taking care of them,” said Nicholson’s cousin, Dawn Hood.

Hood said Nicholson has called family members from jail and told them exactly what happened.

“He went toward the bathroom to open the door and found his baby girl on the floor and his baby son in the bathtub,” she said.

According to court records, Nicholson has convictions for possessing and distributing cocaine and drunken driving. His license has been suspended numerous times.


More than 50 people gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in Champaign Park outside the Valley Springs Apartments.

The public vigil was organized with help from Allen Park police.

Ella Stafford’s grandmother, Renne Demery, said Nicholson treated her granddaughter better than Jonathon, and that she had contacted Child Protective Services recently.

"Because over the summer, he sat him on one of the chairs on the back and the baby fell on his head and he grabbed him by the arm and yanked him," Demery said.

Police said officers have been called to Nicholson’s home several times for reports of domestic abuse.

Demery said she is estranged from Nicholson because he is dependent on alcohol and has been abusive.

"He would drink all day. Sip on a fifths all day. I would say, 'You can't do that. When you have children you have to give up your good life. You can't do that,'" Demery said.

Neighbor Candice Curcio said she often found the father roughhousing with the children.

"He would push them away, like, 'Come on, let's go, get in the house.' He was just very rough with them," said Curcio.

"Two little babies lost their lives and that's the long and short of it," said the Valley Springs Apartments owner Nancy Dascenzo. "I am destroyed that this could happen here, anywhere. Two little babies lost their lives."

A burial fund has been set up for Ella Stafford. Donations can be made to the Ella Gray Stafford fund at any Fifth Third Bank in metro Detroit.

Ella Stafford's funeral was Friday at the Martenson Funeral Home on Allen Road. Services will be held at the same home Saturday at 10 a.m.

The funeral for Johnathan Sanderlin will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Peterson Funeral Home in Cadillac, Mich. Visitation was Friday afternoon.

Update on Shylea Myza Thomas's Murder Case

You might remember poor little Shylea, the quadropolegic girl found dead in a garbage bin..

Well, I seemed to have missed news articles updating the case, but feel better knowing they have an arrest in the case- her adoptive mother/biological aunt.

Here are a few articles to catch us all up on, I know a few of you were interested in the case by viewing the last post's comments..

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Mom Charged With Quadriplegic Kid's Murder
(CBS/AP) The mother of a 9-year-old quadriplegic girl whose body was found stuffed in a storage bin was charged Friday with her murder.

Lorrie Thomas was expected to be arraigned later Friday in a Flint courtroom on charges including second-degree murder, child abuse, tampering with evidence and welfare fraud.

Thomas, 39, has been in custody since Wednesday, when investigators found Shylea Myza Thomas's body in a locked storage unit near Flint, which is 65 miles northwest of Detroit. The body was in a black trash bag and stuffed into a plastic bin with mothballs to cover up the smell.

Authorities have not said what caused Shylea's death, but Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said that she suffered from "severe, ongoing malnutrition and neglect" before her death.

Leyton said at a news conference that Shylea weighed 33 pounds, about half her weight of 61 pounds in August 2007, and had untreated bed sores and bones sticking through skin.

Thomas was Shylea's adoptive mother. The woman's cousin Josette Thomas, 39, said Lorrie Thomas "is not a bad person. Something happened. She panicked and made a mistake."

Shylea had been taken out of school in January, and relatives told state officials they had not seen her in six weeks.

Seven other children ranging in age from 3 months to 15 years were removed from Lorrie Thomas' Flint home and are now in foster care.

The case unfolded this week when relatives of the girl told the state Department of Human Services about possible neglect and said they hadn't seen the child in six weeks.

A case worker, Aaron Clum, visited the home Monday and was unable to confirm Shylea's whereabouts, according to a court document filed in the family division of the Genesee County Circuit Court. According to Clum, Thomas told him the family was moving to Virginia and the girl was on her way with a friend.

On Tuesday, the department asked Flint police to investigate. Thomas again insisted Shylea was bound for Virginia, Clum wrote, but that could not be confirmed.

Shylea's body was found early Wednesday morning hidden in a unit at Stor & Lock in Vienna Township.

Shylea had been paralyzed since nearly suffocating in her crib when she was 3 months old, Leyton said. She lived with several relatives in a Flint home that the prosecutor described as "absolutely filthy."

Leyton said he didn't know the whereabouts of Shylea's biological mother.

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Mom Doesn't Blame Sister In Girl's Death
FLINT, Mich. -- The birth mother of a 9-year-old quadriplegic Flint girl who starved to death is defending the adoptive mom charged in the case.

Rachel Thomas said she wants to hug Lorrie Thomas, who is in the Genesee County jail, charged with second-degree murder. The women are sisters.

Lorrie Thomas is accused of stashing the body of Shylae Thomas in a Flint-area storage unit.

Shylea Myza Thomas weighed 33 pounds at her death -- about half her weight of 61 pounds in August 2007, prosecutors said at a news conference. The girl had untreated bed sores and bones sticking through skin.

"She was denied food," Prosecutor David Leyton. "We place that solely on the shoulders of the defendant."

Lorrie Thomas adopted her niece in 2003 after Rachel Thomas lost parental rights.

In an interview published Friday by The Flint Journal, Rachel Thomas said she believes Shylae died of natural causes. She said Lorrie Thomas loved the girl too much to throw her out "like garbage."

Leyton said Rachel Thomas' opinion doesn't mean much after she lost rights to five children.

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Prosecutor: Dead Mich. girl severely underweight
FLINT, Mich. (AP) -A prosecutor says a 9-year-old quadriplegic Michigan girl whose body was found in a storage unit suffered from "severe, ongoing malnutrition and neglect" before her death.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton on Friday charged the girl's adoptive mother with six counts, including second-degree murder, child abuse, tampering with evidence and welfare fraud.

Leyton said at a news conference that Shylea Myza Thomas weighed 33 pounds, about half her weight of 61 pounds in August 2007. Leyton says she had untreated bed sores and bones sticking through skin.

Thirty-nine-year-old Lorrie Thomas of Flint has been in custody since Wednesday, when investigators found the girl's body stuffed in a plastic bin in a locked storage unit near Flint.

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Prosecutor could decide Friday on criminal charges in death of 9-year-old quadriplegic found dead in storage unit
FLINT, Michigan -- When a social worker asked where 9-year-old Shylae Thomas was Monday, her adoptive mother claimed she was on her way to Virginia with a friend.

In fact, the small quadriplegic was lying dead in a storage unit six miles away -- wrapped in a garbage bag and stuffed in a large plastic bin filled with mothballs, her feet hanging over the side.

Investigators believe Shylae had been dead for six weeks before police found her body Wednesday morning at a Vienna Township storage facility.

Her adoptive mother and aunt, Lorrie M. Thomas, 39, is in jail and could face felony murder and abuse charges as early as Thursday afternoon.

An autopsy was done Wednesday but the results have not been released.

The state Department of Human Services began to suspect something might be wrong Monday after a worker went to Thomas' house on E. Pierson Road near I-475 to check out a tip that Shylae and another child there were being neglected.

Among the allegations were the children were often dirty and that Shylae was left in her bed for long periods, according to a court hearing Wednesday.

The DHS worker found seven children at the house but no Shylae.

When asked where she was, Thomas allegedly told the worker the family was moving to Virginia and she had sent Shylae ahead with a friend.

Her wheelchair, however, was still at the house.

The worker returned later that day to see if Thomas had found a phone number for the friend, but said Thomas' oldest daughter said her mother wasn't home and closed the door.

Thomas gave DHS a phone number for the friend on Tuesday but calls to the number came back with a message to check the number and dial again.

After DHS could not verify she had recently been attending classes in the area, DHS went back to the house and called police.

Thomas initially told police Tuesday the same story about Shylea heading to Virginia.
But the investigation eventually led police to information that Shylea had been dead for weeks and her body was being kept in a storage unit at the Stor & Lock storage facility on N. Saginaw Road in Vienna Township.

Police found Shylae's body there about 4 a.m. Wednesday.

A longtime friend of Thomas said she had been taking care of his 11-year-old daughter for years and that she kept good care of the children at her home.

"She's been nothing but a good mother," said Michael Moore.

Shylae's mother -- Lorrie Thomas' sister -- is also the mother of Moore's daughter, he said.

Thomas adopted Shylae years ago after the girl's mother went to prison, said Moore.
"(The biological mother) is really taking it bad," said Moore.

"Even though she didn't have them with her, she loved her kids."

Moore said he sees his daughter regularly but said she never talked about Shaylae going missing.

He said he didn't realize anything was wrong until his daughter called him upset on Tuesday.

"She was in tears... then the phone hung up," he said.

Moore's daughter and the other children were placed in emergency foster care Tuesday and a Genesee County Family court referee on Wednesday ordered that they stay there until a May 19 hearing.

Moore attended Wednesday's hearing on the children along with three other men who claim to have fathered children with Lorrie Thomas.

Family members told investigators that Shylae was paralyzed when she was 3 weeks after she was found in a coma in her crib.


Sabrina Williams, who has lived across the street from Shylae Thomas for two years, talks about the girl's death and the discovery of her body in a Vienna Township storage facility.Neighbors of the E. Pierson Road home where the family lived said didn't know the family and said they had never seen a little girl in a wheelchair there.

The beige house with green trim, which sits between a rundown house and a vacant lot, had several bikes on the front porch and two bowling balls on the lawn.

"I never saw more than two or three kids outside," said neighbor Sabrina Williams who lives across the street. "It's just sad."

Thomas apparently owed $1,150 in unpaid rent to her landlord, according to court records.

Keisha Smith, who lives behind Thomas' home, said police were parked on nearby streets Tuesday and she saw them looking in bushes.

"I just saw kids playing out there sometimes," Smith said. "I never knew.... that's crazy."

The Genesee Intermediate School District said Shylae was a student at the Marion D. Crouse school but officials said privacy laws barred them from disclosing any further information about her.

First Ward Councilman Delrico Loyd expressed shock and sadness at the death in one of his ward's neighborhoods, saying it points out the need for more community involvement.

"It hurts my heart that anyone would do that to a young girl, and to know what she must've went through," said Loyd. "When no one saw the young lady for days, it should've raised some flags all around. That's why it's important to get to know your neighbors, so if anything is going on in a home hopefully someone will notice and get involved."

Loyd said he plans to say a prayer for the girl and her family during his town hall meeting on Tuesday at the Hasselbring Community Center.

Police Find Boy, 4, Wandering Streets Drunk Wearing A Dress

Dreamin' Demon- Early Tuesday morning, 4-year-old Hayden Wright grabbed a 12-ounce beer from his grandfather’s cooler and walked out of his house while his mother slept. He then knocked on a neighbors door with part of the beer consumed.

What was discussed between the boy and the people who opened the door is not known, but what is known is that Hayden then snuck into a neighbor’s house through an unlocked front door, and stole five wrapped Christmas gifts.

One of the gifts contained a little girl’s dress which Hayden then put on. And that’s how police found the little boy wandering the neighborhood at 2 a.m. – drunk and wearing a dress. His mother, 21-year-old April Wright, has an explanation for her boy’s actions.

Wright says Hayden was only out trying to find his dad who is in jail. “He runs away trying to find his father,” she said. “He wants to get in trouble so he can go to jail because that’s where his daddy is.” How fucked up is that? Check out the video.

Father Arrested After 60 Pound Teen Found Injured in Home

ST. BERNARD, La. -- A 14-year-old boy who weighed only 60 pounds and who hadn’t been in school or seen a doctor in four years was removed from his home and his father was arrested by St. Bernard Parish deputies Wednesday.

Captain Steve Cannizaro said the boy was discovered when a constable went to serve an eviction notice to Dennis Ballard, 30, at his RV home.

Constable Tony Guerra called the Sheriff’s Office after seeing the young man, obviously malnourished and with an untreated leg injury that appeared to be a swollen, who had an infected right foot.

Guerra said the young man was also living in deplorable conditions.

“I could see inside the place and it was horrible,’’ Guerra recalled. “I could see he was limping.

“I asked the father why he (the son) wasn’t in school and he said he was home-schooling him. I knew that wasn’t true.’’

Cannizaro said the father said the boy’s injured leg was the result of a speaker that fell on him as they were moving it, but that the boy didn’t want to go to the doctor.

Cannizaro said deputies found out the boy hadn’t been to school or seen a doctor in the four years the father has had him in the New Orleans area. The young man apparently had also injured his arm a few months ago and didn’t receive medical attention.

Ballard is being held in the St. Bernard Parish prison. Cannizaro said the two had been living in the parish for just over a month after having lived in other parishes.

If convicted of cruelty of a juvenile, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Detectives said Ballard couldn’t answer basic questions, such as when the boy had last attended school and if there was a copy of his birth certificate.

"Instinctively, the detectives knew something was wrong, something was amiss there," said Col. John Doran, chief of detectives at the Sheriff's Office.

The teen, who is being treated for his foot and arm injuries, is in the custody of the Department of Social Services.

Cannizaro said neither the young man nor Ballard has given them much information, but they believe the boy has been living with him since shortly before Katrina struck.

No birth certificate for the boy or any legal custody documents have been found. According to Doran, the boy lived with Ballard and his mother in Ohio before 2002. Ballard then moved to the New Orleans area, and the mother moved to Arizona with the boy and his sister.

In summer 2005, the mother, whose name was not released, put the boy on a plane to New Orleans to be with Ballard. Since then, Pohlmann said, the mother has tried on and off to locate the boy but has been unable to track him down.

Stepmom Charged in Boy's Fatal Injuries

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police have charged an Albuquerque woman in the death of her 3-year-old stepson who died from being hit hard enough to tear his small intestine.

The boy died Aug, 27, and police arrested Chiara Anton-Williams after the Office of the Medical Investigator ruled the boy's death a homicide cause by internal injuries. Anton-Williams, 27, was charged with child abuse resulting in death.

“That child suffered blunt trauma,” Albuquerque Police Department Officer Nadine Hamby said.

Police reported the case began when an Albuquerque Public Schools officer spotted a frantic Anton-Williams in the parking lot of the S.Y. Jackson Elementary School just after classes dismissed. She was with her stepson, whom the officer said looked gray and was having trouble breathing.

He called for an ambulance, and the boy died at University of New Mexico hospital later that day.

An autopsy showed the child died from blunt-force trauma to the abdomen that resulted in several tears in his small intestine. Investigators said the fatal injuries happened within that hour.

Police began questioning Anton-Williams who was with the child an hour before he died. The stepmother told police during that time she had been rough with the child after he defecated on the floor in their home as they were leaving to pick up her biological children from school.

The stepmom told police she grabbed him put him in the shower but said that was all she did. Police said her story doesn't match up with the boy's injuries.

“Somebody had to actually have seriously put some trauma to this kid, and it didn't happen by you just grabbing his arm and taking him somewhere,” Hamby said.

The state Children, Youth and Families Department reported there is no record of prior abuse allegations against Anton-Williams. However directors at the daycare the boy went to told police the child showed up once with a black eye and another time with a swollen eye.

Anton-Williams told the daycare directors the boy fell the first time, and the second time she said he was sick, according to a criminal complaint.

The daycare’s director declined to comment. The boy's father is not being investigated.

The child had two step-siblings. It is not known who is caring for them.

Anton-Williams was being held on a $150,000 cash or surety bond. She posted that bond just after noon on Thursday.

Stranger Allegedly Slaps Crying Child in Store

(CNN) -- A Georgia man allegedly slapped a toddler at a Walmart store because she wouldn't stop crying, authorities said.

Roger Stephens, 61, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree cruelty to children. An incident report obtained from police in Gwinnett County indicated Stephens did not know the 2-year-old girl he stands accused of hitting.

The confrontation happened shortly before noon at the Walmart in Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta.

According to the arresting officer, the child's mother said her daughter was crying as they walked down one of the aisles.

The mother said a stranger later identified as Stephens approached them and said, "If you don't shut the baby up, I will shut her up for you."

A few moments later, while the mother and the crying child were in another aisle, Stephens allegedly grabbed the girl and slapped her across the face.

Police said he hit her four or five times. "See, I told you I would shut her up," the suspect allegedly told the mother.

Authorities described "slight redness" to the toddler's face. Before he was arrested, Stephens apologized to the mother for striking the girl, the incident report said.

Stephens, a Stone Mountain resident, is being held by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department.

Couple Sentenced After Foster Child Dies In Unsafe Home

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A couple previously convicted of child endangerment involving their foster daughter has been sentenced again after the girl's death.

David and Melody Smith were sentenced Wednesday on a child endangerment conviction after Malake Dancer, 11, died of natural causes in February.

Investigators said at the time that the Smith home was "unsanitary and dangerous." The couple had been convicted of child endangerment charges involving the girl in 2004.

The couple was sentenced to 18 months suspended sentence, five years probation, a $1,000 fine and must complete a four to six month course at a community-based corrections facility.

The judge also said the Smiths cannot have any more foster children or pets, "not even a goldfish."

Michael Jackson Craziness: Horror story Wrote for Kids

I am 99.9% sure this is media trash, but interesting none-the-less that they're reporting this over in the U.K.:

News of the World- "TORMENTED Michael Jackson wrote a chilling horror story about a CHILD ABUSER and SERIAL KILLER starring HIS OWN KIDS.

The sickening tale - called Kids on Swings - is a nightmare vision of Prince Michael II and Jacko's daughter Paris falling into the clutches of a fiend who slaughters children with a 'sling blade'.

He stabs Prince, sending him into a coma as they try to escape his clutches.

The King of Pop penned the story when he visited the UK in 2006 - a year after he was acquitted of child abuse charges.

It gives a warped insight into the tormented mind of the entertainer who suffered repeated beatings at the hands of his own violent father Joe.

The story is written in a childlike scrawl in black and blue pens on the back of letters and pictures of an Irish Georgian Castle.

It was found among documents and memorabilia handed to the News of the World.

Written as a play, it tells how Paris, 11, and seven- year-old Prince Michael II are playing on swings until the boy becomes 'disinterested' and runs off.

He runs to the brook skipping past rocks silhouetted against a crystal lake," Jacko wrote.

A pack of wild dogs then chase the pair as Paris screams for her 'DAD.'

In the next disturbing scene, the infants spot a man working in a field with a sling blade. "We see him working but we can't see his face," Jackson wrote.

The badly spelled story then takes a sinister turn as the identity of the fiend is revealed.

The character of Prince tells his sister: "He murdered his wife and no one ever sees his kids cause he keeps them tied to the bed like his wife, before he murdered her. He starves them FIRST then he murdered them, Paris."

His terrified sister admits to being scared before asking how he killed them. "He did it with a sling blade Paris," he adds. The 13-page story is believed to have been written while the eccentric entertainer was doped up on a cocktail of powerful narcotic pain killers.

The handwriting has been verified as Jackson's by top graphologist Erik Rees who has been observing the star's writing for 30 years and says it shows signs of a "split personality".

The tale was penned at a time when Jacko's behaviour became increasingly erratic and fears were raised for the safety of his three youngsters.

In the next scene Prince and Paris are in bed - too frightened to sleep. A twisted passage then describes how the monster got a facial scar.

"He starved a man for 2 weeks," it reads. "Just before killing him they had a fight. The guy he was trying to kill grabbed the knife to attack him. And he cut him over the eyes.

"He then got scared and ran into what they call the endless BLACK FOREST . . . he was never found again. Because they say there is no way out of the endless Black Forest."

The bizarre tale - which may have been read to Jacko's kids as a bedtime story - sees the two youngsters venture into the 'Black Forest' to visit the 'crazy man.'

Shaking with fear, the children peer through the window of his cottage before a spine-tingling scene in which he creeps up behind them.

(rest here)

Case Against Nanny Goes National

SOUTH HERO, Vt. -- Vermont State Police say their case against accused child sex offender nanny Donald Shepherd is growing to a national scale, encompassing various cities across the country where he worked watching people's children.

Detectives in the state's Unit for Special Investigations told WPTZ.com Shepherd, now 23, worked as a nanny since he was 18 years old and often advertised his services on nanny sites to go from job to job. Police said he worked in 16 cities across the country, spanning from Oak Harbor, Wash., in the west to Washington, D.C. in the east.

Police said he used various nanny placement Web sites and agencies to get the jobs, adding that some of the agencies have reported suspicions that he may have pedophile tendencies.

Detectives also told WPTZ.com they have been in touch with Shepherd's father, who worked as a clown at children's parties in Florida, and said he is cooperating with the investigation. Police, who will not name Shepherd's father due to his cooperation with the investigation, said Shepherd's father denied claims by Shepherd that his father took him to children's events, where Shepherd photographed children.

Police said they expect more molestation cases to surface surrounding Shepherd and are in the process of reaching out to law enforcement agencies across the country.

Shepherd was arrested last week and faces a slew of child sex charges in connection with the alleged molestation of a young boy be was watching in South Hero.

Last week, detectives said they were investigating whether Shepherd abused other children in Vermont, but said Wednesday they do not believe he molested any other children in Vermont.

"The fact that he was actively seeking young children is what's most disturbing about this," said Vermont State Police Detective Ben Katz last week.

Shepherd told officers he uses several aliases including: Parker Wilder, Donald Shepherd, Douglas Shepherd and Jonathan Shepherd. There could be other aliases.

Several online vigilantes have been tracking Shepherd's Internet activities since 2006. One Web site claims Shepherd used the screen name "emovocals" and is a member of several Web sites for pedophiles. The Web site also warns that Shepherd works as a nanny, advertising his services online.

Shepherd sought work in places where he'd have access to children, according to investigators. He applied for a job as a substitute teacher in South Hero's Folsom School. Shepherd was placed on a list of subs. But Shepherd was never called, according to the school superintendent. Shepherd had to pass a background check for the job.

Detectives seized a computer and electronics from Shepherd. Investigators with the state's computer crime unit will review the evidence and Shepherd's online history.

Police said they expect more charges once forensic examinations of Shepherd's digital devices are complete.

Previous Stories:

June 18, 2009: Male Nanny Pleads Not Guilty To Child Sex Charges

Mother Charged With Killing Burned Child

(Memphis, TN) A Memphis woman has been charged with killing her 11-month-old son by not caring for him properly.

Karen Kirkwood is charged with First Degree Murder and two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse.

In March, Kirkwood's son, Christopher, was severely burned in what was deemed a suspicious fire.

Investigators say Kirkwood did not immediately report the 2nd and 3rd degree burns that covered 30% of the child's body.

Christopher Kirkwood was released into his mother's care April 16 from Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center where his mother was trained how to care for him.

Hospital administrators taught Kirkwood how to care for her son's wounds as well as his tracheal tube.

Monday, May 25, Christopher Kirkwood was found dead in his mother's home. An autopsy showed the child's tracheal tube was, "...completely clogged, obstructing the child's airway."

Police say Karen Kirkwood left Christopher unattended for long periods of time and that she, "...opted to disregard the care orders of the doctors and the training she received..."

It was also learned Kirkwood never used a monitor given to her to track her son's breathing and heart rate, something that would have alerted her to the blocked tracheal tube.

The child's grandmother said he was burned by a space heater. The woman said the family was in the process of moving so he was placed on a pile of clothes to sleep. Because the home's heater did not work, a space heater was put next to the clothing and a fire started.

People Like This Shouldn't Have Children

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Police claim an Austin man bit and kicked his 2-year-old daughter in the face.

According to an arrest warrant made public Wednesday, police said Ricardo Luna, 23, was mad at his daughter last month because she would not lie down with him. Luna's girlfriend, the child's mother, said Luna was drunk, became upset at the girl and bit the toddler on the cheek.

The girlfriend said she and Luna then began arguing. The child started crying as a result of the argument. That is when Luna's girlfriend claims he kicked the 2-year-old in the face.

"She's a [expletive deleted] crybaby, that's all," Luna reportedly said to his girlfriend after kicking their child. "You spoil her."

The child's mother called 911 after the May 17 incident. Luna was booked in the Travis County Jail on May 28. He is being held on injury to a child causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury to a family member and terroristic threat.

If convicted, he could face 10 years in jail or more, depending on how the charges are stacked in court.

This is not Luna's first brush with the law. Luna has been convicted of assaulting a family member. He has also been charged with assault of a non-family member two times and violating a restraining order.


..Yeah, and he claims she's a crybaby. Then why do you have an ugly tattoo of what appears to be a tear on your own douche looking face?

Woman left kids home alone to drink, police say

GASTONIA, N.C. -- A 31-year-old mother accused of leaving seven kids home alone to have drinks with friends was arrested and charged with child abuse, police say.

Shannon Sullivan was arrested Tuesday morning after police were called to her home for a welfare check.

"Yeah, it scared me when the police pulled up, but as far as a surprise, no," said neighbor Julie Allen.

Officers found seven children, ranging in age from 3 to 10-years-old, home alone in the apartment on Sims Circle. Five of the children were Sullivan's and two belonged to friends.

"A small child came to the door and they asked where the parent was. She said that the mother was gone," said M.A. Chambers with the Gastonia Police Department.

Sullivan returned home about 30 minutes after officers arrived saying she went with friends to have a few drinks, according to the Gastonia Police Department.

"Yeah, I witnessed her drinking a whole lot," Allen said.

We checked with a national database and found this is not the first time Sullivan has been in trouble. She was arrested for DUI in 1997 and in 2007 she was cited for not getting her kids to school. Both of those cases occurred in Ohio.

Sullivan is in the Gaston County Jail under $75,000 bond.

Greenwich Mom Charged With Leaving Tot in Car

Here in my own town! What the HELL is wrong with people!

GREENWICH -- A Riverside woman was arrested Monday and charged with leaving her 4-week-old baby in a hot car while running an errand at a bank on Greenwich Avenue, police said.

Gina Barrit, of Old Kings Highway, was charged with leaving a child unattended in a vehicle after police, firefighters and GEMS personnel arrived at about 3 p.m. to find the baby crying inside the locked car. The baby was unharmed.

Lt. Mark Kordick said the front windows of the Lexus were closed and the back windows were only cracked an inch.

"You could tell it was warm inside," said Kordick. "I would say it was at least 90 degrees."

Kordick said a person walking by notified a police officer on foot patrol about the infant. The fire department was called to unlock the car. Police said 15 minutes passed from when they were notified of the incident to Barrit's return to the car. It was not clear how long the infant had been sitting in the car prior to police being notified.

Kordick said officials were close to breaking the windows to rescue the child. "You consider breaking a window out of the vehicle if there is obvious distress," he said. "The problem is we can't control where the glass goes."

However, Barrit returned before police had to break the glass.

"She indicated she left the child in the vehicle intending to visit the bank and it took longer than she anticipated," said Kordick, noting that the woman had described herself as a "new mom."

The incident prompted a crowd of onlookers to gather as an ambulance arrived to check the baby's vital signs. As police investigated, Kordick could be heard telling the officers, "We're going to lock her up."

Police opted to allow the woman to walk her baby down the block to the station where she was later booked with the misdemeanor charge.

Barrit had not been released as of 6 p.m. Monday evening because police had not finished processing her, they said.

Louisiana Teen Held in Infant's Killing, Police Say

Gut-wrenching details..
(CNN) -- A 17-year-old Louisiana man faces first-degree murder and aggravated rape charges in the beating death of his girlfriend's 8-month-old son, police said.

Authorities responding to a call of an unresponsive infant Saturday found the body of 8-month-old Da-Von Lonzo in an apartment near Gretna, Louisiana, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The baby was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner ruled the boy's death a homicide, noting that his body had multiple fractures consistent with being beaten. The child also had tears in his rectum, police said.

In an interview, the teen, Arnold T. Ross, initially told authorities Da-Von fell down the stairs and stopped breathing while he was baby-sitting him. But a neighbor reported hearing loud noises coming from the apartment, and investigators noted inconsistencies in Ross's statement, according to the sheriff's office.

Ross later admitted that Da-Von began to cry while he was watching him, police said, and "confessed to beating the infant repeatedly. According to Ross, the child began to defecate on himself. Ross claims he placed his fingers inside the infant's rectum in an attempt to clean up the child."

Under Louisiana law, a 17-year-old can be charged as an adult, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Sunday that people charged with first-degree murder cannot receive a bond.

Ross has a lengthy criminal history, police said, including arrests on drug possession charges; obscenity; battery on a correctional officer; three counts of battery on a school teacher; theft; weapons charges; and assault.

It was unclear Sunday if Ross had been convicted of any of those charges.

Suspect Caught on Tape With Rape Victim

(WPVI) -- Police released surveillance tape that, they say, shows rape suspect Jose Carrasquillo walking with the 11-year-old girl who was attacked earlier this week.

Surveillance video shows the girl escorting her little sister to daycare. As the girls cross Kensington Avenue, a man in a white shirt can be seen walking next to them. Police identify that man as Carrasquillo.

He follows them across the street and down the sidewalk. Ten minutes later, police say Carrasquillo was dragging that 11-year-old girl down an alley and into a secluded backyard.

That's where, police say, he raped the girl so brutally that she had to undergo surgery at the hospital.

A passerby found her bleeding and crying on the sidewalk.
In that yard, police found glasses they believe belong to Carrasquillo. They also say they found more evidence that links him to the crime.

Carrasquillo was jumped by an angry mob when they spotted him near Front and Clearfield on Tuesday afternoon. People in the neighborhood recognized him from a photo released by police.

RELATED VIDEO: Carrasquillo's beating caught on video

Philadelphia's police commissioner said Thursday he will not pursue criminal charges against a group of angry neighbors who beat Carrasquillo.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey said he made the decision based on the severity of Carrasquillo's head and face lacerations, his determination that the neighbors' intent was to bring the man to police and the high level of emotion in the community after the girl's brutal attack.

About a dozen residents of the city's West Kensington neighborhood pummeled Carrasquillo for several minutes on Tuesday. Officers arrived and took him into custody on an outstanding warrant.

"From what I've seen so far, we have one victim and that's an 11-year-old girl," Ramsey said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Before making his decision, Ramsey said, he monitored Carrasquillo's condition and reviewed surveillance video of the assault. As soon as officers arrived at the scene, he said, the group stopped the beating.

"These people saw him, he attempted to run and they caught up with him," Ramsey said. "If the injuries had been severe, maybe we'd have to rethink it."

Carrasquillo has been released from the hospital, and was being interviewed by detectives Thursday afternoon.