Boy's head set ablaze by "redneck flamethrower," Alaska police say

The story is from Anchorage, where the 5-year-old was left alone with (A) Mom's boyfriend and (B) Mom's Baby Daddy, who decided to pull a prank on the boy, police allege. Specifically, they decided to call him to the door and scare him with an improvised flamethrower. (A can of starter fluid plus a lighter.) They wanted to "toughen him up."

"You know what would be funny?," Dilley said, according to the affidavit.

"Do you know how much trouble I could get in for this?" Miller replied.

Miller then called for the boy, who opened the door as Miller unleashed a ball of flames, according to troopers.

"Dilley stated it only lasted for about a half second and then they saw (the boy's) head was on fire," Browning wrote. "They ran to (the boy) and doused the flames with their hands, then tended to his burns. Dilley stated he didn't think the spray would go that far."

The men denied drinking, saying it was a very "sober day," according to the affidavit.

Mom came home and overdosed on bipolar meds, the police say. Oh, and nobody exactly raced the poor kid to the emergency room, either, the authorities say. He wasn't treated until he came to school and someone noticed half of the hair singed off his hair.

Asked why the child had not gotten treatment, Miller told investigators, "Why go make bills for yourself over little things," according to the affidavit.

Homosexuality didn't play part in priest abuse, study says

The report -- commissioned by U.S. bishops and written by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice -- isn't actually complete yet and won't be for another year. But the researchers say they don't think that gay priests were more likely to abuse children, the AP reports. Said one of the people involved in the study:

"At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now."

So why were the victims almost always boys? The researchers say that it might have been because the abusers had easier access to male victims than females.

Kids' testimony sent innocent people to prison

In Bakersfield, Calif., the long-serving D.A. -- Ed Jagels -- is retiring, and a lot of the "legacy" stories are focusing on the Kern County molestation trials from the 1980s. Several people were sent to prison, and most of them have since been found not guilty on appeal. The testimony of children was the only evidence in some of the cases, and many of those kids have since taken back their statements.

The molesters drank blood, the children said, and hung them from hooks after forcing them to have sex with their parents. They murdered babies, prosecutors told jurors, and snapped photographs as the horror unfolded.

... “They basically coached me through my whole testimony and told me that I had to say that my parents had sexually abused me,” said Smith, whose parents served 12 years on molestation convictions before they were reversed by an appeals court. “We’ve all put it behind us, but the one thing I would love is a verbal apology from Ed Jagels for tearing my family apart.”

Jagels, who helped push for tougher sentencing in California, told the Bakersfield Californian that his office handled those cases the best they could, but that investigative and interview procedures were "in their infancy."

“Innocent people may have been accused at one point or another, but what I really fear is that perfectly legitimate convictions have been overturned,” Jagels said. “How the people of Kern County feel about what I’ve done is much more important than what anyone else might think.”

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

Image via AP

Police arrest sixth man in child-rape inquiry

UPDATE: A 55-year-old Kansas City man, identified as an associate of Burrell E. Mohler Sr.’s extended family, was arrested on suspicion of rape of a child less than 14 years old. He was being held in the Lafayette County Jail.

From Don Bradley: More alleged victims also have been identified since the case went public, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol

| Bob Cronkleton

Details worsen in case of father/sons charged with child sex abuse

UPDATE: According to charging documents, Mohler Sr. and his four sons sexually abused multiple children over the course of several years, often working together during the acts. The abuse included pencils, screwdrivers, a pet dog and "marriage" ceremonies followed by sex in a chicken coop and a camper. As a result of being raped, one of the victims was forced to have an abortion when she was 11. Don Bradley reports that authorities have been searching for a body or bodies at a farm once owned by one of the men.

77-year-old Burrell Edward Mohler Sr. of Independence and his middle-aged sons were arrested Tuesday and charged with 14 felonies, including forcible sodomy and forcible rape with a child less than 12 years old, and use of a child in a sexual performance.

They were all being held in the Lafayette County jail. Hope to have more on this story after a press conference, scheduled for this afternoon.

| Sara Shepherd

Burrell Edward Mohler Sr.

Texas polygamist gets 10 years for sex assault of teen 'wife'

The jury deliberated for six hours Tuesday before sentencing FLDS member Raymond Merril Jessop to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl five years ago.

He feels his trial was religious persecution.

| Sara Shepherd

Raymond Merril Jessop, left, is led outside during a break in the sentencing portion of his trial. Jessop, 38, was convicted Friday for having sex with the teen with whom he had a so-called spiritual marriage. (AP photo)

Child rapist gets Hard 50

In Johnson County, Christopher D. Britt, a 27-year-old convicted of raping a 9-year-old girl, was sentenced to life in prison without parole until he's served 50 years. He was sentenced under Kansas' version of Jessica's Law, which requires harsher sentences for sex offenders who hurt kids. His attorney argued that it's unconstitutional, but the judge disagreed.

Amish church leaders charged with failing to report molestation, Mo. cops say

The case is from Webster, Mo., where four bishops in an Amish church are facing criminal charges because they allegedly failed to report suspect child molestation by another person in their community. (That man has already been charged.) Court records state the man had been shunned, but according to the rules of their community, they wouldn't report him to police.

Hat Tip: Thanks to Kathee Baird's Crime Scene Investigations blog.

Ark. couple chained kids to a tire, police allege

That's when the kids were allowed out of the home at all, authorities say. Blogger Kathee Baird has more here.

Misunderstanding over English leads to attempted murder, N.J. cops say

In New Jersey, a woman allegedly stabbed her 8-year-old, then herself, because she was worried that her kids were going to be taken away from her, The AP reports. She isn't a native English speaker and apparently has trouble understanding the language, the police say. The mother, whose nationality isn't known, had apparently become concerned over several notes that were sent home from school -- somehow, police say, she interpreted them as warnings. They were actually notes about a field trip and grades. Both Mom and the child will survive.

Did Mo. need a law to keep sex offenders home on Halloween?

The Missouri Attorney General's office is reminding folks -- and by folks, they mostly mean sex offenders -- that registered sex offenders are supposed to follow the following rules on Halloween:

• Avoid all Halloween-related contact with children.

• Remain inside his or her residence between the hours of 5:00 and 10:30 p.m. unless required to be elsewhere for just cause, including but not limited to employment or a medical emergency.

• Post a sign on his or her residence stating, “No candy or treats at this residence.”

• Leave off all outside residential lighting during the evening hours after 5:00 p.m.

The law has faced legal challenges, the AG's office notes, but says it'll still be enforced. The Sex Crimes blog, though, points us to this study, which argues there's not an increased risk of sex crimes against kids on Halloween.

Mo. man accused of sexually assaulting his 5-month-old

The case is from Miller County. One of the blog's regulars, Silverside, has a post about it and similar cases at her blog, Dastardly Dads.

Teacher's aides accused of abusing autistic student, Mont. cops say

In Great Falls, two teacher's aides are accused of abusing a teenage boy with autism, police say. The aides are accused of holding the boy's head under a running faucet because he fell asleep, making him eat his vomit and leaving him in dirty pants for several hours. Both women deny the charges.

Mother tries to smother infant so she can return to work

Christina Marie McIntyre, 23, of Titusville, Fla., has been charged with allegedly trying to kill her 11-month-old baby. Before having second thoughts, she had called on the baby's 2-year-old brother to do the job using a blanket and bean bag chair.

She told authorities she wanted to go back to work but couldn't afford day care for both kids. She had disciplined the 2-year-old, who was only following her directions.

| Bob Cronkleton

Teens kept in cages sue their caseworkers

In Ohio, two teenagers have sued their adoptive parents, who allegedly kept them in cages. The youths are also suing their caseworkers, who approved the adoptions. The caseworkers, the suit says, should've known better than to place the teens in that home.

Missouri was No. 5 in child-abuse death rate in 2007, report says

Because states have deeply cut their budgets for child-abuse cases, advocates are pushing the federal government to spend as much as $5 billion to fight the problem -- mostly by hiring more case workers. They also want federal standards for child-protection agencies. Experts say that child-abuse deaths have climbed 35 percent since 2001. They've issued a report saying the U.S. rate of child-abuse / child-neglect deaths is three times higher than Canada's.

UPDATE: The report gives a state-by-state breakdown, and in 2007, Missouri was No. 5 for the rate of deaths caused by child neglect or abuse. (Kansas fared better -- they had 10 such deaths that year, compared to Missouri's 50.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!

KC mom dropped toddler off balcony, prosecutors allege

Callie M. Smith pleaded not guilty Monday in Clay County to charges that she dropped her 22-month-old off a second-floor balcony earlier this year. (A witness caught the kiddo.) Snip:

According to court records, police were called to an apartment complex in the 9300 block of Northeast 79th Street, where Smith had allegedly vandalized cars with a glass vase and jumped on top of the cars while she was naked. A witness told police that Smith went to a second-floor balcony, held her 22-month-old son by an arm and a leg, and swung him over the edge.

Parents charged with child abuse for taking soap punishment too far

This is actually a horrifying story. The mother let the stepfather punish her 8-year-old daughter by making her eat a bar of Irish Spring Soap.

Even after the girl began throwing up, wheezing and foaming from the mouth, the couple preoccupied themselves with avoiding the hospital in order to avoid any police or child protective services inquiry.

|Meredith Rodriguez

Okla. teen says he was kept in closet for years

If the story is true, you wonder how the teenager, age 14, was even able to survive. His mother and her friend are now facing criminal charges. Snip:

The charges also allege McCall tortured her son in various ways, including by tying him naked to a ladder and pouring sugar water over him to attract insects. Another time, the charges allege, she poured alcohol on him and lit it on fire, burning the boy. She also allegedly forced him to stand barefoot in the snow for more than 45 minutes.

Disabled boy was tied up like animal, Utah cops say

A 42-year-old man has been arrested because he allegedly tied up his 14-year-old nephew, who is mentally disabled, whenever the man had something to do, like work. The boy was well-fed and didn't appear injured, but the authorities can found "tethers" on couches at the uncle's apartment and at the grandmother's house. (Grandma's in her 80s and can't care for the boy. He was wearing diapers when a handyman called police to her home.)

World's Best Mom wants cops to stop hassling her

In Pittsburgh, a 27-year-old woman was arrested after she left her 1-year-old baby, who was in a stroller, outside a store while Mom went inside for a minute. Which is bad enough, but it got worse when the stroller (and baby) rolled into the street. Two cars squealed to a stop, and the stroller bumped against one's bumper. This is where Mom made her dramatic reappearance:

The baby's mother, Ms. Brown, then exited a store on Chestnut and said to the officer, "That's my baby. What are you doing with my baby?"

When the officer explained what had just happened, Ms. Brown replied, "Well, I needed to go to the store."

"But you left your baby outside, alone in the stroller," Officer Scarpine told her, according to the affidavit.

"I wasn't that long. Why you messing with me [sic]," Ms. Brown said.

We traded a bird for two kids, couple admits

Plus $175, to sweeten the deal. You might ask yourself: What kind of person would trade two human beings for a bird?

Well, to be fair, the bird is a cockatoo, and those are gorgeous creatures.

Mom's Boyfriend strikes again

This time, the world's greatest baby-sitter is accused of leaving a 6-year-old boy alone in a hotel bar for several hours. In Omaha, which just makes the story even sadder.

Couple made kid eat soap, Fla. cops say

The girl, age 8, was forced to eat the soap after saying a bad word, but she reportedly had an allergic reaction. The state swooped down and pulled her and a younger sibling from the premises. No word if the soap was Life Buoy.

Photo: Noted soap-poisoning victim Ralphie Parker, in happier times.

Ill. woman gets 6 years for leaving newborn in toilet

She thought the baby was dead when she called police, but officers were able to save the kiddo's life. Mom entered a plea of guilty due to mental illness.