Mom turned a blind eye while girl was sold for sex

A Blue Springs woman has been sentenced to 15 years because she looked the other way while her daughter was prostituted for sadomasochistic sex. (We're not naming Mom, because that would let people ID the victim here.) Tony Rizzo has a report on the case, viewable here. The woman was also ordered to pay $200,000 restitution. She's the first person in the country to be prosecuted under a federal human-trafficking law in a case where the victim was her own child. From Tony's report:

The girl was 12 in 2000 when (codefendant Todd) Barkau, with the mother’s knowledge, trained the girl to engage in sadomasochistic sex acts with him and others.

When the girl was 14, Barkau set up a website that billed her as “Mistress Alisha.” For two years, he offered her for in-person and online sexual encounters in exchange for cash or items such as DVD players or cappuccino machines. The mother knew about the business, witnessed some of the sessions and benefited economically from her daughter’s sexual encounters, authorities said.

Like the mother, Barkau pleaded guilty last fall. His plea deal calls for a 25-year sentence. They reportedly made $80,000 off the victim, who is now in her early 20s.

Report: Man groped boys in P.V. park

Prairie Village police are searching for a man who allegedly groped two boys Saturday morning at Harmon Park, KMBC reports.

Does this deputy deserve to be charged?

A few weeks ago, we had a story about a Colorado deputy who reportedly Tasered 34 teens at a school's career fair, at their request. The deputy ended up resigning, and now he's facing several charges of misdemeanor child abuse. (Some families didn't press charges.) If he did this, he obviously showed poor judgment. But aren't the kids willing participants, too?

Mom's boyfriend charged after baby suffers brain injury

Forrest Barro, 22, is facing charges of second-degree assault and child endangerment after his girlfriend's 3-month-old suffered a brain injury, the Jackson County prosecutor's office reports. The little boy was taken to Children's Mercy yesterday. The baby had reportedly been left with Barro while the child's mother went to the store, court records state.

Dad made son smoke pot, pose as Jesus, police allege

In Florida, a man named Richard Nazareth allegedly had his 11-year-old son inhale marijuana smoke and then told him to pose like Jesus on the cross, police say. You should read the whole thing. I like the part where he reportedly puts tears in his wine, then drinks it.

Do we need a national registry for child abusers?

Most people know about the sex-offender registry, but there's also registries for people suspected of child abuse. About 40 states have one, and there's talk about creating a national registry. But, the AP says, these programs have serious problems. For one thing, you don't have to be convicted of -- or even charged with -- a crime to get put on the list, which helps hospitals, schools and other employers screen for possible offenders.

It's very hard for the accused to defend themselves. Missouri requires there to be a hearing now before someone's put on the list, but some states don't even have that protection. Supporters, though, say a national list could help stop child abusers from moving from one state to another.

Mom's Boyfriend put kid in clothes dryer

A Hutchinson man got 10 years after he put his girlfriend's 3-year-old in a dryer to punish the boy for wetting his pants. (The man's defense? They were merely playing a game. A game that caused second-degree burns.) An appeals court says the man should get a new sentence, though. A doctor testified the man's action were excessively brutal, and the judge shouldn't have allowed that, the court said.

Boy, 4, killed for wetting himself

The story is from Genesee County, Mich.

Dad forced sons, 4 and 6, to fight

A 26-year-old from Maine has been sentenced to two years after he allegedly forced his sons, ages 4 and 6, to fight each other while he watched. (He reportedly smacked the little one with his shoe when the kid refused to fight.) Two years -- gosh, what are those boys going to do without their dad?

Daddy isn't allowed to babysit anymore

I swear, you leave your infants outside a strip club in an illegally parked vehicle ONE TIME, and everybody thinks you're a terrible father or something ...

Boy Scouts lose $1.4 million sex-abuse case

In Oregon, a jury has sided with a man who was molested when he was a Boy Scout and have awarded him $1.4 million. Part of the case involved internal files on "problem" volunteers, kept by the Boy Scouts to try and prevent suspected molesters from volunteering with a different troop.

Just so we're clear ...

The Vatican has updated its policies to explicitly tell bishops and others that -- if they're dealing with a case of suspected abuse, which the law requires them to report -- well, they need to go ahead and report it to the authorities. Church leaders say that's always been the policy, but they're just trying to clarify things.

Image via the AP

Now, THAT is a lovely mugshot

In Connecticut, a woman was arrested after her two diaper-clad sons, ages 2 and 3, were found wandering in the woods as it rained, police say. The kiddos looked like they had been out there about an hour, they estimate. Mom was on prescription pain meds and might have dozed off after working an overnight shift. (Dad was home, too, but was sleeping. He wasn't arrested.)

I think you will like Mom's T-shirt.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, kybo61!

Did pope protect accused priest?

From the AP: The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.

The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican's insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog office.

...   "The press office doesn't believe it is necessary to respond to every single document taken out of context regarding particular legal situations," the Rev. Federico Lombardi said. "It is not strange that there are single documents which have Cardinal Ratzinger's signature."

Teen faced extreme punishment, officials allege

A Platte City man is accused of using cruel punishments against a teenage girl who lived with him, KCTV reports. The girl was forced to stand in a corner for hours on end, and the man would monitor her via a camera that fed video to computers throughout the house, prosecutors allege. If she moved, he would "bring out a belt."

"She was forced to stand in the corner of her bedroom from time she finished breakfast in the morning until she went to bed, some 10 to 12 hours later, for 12 days in a row," the charges state.

Prosecutors say she was being punished for bad grades. The man also sold her dog on Craigslist as punishment and forced to view pornography, they allege.

Yes, I chained up my kids, but out of love

There is a reason why most defense attorneys advise their clients to avoid speaking to reporters. Here's Exhibit A, a man accused of chaining up his niece and nephew. From the nwfdailynews.com:

Burns also admitted to chaining up the children but said he only did it for short periods of time on two occasions. He did it as a way to punish the children without resorting to corporal punishment, he said.

It was “just enough to make them feel it, not enough to break their spirit or try to destroy them,” Burns said last year. “Just enough to let them know you can’t be bad and get away with it.”

Suspect drugged kids with ice cream, prosecutors allege

A new indictment has been filed against James Phillip "Phil" Edwards, 60, a Kansas City man who allegedly hid Ambien in soda and ice cream that he fed to children, who were then molested and filmed for child pornography. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Western Missouri says that happened in five cases, though they have allegedly identified 13 victims. CSKC previously wrote about Edwards, a computer programmer on disability, here.

Mom abandoned child at egg hunt, cops say

In Joplin, a woman is accused of leaving her 2-year-old in a stranger's yard, which was playing host to an Easter egg hunt, and then walking off. From the Globe:

 ... (W)itnesses said she lifted a toddler over a fence and set her down in a backyard about 1:20 p.m. Sunday in the 2900 block of South Minnesota Avenue. An Easter egg hunt for other children was taking place in the yard at the time.

Police said an adult witness reported that the woman mumbled something incoherent before walking away and leaving her daughter with the people in the yard.

Candidate pleaded guilty to molestation

Fox 4 reports that a man who pleaded guilty to child molestation in 2004 is now running for mayor of Levasy. A family friend told the station that he didn't commit the crime and only pleaded guilty because he didn't have money to pay for a proper defense. But some residents told the station that he shouldn't be mayor because of that record.

Father of the Year left kids in car for 2 days, police say

Daddy, age 28, and his brother allegedly left the kids, ages 6 and 4, locked in a car while the two men indulged in a two-day bender, according to police in Jackson, Mich. To be fair, it was Dad's weekend with the kids.

In this booking mug provided by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, the vehicle where two sons of Richard Labo, 27, were left. Labo, of Hillsdale County, Mich. (AP Photo/Jackson County Sheriff's Department)

5 arrests after teen prostituted sister, 7, police say

In Trenton, N.J., police have arrested two men and three boys in a case that made national headlines last week: A teenage girl allegedly offered herself and her little stepsister, 7, as prostitutes. Police also raided the apartment building where the sexual assault occurred. The suspects' age range from 13 to 20. The teenage sister, 15, is also facing criminal charges.

(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Could calling 911 have saved Kan. boy?

Several days ago, a 19-month-old named Vincent Hill died from child abuse in Harvey County, Kan. A neighbor had called a state hotline to report suspected abuse back in January, but didn't call 911 about screams coming from the house, the Wichita Eagle reports. The local sheriff is now asking the public -- if they suspect abuse -- to call 911, too.

In Hill's case, the SRS call center decided not to investigate because there wasn't any indication of physical harm. But the local law would have sent an officer to the scene, just to check the welfare. The sheriff believes they might have seen something that could have gotten the boy removed from the home. The Eagle notes that a lot of people dislike calling 911 because they want to stay completely anonymous.

We tried nothing, and we're all out of ideas

There have been a lot of stories lately involving priests and sex abuse, so part of me hates to add another log to the fire. This case, though, is a jaw-dropper. A priest accused of sexually assaulting a Minnesota girl, age 14, is still working for the church in India, his native country, doing clerical work. Officials have no plans to send him back to America to face charges. Love this quote:

"We cannot simply throw out the priest, so he is just staying in the bishop's house, and he is helping me with the appointment of teachers," said the Most Rev. A. Almaraj, the bishop of Ootacamund. "He says he is innocent, and these are only allegations. ... I don't know what else to do."

Yes, it's a puzzle, practically a Zen riddle. I'll give you a hint, though: The solution involves buying your man a plane ticket.

Woman kills son, husband punished

A Texas man has been given a 10-year prison sentence because he left his baby son alone with his wife, who drowned the child. The wife, who was found to be insane, was sent to a mental institution. The case against the father, who was convicted of child abandonment, is very rare, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Pope has immunity, Vatican says

One of the Vatican's top legal officials is responding to U.S. lawsuits where the plaintiffs sought to depose the pope, who used to oversee a church office that handled complaints about priests' behavior. Bottom Line: The pope is a head of state and, thus, has legal immunity, the official said. (The neener-neener is implied.)

He also took a shot at the argument that U.S. bishops are employees of the Vatican, which should be accountable for their behavior, Reuters reports:

"The Church is not a multi-national corporation," dalla Torre said. "He has (spiritual) primacy over the Church ... but every bishop is legally responsible for running a diocese."