Dad (and Baptist preacher) JOE COLQUITT is accused of pulling a gun on his adult son--in church no less--over his son's apparent lack of church attendance. The son has taken out an order of protection, after Daddy "allegedly" threatened to kill the son, his wife, and his family.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/weird_news/story/1009028.html
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010
Pastor accused of pulling gun on son at church
By The Associated Press
The son of a well-known Alcoa pastor has taken out an order of protection against his father, claiming he was threatened with a gun during an argument at a church over his lack of church attendance. The order of protection was filed by 32-year-old Michael Louis Colquitt against 60-year-old Joe Colquitt, pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church.
The younger man told police his father pulled out a handgun when they met at the church to discuss church attendance. He told officers his father pointed the gun at him and threatened to kill him, his wife and family.
Joe Colquitt declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Times of Maryville.
A Feb. 4 hearing was set in Blount County General Sessions Court.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Dad charged with stabbing death of 2-year-old son (Covina, California)
Dad ALEX TRUJILLO has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of his 2-year-old son.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/state/story/1009034.html
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010
Father charged with murder in death of toddler son
By The Associated Press
Authorities have charged a Covina man with murder in the death of his 2-year-old son.
Authorities believe 28-year-old Alex Trujillo stabbed the boy following an argument with his girlfriend, the toddler's mother.
Police say officers responding to an emergency call on Tuesday found Trujillo acting erratically at his mother's home, where he was allegedly holding a kitchen knife.
Police say that after Trujillo was seen through a window stabbing himself, officers kicked down the door and found the wounded boy, who died of his injuries at a hospital.
It was not known if Trujillo had been assigned an attorney.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/state/story/1009034.html
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010
Father charged with murder in death of toddler son
By The Associated Press
Authorities have charged a Covina man with murder in the death of his 2-year-old son.
Authorities believe 28-year-old Alex Trujillo stabbed the boy following an argument with his girlfriend, the toddler's mother.
Police say officers responding to an emergency call on Tuesday found Trujillo acting erratically at his mother's home, where he was allegedly holding a kitchen knife.
Police say that after Trujillo was seen through a window stabbing himself, officers kicked down the door and found the wounded boy, who died of his injuries at a hospital.
It was not known if Trujillo had been assigned an attorney.
Single adoptive dad accused of abusing son 'got under the radar' (El Paso, Colorado)
We've posted on dad JEREMIAH LOVATO before. Now we find out he got custody of his son through adoption. He is accused of repeatedly beating his 15-year-old son with a 2X2 piece of lumber. He managed to avoid detection through "homeschooling."
While homeschooling works very well for many kids, it's unfortunately becoming a way for too many violent, dysfunctional parents to hide their kids away and keep the abuse under wraps.
Daddy sounds like a sicko sadist. I'm very glad this boy was able to contact the authorities, as I'm afraid his fears were correct: this idiot could have easily killed him. If the authorities let this sadist regain custody (as they say he intends to do), they should be charged with all the subsequent crimes that take place. Because do you think he's really going to stop?
http://www.gazette.com/articles/slope-93341-county-abusing.html
Father accused of abusing adopted son 'got under the radar'
January 29, 2010 2:49 PM
JOEL MILLMAN
THE GAZETTE
An El Paso County man accused of abusing his adopted son was suspected of mistreating the teenager two years ago while living on the Western Slope, but eluded authorities’ scrutiny by home-schooling him, Craig police said.
Jeremiah Lovato, a maintenance worker with the Colorado Department of Transportation, faces nine felony counts of child abuse, first-degree assault and menacing for allegedly repeatedly beating the 15-year-old boy with a two-by-two piece of lumber.
Lovato, 39, was arrested Jan. 5 at his home east of Colorado Springs. He was released Jan. 8 on a $250,000 bond and is due back in court Feb. 8. His adopted son, whose identity has not been released, is in the custody of El Paso County social services.
Suspicions about the single father’s treatment of the then 14-year-old arose in early 2008, soon after he enrolled the boy in Craig Middle School. Among the warning signs reported to the Craig police officer assigned to the school were the boy’s sporadic attendance and his fearfulness around others, said police Cmdr. Bill Leonard.
In early 2009, the boy came to school with what appeared to be a black eye. The school officer and a Moffat County Social Services caseworker went to Lovato’s home and questioned him and his son, Leonard said.
“The father said the injury was from playing football, and the son backed that up,” Leonard said.
Before it went any further, Lovato took his son out of school, telling Moffat County School District officials he was going to home-school him.
“That got him under the radar,” Leonard said.
Matt Harris, Moffat County Social Services’ supervisor of caseworkers, would not confirm there had been complaints or an investigation, saying it would be a misdemeanor for him to divulge confidential child welfare information.
When there are suspicions of abuse, a sudden decision to remove a child from school can be a red flag, said Shirley Rhodes, El Paso County Child Protective Services administrator.
“The vast majority who home-school do it for the right reasons — religion, culture, education,” Rhodes said. “But in instances where there is abuse, there’s no opportunity for someone to see it or to question them.”
CDOT transferred Lovato to Colorado Spring in spring 2009. On Jan. 3, he teenager called the Sheriff’s Office to report that he had been severely beaten by his father.
According to the arrest affidavit, the boy told investigators his father beat when he did not do his chores right or fast enough, forcing him to lie face down in the basement and hitting him with a “piece of lumber.” The boy said the beatings had become worse since October. Before that, he told the deputy, his father would hit him with a belt.
In the affidavit, the deputy described the following injuries: green-colored bruises from the boy’s lower back to his shoulders; bruises the same color around his left eye and right ear; bloodied and scabbed-over injuries to his buttocks, some of which appeared to have healed and been reopened; a large closed gash on his head.
Interviewed in the hospital, the boy told sheriff’s detective Cliff Porter the most recent beating had occurred because he had fallen asleep when he was supposed to have stayed up all night doing chores.
“He told me that when it ‘really hurt’ he would squirm while his father hit him with the lumber,” Porter wrote. “He said that his father would then ‘stomp me with his boot to get me to hold still.’”
Porter wrote in the affidavit that the boy told him he was afraid his father would kill him. In the basement of Lovato’s home, investigators found a two-by-two with what appeared to be blood on it.
Sheriff’s investigators said they believe Lovato intends to try to regain custody of his adopted son.
While homeschooling works very well for many kids, it's unfortunately becoming a way for too many violent, dysfunctional parents to hide their kids away and keep the abuse under wraps.
Daddy sounds like a sicko sadist. I'm very glad this boy was able to contact the authorities, as I'm afraid his fears were correct: this idiot could have easily killed him. If the authorities let this sadist regain custody (as they say he intends to do), they should be charged with all the subsequent crimes that take place. Because do you think he's really going to stop?
http://www.gazette.com/articles/slope-93341-county-abusing.html
Father accused of abusing adopted son 'got under the radar'
January 29, 2010 2:49 PM
JOEL MILLMAN
THE GAZETTE
An El Paso County man accused of abusing his adopted son was suspected of mistreating the teenager two years ago while living on the Western Slope, but eluded authorities’ scrutiny by home-schooling him, Craig police said.
Jeremiah Lovato, a maintenance worker with the Colorado Department of Transportation, faces nine felony counts of child abuse, first-degree assault and menacing for allegedly repeatedly beating the 15-year-old boy with a two-by-two piece of lumber.
Lovato, 39, was arrested Jan. 5 at his home east of Colorado Springs. He was released Jan. 8 on a $250,000 bond and is due back in court Feb. 8. His adopted son, whose identity has not been released, is in the custody of El Paso County social services.
Suspicions about the single father’s treatment of the then 14-year-old arose in early 2008, soon after he enrolled the boy in Craig Middle School. Among the warning signs reported to the Craig police officer assigned to the school were the boy’s sporadic attendance and his fearfulness around others, said police Cmdr. Bill Leonard.
In early 2009, the boy came to school with what appeared to be a black eye. The school officer and a Moffat County Social Services caseworker went to Lovato’s home and questioned him and his son, Leonard said.
“The father said the injury was from playing football, and the son backed that up,” Leonard said.
Before it went any further, Lovato took his son out of school, telling Moffat County School District officials he was going to home-school him.
“That got him under the radar,” Leonard said.
Matt Harris, Moffat County Social Services’ supervisor of caseworkers, would not confirm there had been complaints or an investigation, saying it would be a misdemeanor for him to divulge confidential child welfare information.
When there are suspicions of abuse, a sudden decision to remove a child from school can be a red flag, said Shirley Rhodes, El Paso County Child Protective Services administrator.
“The vast majority who home-school do it for the right reasons — religion, culture, education,” Rhodes said. “But in instances where there is abuse, there’s no opportunity for someone to see it or to question them.”
CDOT transferred Lovato to Colorado Spring in spring 2009. On Jan. 3, he teenager called the Sheriff’s Office to report that he had been severely beaten by his father.
According to the arrest affidavit, the boy told investigators his father beat when he did not do his chores right or fast enough, forcing him to lie face down in the basement and hitting him with a “piece of lumber.” The boy said the beatings had become worse since October. Before that, he told the deputy, his father would hit him with a belt.
In the affidavit, the deputy described the following injuries: green-colored bruises from the boy’s lower back to his shoulders; bruises the same color around his left eye and right ear; bloodied and scabbed-over injuries to his buttocks, some of which appeared to have healed and been reopened; a large closed gash on his head.
Interviewed in the hospital, the boy told sheriff’s detective Cliff Porter the most recent beating had occurred because he had fallen asleep when he was supposed to have stayed up all night doing chores.
“He told me that when it ‘really hurt’ he would squirm while his father hit him with the lumber,” Porter wrote. “He said that his father would then ‘stomp me with his boot to get me to hold still.’”
Porter wrote in the affidavit that the boy told him he was afraid his father would kill him. In the basement of Lovato’s home, investigators found a two-by-two with what appeared to be blood on it.
Sheriff’s investigators said they believe Lovato intends to try to regain custody of his adopted son.
Dad charged with murder in death of infant son (Louisville, Kentucky)
We just posted on dad ROBERT WILFRED LONG JR. earlier today. Now we hear that he has been charged with homicide in the death of his infant son. The autopsy reports that the baby died from blunt force trauma. Daddy basically abducted the baby from the babysitting grandmother and beat him to death "before the next morning." Could an earlier Amber Alert have saved this baby?
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897469
Father charged with murder of infant son
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 4:23 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 6:54 PM CST
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – Louisville Metro Police have charged the father of an infant found dead inside a SUV with his murder. According to LMPD, Robert Wilfred Long, Junior was charged in the murder of Lavion Gamble after autopsy results showed the 7 1/2 week old infant's death was the result of homicide.
According to deputy coroner Jim Wesley, Lavion died from multiple blunt force trauma to multiple parts of his body.
Long had served time for the death of another infant. He was convicted of killing his 5-week-old son in a 1991 death. With that past, come questions about how the baby and Long could have been missing such a long time.
Baby Lavion's family called police four times after his mother discovered he was gone, the last time prompting an all-out search. WAVE 3 tracked down the timeline of events and asked could anything have been done to save the baby?
The last time Lavion's mother, Leslie Gamble, saw him was at 8 a.m. Monday when she dropped the baby off at his grandmother's home. It is doubtful she could have known it would end with a swarm of police and her child dead.
Lieutenant Tom Dreher, commander of the LMPD Crimes Against Children Unit, said Robert W. Long Jr. picked his baby up around 7:30 p.m. Monday. By the time Gamble got home from work at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, both were gone.
"So she starts calling the father's cell phone and the father is not answering," Dreher said.
According to what Long told police, it was about that same time that he noticed the baby had died.
At 2:26 p.m. Tuesday, Gamble went to LMPD headquarters to report her baby missing to a 1st Division officer.
"They were unaware of any custody issues but the officer did the right thing in document 'Hey, there's something going on because this mother is conveying that there's something unusual,'" said Dreher.
Around the same time, at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, a family member reported a black SUV missing and said Long had it.
Still unable to make contact with long several hours later at 7:26 pm, the family called police again, but this time no report was taken. The next day, Gamble called police again, this time talking to the Crimes Against Children missing person's detective. She came in a couple hours later, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, to give the detective more information.
"She's still not been able to reach Mr. Long at this point, so by now between Monday and Wednesday, we've got a day or more, we've got a lot of hours now so my investigator says, 'Well give me Mr. Long's information,'" Dreher said.
The detective ran a background check and only then, for the first time, police said did they find out Long had served time for killing another baby.
"That raised a red flag, Dreher said. "Normally this case did not fit the criteria of an Amber Alert, but because of Mr. Long's past history, KSP was in the process of finalizing, they were going to approve an Amber Alert."
Investigators said they figured out Long was in the Newburg neighborhood and swarmed the area.
"As one of the cars is going down Ridgecrest, he looks over and says, 'Hey, there's a vehicle fitting that description over here.' So everybody converged on that area," said Dreher.
Dreher says it looks like no matter when the police search started, nothing would have saved baby Lavion. According to the arrest report, Long told police the baby was already dead early Tuesday morning.
"This is obviously something very tragic," said Dreher. "We would have liked to have had an opportunity to recover this baby alive but based on the information that was shared by Mr. Long with our investigators, that wasn't going to be the case."
Dreher said part of the investigation will be what officers knew and at what point.
We found out both Robert W. Long, Jr. and the baby's mother worked at Cardinal Aluminum in Louisville. WAVE talked with sources there who said Long worked his normal shift, a four-hour shift, on Monday.
Long was arraigned Thursday morning on charges of menacing, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse in the death of Lavion. The murder charge was added late Thursday. He remains in custody at Louisville Metro Corrections.
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897469
Father charged with murder of infant son
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 4:23 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 6:54 PM CST
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – Louisville Metro Police have charged the father of an infant found dead inside a SUV with his murder. According to LMPD, Robert Wilfred Long, Junior was charged in the murder of Lavion Gamble after autopsy results showed the 7 1/2 week old infant's death was the result of homicide.
According to deputy coroner Jim Wesley, Lavion died from multiple blunt force trauma to multiple parts of his body.
Long had served time for the death of another infant. He was convicted of killing his 5-week-old son in a 1991 death. With that past, come questions about how the baby and Long could have been missing such a long time.
Baby Lavion's family called police four times after his mother discovered he was gone, the last time prompting an all-out search. WAVE 3 tracked down the timeline of events and asked could anything have been done to save the baby?
The last time Lavion's mother, Leslie Gamble, saw him was at 8 a.m. Monday when she dropped the baby off at his grandmother's home. It is doubtful she could have known it would end with a swarm of police and her child dead.
Lieutenant Tom Dreher, commander of the LMPD Crimes Against Children Unit, said Robert W. Long Jr. picked his baby up around 7:30 p.m. Monday. By the time Gamble got home from work at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, both were gone.
"So she starts calling the father's cell phone and the father is not answering," Dreher said.
According to what Long told police, it was about that same time that he noticed the baby had died.
At 2:26 p.m. Tuesday, Gamble went to LMPD headquarters to report her baby missing to a 1st Division officer.
"They were unaware of any custody issues but the officer did the right thing in document 'Hey, there's something going on because this mother is conveying that there's something unusual,'" said Dreher.
Around the same time, at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, a family member reported a black SUV missing and said Long had it.
Still unable to make contact with long several hours later at 7:26 pm, the family called police again, but this time no report was taken. The next day, Gamble called police again, this time talking to the Crimes Against Children missing person's detective. She came in a couple hours later, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, to give the detective more information.
"She's still not been able to reach Mr. Long at this point, so by now between Monday and Wednesday, we've got a day or more, we've got a lot of hours now so my investigator says, 'Well give me Mr. Long's information,'" Dreher said.
The detective ran a background check and only then, for the first time, police said did they find out Long had served time for killing another baby.
"That raised a red flag, Dreher said. "Normally this case did not fit the criteria of an Amber Alert, but because of Mr. Long's past history, KSP was in the process of finalizing, they were going to approve an Amber Alert."
Investigators said they figured out Long was in the Newburg neighborhood and swarmed the area.
"As one of the cars is going down Ridgecrest, he looks over and says, 'Hey, there's a vehicle fitting that description over here.' So everybody converged on that area," said Dreher.
Dreher says it looks like no matter when the police search started, nothing would have saved baby Lavion. According to the arrest report, Long told police the baby was already dead early Tuesday morning.
"This is obviously something very tragic," said Dreher. "We would have liked to have had an opportunity to recover this baby alive but based on the information that was shared by Mr. Long with our investigators, that wasn't going to be the case."
Dreher said part of the investigation will be what officers knew and at what point.
We found out both Robert W. Long, Jr. and the baby's mother worked at Cardinal Aluminum in Louisville. WAVE talked with sources there who said Long worked his normal shift, a four-hour shift, on Monday.
Long was arraigned Thursday morning on charges of menacing, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse in the death of Lavion. The murder charge was added late Thursday. He remains in custody at Louisville Metro Corrections.
Prosecutor wants 25-year jail term for rapist dad who fathered 4 children with daughter (Melbourne, Australia)
UNNAMED DAD has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his daughter for 28 years, and fathering 4 children with her. The daughter sought help from social workers and the like several times, but got no help from police until last year.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/prosecutor-wants-long-jail-term-for-fathers-incest-20100129-n46o.html
Prosecutor wants long jail term for father's incest
ADRIAN LOWE
January 30, 2010
A FATHER who sexually abused his daughter for 28 years and fathered four of her children should be jailed for up to 25 years, a court has heard.
The 66-year-old man's offending was among the most serious of its type and he had shown no real remorse outside his guilty plea, the County Court was told yesterday.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 10 representative counts of incest, two counts of indecent assault and one count of assault.
The incest counts are collectively representative of more than 1000 occasions between 1977 and 2005 where the woman was forced to have sex with her father in the family home and her home in Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley.
Crown prosecutor Amanda Forrester said the woman's abuse continued while she was pregnant with the children and when she moved, her father pursued her.
Ms Forrester said the woman, now 45, was fearful that when she escaped, her father would hunt her down, find her and kill her.
On one occasion, when the daughter stood up to the father to refuse his advances, he pushed her against a wall and said: ''I'll teach you to knock me back.''
''You're damaged goods and no one will want you,'' the father told his daughter after one of the first occasions of abuse.
The court heard that one of the four children died shortly after birth and two of the three who live with their mother have disabilities.
The woman reported her father's behaviour to social workers and counsellors several times but police did not charge him until last year.
Ms Forrester said the man's offending was at the most serious end of the scale and constituted ''a gross breach of trust''.
Defence barrister Graham Thomas, SC, said his client realised that he was facing jail but the sentence imposed should give him some view to a life outside of custody.
''This isn't a calm, rational man offending. He was not that and he never was that in his life,'' he said.
''If and when he is released, he is an unlikely prospect of reoffending.''
Mr Thomas said the father had a personality disorder and had not been capable of making calm or rational decisions.
But Ms Forrester said no evidence had been advanced by psychologists that the man's personality disorder could be linked to his long history of sexual offending.
She said the daughter had had two-thirds of her life affected by abuse and the man should be jailed for between 22 and 25 years, with a non-parole period of 18 to 21 years.
''In these circumstances, it's somewhat ironic … that one of the factors of mitigation is the prospect of giving the offender the prospect of a meaningful life, when for so much of his life outside custody he has denied one to his own child,'' she said.
The father will be sentenced next month.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/prosecutor-wants-long-jail-term-for-fathers-incest-20100129-n46o.html
Prosecutor wants long jail term for father's incest
ADRIAN LOWE
January 30, 2010
A FATHER who sexually abused his daughter for 28 years and fathered four of her children should be jailed for up to 25 years, a court has heard.
The 66-year-old man's offending was among the most serious of its type and he had shown no real remorse outside his guilty plea, the County Court was told yesterday.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 10 representative counts of incest, two counts of indecent assault and one count of assault.
The incest counts are collectively representative of more than 1000 occasions between 1977 and 2005 where the woman was forced to have sex with her father in the family home and her home in Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley.
Crown prosecutor Amanda Forrester said the woman's abuse continued while she was pregnant with the children and when she moved, her father pursued her.
Ms Forrester said the woman, now 45, was fearful that when she escaped, her father would hunt her down, find her and kill her.
On one occasion, when the daughter stood up to the father to refuse his advances, he pushed her against a wall and said: ''I'll teach you to knock me back.''
''You're damaged goods and no one will want you,'' the father told his daughter after one of the first occasions of abuse.
The court heard that one of the four children died shortly after birth and two of the three who live with their mother have disabilities.
The woman reported her father's behaviour to social workers and counsellors several times but police did not charge him until last year.
Ms Forrester said the man's offending was at the most serious end of the scale and constituted ''a gross breach of trust''.
Defence barrister Graham Thomas, SC, said his client realised that he was facing jail but the sentence imposed should give him some view to a life outside of custody.
''This isn't a calm, rational man offending. He was not that and he never was that in his life,'' he said.
''If and when he is released, he is an unlikely prospect of reoffending.''
Mr Thomas said the father had a personality disorder and had not been capable of making calm or rational decisions.
But Ms Forrester said no evidence had been advanced by psychologists that the man's personality disorder could be linked to his long history of sexual offending.
She said the daughter had had two-thirds of her life affected by abuse and the man should be jailed for between 22 and 25 years, with a non-parole period of 18 to 21 years.
''In these circumstances, it's somewhat ironic … that one of the factors of mitigation is the prospect of giving the offender the prospect of a meaningful life, when for so much of his life outside custody he has denied one to his own child,'' she said.
The father will be sentenced next month.
"Very concerned" dad won't face murder charges after leaving 5-month-old son home alone to go out drinking (Jefferson County, Colorado)
We've reported on dad JOSEPH TRUJILLO several times in recent weeks. Now we hear that the murder charges are to be dropped. Frankly, I'm not surprised. We also hear the loyal chorus of Daddy Defenders that too often surface in these cases. Now a "family friend" claims that a guy who ADMITS to leaving his 5-month-old son home alone while he goes out to the bars is a "very concerned" dad.
One word. Barf.
By the way, in case you forgot. This is the guy who had physical custody while Mama was serving in the military. A few displaced social priorities?
http://www.newstin.com/tag/us/171717172
Jan 28, 2010 7:16 pm US/Mountain
Father Won't Face Murder Charge In Child's Death Reporting
Valerie Castro JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo (CBS4)
A man who's baby died after he allegedly left the five month old infant home alone while he went drinking, was formally charged in Jefferson County on Thursday.
Joseph Trujillo was charged with child abuse resulting in death, a class 2 felony. Investigators said Trujillo, 23, spent at least six hours at the bar while his infant son was home alone.
The child was unresponsive when Trujillo got home. Until Thursday, he was facing first degree murder charges. The Jefferson County District Attorney said upon further review of the case, the investigation warrants the child abuse resulting in death charge, instead of a murder charge.
If convicted, Trujillo is facing nearly 50 years in prison. Investigators have not said how the child died.
Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputies and medical personnel found the baby unresponsive at the 16000 block of W. 10th Ave. at 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 21.
The baby's grandmother called 911 after waking up to the sounds of her son, Trujillo crying. She found Trujillo holding the unresponsive baby. Trujillo is the baby's father, and he shares an apartment with his mother.
After interviewing witnesses, police discovered that Trujillo had left the baby alone in the apartment for between six and seven hours while he went to a local bar to drink.
"Sometime during the day Trujillo was alone in his apartment with his son, he decided to leave and left the five-month-old baby alone in the apartment for quite a bit of time," said Mark Techmeyer, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Neighbors told CBS4 that Trujillo seemed attentive and loving towards the baby.
"Every single time I saw the father with the baby he was fine, he was very concerned about the baby and I talked to him a couple two or three times about the baby crying, because we heard the baby crying," said Janice Hannon, family friend.
Trujillo was booked into the Jefferson County Jail where he is being held without bond on suspicion of first degree murder.
One word. Barf.
By the way, in case you forgot. This is the guy who had physical custody while Mama was serving in the military. A few displaced social priorities?
http://www.newstin.com/tag/us/171717172
Jan 28, 2010 7:16 pm US/Mountain
Father Won't Face Murder Charge In Child's Death Reporting
Valerie Castro JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo (CBS4)
A man who's baby died after he allegedly left the five month old infant home alone while he went drinking, was formally charged in Jefferson County on Thursday.
Joseph Trujillo was charged with child abuse resulting in death, a class 2 felony. Investigators said Trujillo, 23, spent at least six hours at the bar while his infant son was home alone.
The child was unresponsive when Trujillo got home. Until Thursday, he was facing first degree murder charges. The Jefferson County District Attorney said upon further review of the case, the investigation warrants the child abuse resulting in death charge, instead of a murder charge.
If convicted, Trujillo is facing nearly 50 years in prison. Investigators have not said how the child died.
Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputies and medical personnel found the baby unresponsive at the 16000 block of W. 10th Ave. at 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 21.
The baby's grandmother called 911 after waking up to the sounds of her son, Trujillo crying. She found Trujillo holding the unresponsive baby. Trujillo is the baby's father, and he shares an apartment with his mother.
After interviewing witnesses, police discovered that Trujillo had left the baby alone in the apartment for between six and seven hours while he went to a local bar to drink.
"Sometime during the day Trujillo was alone in his apartment with his son, he decided to leave and left the five-month-old baby alone in the apartment for quite a bit of time," said Mark Techmeyer, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Neighbors told CBS4 that Trujillo seemed attentive and loving towards the baby.
"Every single time I saw the father with the baby he was fine, he was very concerned about the baby and I talked to him a couple two or three times about the baby crying, because we heard the baby crying," said Janice Hannon, family friend.
Trujillo was booked into the Jefferson County Jail where he is being held without bond on suspicion of first degree murder.
Domestic Violence - Think about children (Harare, Zimbabwe)
Nice piece out of Zimbabwe on the effects that domestic violence have on children.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201001290041.html
Zimbabwe: Domestic Violence - Think About Children
Tichaona Zindoga
29 January 2010
opinion
Harare — IN the stealth of the night, a voice of a woman, Amai Taku (not her real name) pierces through the darkness as she screams amid a barrage of blows from her irate husband.
And as the screams subside to an eerie, bone-chilling and incessant wailing, the tiny voice of Taku -- apparently as disconsolate -- could be heard mingling with his mother's.
The cries of mother and child make a most mournful chorus but the husband is unfazed.
It has happened again: Amai Taku's husband has beaten her once more, waking the four-year-old boy from his slumber, obviously without the faintest idea of what has caused the fight.
But he can sense that something is wrong and memories of his father beating the lights out of his mother day in day out, are probably set to stay with him forever.
It is a familiar tale with those children, from toddlers to teens, who have experienced or witnessed domestic violence.
Zimbabwe has legislated against the practice via the Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16).
Domestic violence refers to "any unlawful act or behaviour or omission that results in the death, injury (physical, sexual or mental)" between a husband and wife.
Unfortunately, it is a worldwide phenomenon with many casualties, especially among women.
But domestic violence has tended to impact negatively on the lives of young people.
Mr Caleb Mutandwa, programmes director with Justice for Children Trust, says domestic violence affects young people in a profound way.
He says apart from suffering abuse themselves, physically or financially (financial deprivation by a spouse is covered in the Act), children in abusive homes have to live with a number of negative realities.
"Domestic violence may give the wrong impression that fighting is the only way to solve problems," he said.
"For the most part, the children internalise the violence at home and become violent outside and later in life," he added.
Mr Mutandwa said children in abusive homes were especially susceptible to violence themselves as they might think that it is normal.
At school, children's performance suffers a lot as their minds continue to drift to the unpleasant situation at home.
On the main, children in abusive homes tend to "grow" faster than normal as they try to cope with the situation at home.
Domestic violence has been known to drive young people onto the streets.
"The home becomes a source of discomfort and hate rather than of love and comfort," Mr Mutandwa inferred.
An American journal, Women's Rural Advocacy Program, also illustrates the unfortunate extent of domestic violence to a whole range of young people.
"Infants may be injured if being held by the mother when the batterer strikes out (and) older children may be hurt while trying to protect their mother," it says.
It adds that children in homes where domestic violence occurs may experience cognitive or language problems, developmental delay, stress-related physical ailments (such as headaches, ulcers, and rashes), and hearing and speech problems.
It also corroborates the findings expressed by Justice for Children Trust that many children in homes where domestic violence occurs have difficulties in school, including problems with concentration, poor academic performance, difficulty with peer interactions, and more absences from school.
Boys who witness domestic violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults than boys raised in non-violent homes.
"There is no evidence, however, that girls who witness their mothers' abuse have a higher risk of being battered as adults," WRAP notes.
Children also tend to take responsibility for the abuse and are in constant anxiety (that another beating will occur) and stress-related disorders.
Children in these unfortunate circumstances often feel guilty for not being able to stop the abuse or for loving the abuser.
Some of the problems encountered by children in abusive homes, WRAP states, include fear of abandonment, social isolation and difficulty interacting with peers and adults, and having low self-esteem.
Children in unhappy situations may become withdrawn, non-verbal, and exhibit regressed behaviour such as clinging and whining while they also suffer eating and sleeping difficulties, concentration problems, generalised anxiety, and physical complaints (such as headaches) are all common.
For older children, domestic violence has a way of pushing them to exhibit violent or rebellious behaviour.
This is because unlike younger children, the pre-adolescent child typically has greater ability to externalise negative emotions.
They may show a loss of interest in social activities, low self-concept, withdrawal or avoidance of peer relations, rebelliousness and oppositional-defiant behaviour in the school setting.
Temper tantrums, irritability, frequent fighting at school or between siblings, lashing out at objects, abusing pets, threatening peers or siblings with violence, and attempts to gain attention through hitting, kicking, or choking peers and/or family members, experts say.
Adolescents, it has been observed, are at risk of academic failure, dropping out of school, delinquency, and substance abuse.
"Some investigators have suggested that a history of family violence or abuse is the most significant difference between delinquent and non delinquent youth," one website www.aaets.org, says.
Citing some studies, it estimates that one-fifth to one-third of all teenagers who are involved in dating relationships are regularly abusing or being abused by their partners verbally, mentally, emotionally, sexually, and/or physically. Between 30 percent and 50 percent of dating relationships can show the same cycle of escalating violence as marital relationships.
But there is a glimmer of hope locally and abroad with efforts to combat the scourge of domestic violence.
In Zimbabwe, the Domestic Violence Act has strengthened existing legislation to cushion women and children, although interest groups have complained that people are still to claim the full benefits of such.
The Act provides for the arrest of a perpetrator of domestic violence by a police officer without a warrant, in the interest of the victim's safety, health or well being.
In cases of domestic violence, a complainant or anyone acting in his or her interest with or without his or her consent or anyone having care or custody of a minor child who is a victim may apply for a "Protection Order".
The Order, granted by the Courts, protects the victim from any form violence from the perpetrator.
It instructs the perpetrator to stay away from the complainant and pay monetary relief to complainant and any child dependent. The protection order awards custody of any child or dependent to any person or institution and set out access rights of such a child.
A child is entitled to use the respondent's premises or property in case of the order being evoked.
Before the courts can grant the order, the victim can secure an Interim Protection Order in which the perpetrator is not given a chance to respond to the application.
This is done when there is compelling evidence that the complainant needs protection.
The perpetrator has to convince the Court why, if he or she does, a protection order cannot be issued, before the date shown on the temporary order.
If the perpetrator fails to abide by the order, they may be arrested for the offence.
The protection order could be varied, though, and in the case of a minor the representative must show that it is in the child's best interests.
The Domestic Violence Act also dovetails with other legislation on areas such as the maintenance law.
On top of judicial recourse to help children affected by domestic violence, there are other measures that could be employed to help children affected by domestic violence.
School authorities could play a pivotal role in assisting the child in need of support so do local child protection agencies or counsellors.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201001290041.html
Zimbabwe: Domestic Violence - Think About Children
Tichaona Zindoga
29 January 2010
opinion
Harare — IN the stealth of the night, a voice of a woman, Amai Taku (not her real name) pierces through the darkness as she screams amid a barrage of blows from her irate husband.
And as the screams subside to an eerie, bone-chilling and incessant wailing, the tiny voice of Taku -- apparently as disconsolate -- could be heard mingling with his mother's.
The cries of mother and child make a most mournful chorus but the husband is unfazed.
It has happened again: Amai Taku's husband has beaten her once more, waking the four-year-old boy from his slumber, obviously without the faintest idea of what has caused the fight.
But he can sense that something is wrong and memories of his father beating the lights out of his mother day in day out, are probably set to stay with him forever.
It is a familiar tale with those children, from toddlers to teens, who have experienced or witnessed domestic violence.
Zimbabwe has legislated against the practice via the Domestic Violence Act (Chapter 5:16).
Domestic violence refers to "any unlawful act or behaviour or omission that results in the death, injury (physical, sexual or mental)" between a husband and wife.
Unfortunately, it is a worldwide phenomenon with many casualties, especially among women.
But domestic violence has tended to impact negatively on the lives of young people.
Mr Caleb Mutandwa, programmes director with Justice for Children Trust, says domestic violence affects young people in a profound way.
He says apart from suffering abuse themselves, physically or financially (financial deprivation by a spouse is covered in the Act), children in abusive homes have to live with a number of negative realities.
"Domestic violence may give the wrong impression that fighting is the only way to solve problems," he said.
"For the most part, the children internalise the violence at home and become violent outside and later in life," he added.
Mr Mutandwa said children in abusive homes were especially susceptible to violence themselves as they might think that it is normal.
At school, children's performance suffers a lot as their minds continue to drift to the unpleasant situation at home.
On the main, children in abusive homes tend to "grow" faster than normal as they try to cope with the situation at home.
Domestic violence has been known to drive young people onto the streets.
"The home becomes a source of discomfort and hate rather than of love and comfort," Mr Mutandwa inferred.
An American journal, Women's Rural Advocacy Program, also illustrates the unfortunate extent of domestic violence to a whole range of young people.
"Infants may be injured if being held by the mother when the batterer strikes out (and) older children may be hurt while trying to protect their mother," it says.
It adds that children in homes where domestic violence occurs may experience cognitive or language problems, developmental delay, stress-related physical ailments (such as headaches, ulcers, and rashes), and hearing and speech problems.
It also corroborates the findings expressed by Justice for Children Trust that many children in homes where domestic violence occurs have difficulties in school, including problems with concentration, poor academic performance, difficulty with peer interactions, and more absences from school.
Boys who witness domestic violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults than boys raised in non-violent homes.
"There is no evidence, however, that girls who witness their mothers' abuse have a higher risk of being battered as adults," WRAP notes.
Children also tend to take responsibility for the abuse and are in constant anxiety (that another beating will occur) and stress-related disorders.
Children in these unfortunate circumstances often feel guilty for not being able to stop the abuse or for loving the abuser.
Some of the problems encountered by children in abusive homes, WRAP states, include fear of abandonment, social isolation and difficulty interacting with peers and adults, and having low self-esteem.
Children in unhappy situations may become withdrawn, non-verbal, and exhibit regressed behaviour such as clinging and whining while they also suffer eating and sleeping difficulties, concentration problems, generalised anxiety, and physical complaints (such as headaches) are all common.
For older children, domestic violence has a way of pushing them to exhibit violent or rebellious behaviour.
This is because unlike younger children, the pre-adolescent child typically has greater ability to externalise negative emotions.
They may show a loss of interest in social activities, low self-concept, withdrawal or avoidance of peer relations, rebelliousness and oppositional-defiant behaviour in the school setting.
Temper tantrums, irritability, frequent fighting at school or between siblings, lashing out at objects, abusing pets, threatening peers or siblings with violence, and attempts to gain attention through hitting, kicking, or choking peers and/or family members, experts say.
Adolescents, it has been observed, are at risk of academic failure, dropping out of school, delinquency, and substance abuse.
"Some investigators have suggested that a history of family violence or abuse is the most significant difference between delinquent and non delinquent youth," one website www.aaets.org, says.
Citing some studies, it estimates that one-fifth to one-third of all teenagers who are involved in dating relationships are regularly abusing or being abused by their partners verbally, mentally, emotionally, sexually, and/or physically. Between 30 percent and 50 percent of dating relationships can show the same cycle of escalating violence as marital relationships.
But there is a glimmer of hope locally and abroad with efforts to combat the scourge of domestic violence.
In Zimbabwe, the Domestic Violence Act has strengthened existing legislation to cushion women and children, although interest groups have complained that people are still to claim the full benefits of such.
The Act provides for the arrest of a perpetrator of domestic violence by a police officer without a warrant, in the interest of the victim's safety, health or well being.
In cases of domestic violence, a complainant or anyone acting in his or her interest with or without his or her consent or anyone having care or custody of a minor child who is a victim may apply for a "Protection Order".
The Order, granted by the Courts, protects the victim from any form violence from the perpetrator.
It instructs the perpetrator to stay away from the complainant and pay monetary relief to complainant and any child dependent. The protection order awards custody of any child or dependent to any person or institution and set out access rights of such a child.
A child is entitled to use the respondent's premises or property in case of the order being evoked.
Before the courts can grant the order, the victim can secure an Interim Protection Order in which the perpetrator is not given a chance to respond to the application.
This is done when there is compelling evidence that the complainant needs protection.
The perpetrator has to convince the Court why, if he or she does, a protection order cannot be issued, before the date shown on the temporary order.
If the perpetrator fails to abide by the order, they may be arrested for the offence.
The protection order could be varied, though, and in the case of a minor the representative must show that it is in the child's best interests.
The Domestic Violence Act also dovetails with other legislation on areas such as the maintenance law.
On top of judicial recourse to help children affected by domestic violence, there are other measures that could be employed to help children affected by domestic violence.
School authorities could play a pivotal role in assisting the child in need of support so do local child protection agencies or counsellors.
3rd trial for dad accused of murdering 4-year-old daughter to avoid child support (Los Angeles, California)
Dad CAMERON BROWN is now facing a 3rd trial on charges that he murdered his 4-year-old daughter by throwing her off a cliff. It is alleged that he did so to avoid child support. We have previously reported on this case here:
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/10/second-mistrial-declared-in-death-of-4.html
Brown's attorney, Pat Harris, says he will appeal the decision.
Two juries have deadlocked over whether Brown, a former airport baggage handler, tossed his daughter Lauren Sarene Key into the Pacific Ocean in Rancho Palos Verdes in November 2000.
Prosecutors say Brown killed her to avoid paying about $1,000 in monthly child support. Harris argues the girl slipped and fell 120 feet from Inspiration Point.
Brown was tried in 2006 and 2009. He remains in jail and is due back in court March 2.
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/10/second-mistrial-declared-in-death-of-4.html
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/07/dad-on-trial-2nd-time-for-murder-of-4.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14287813?nclick_check=1
3rd trial expected in SoCal cliff death case
The Associated Press
Posted: 01/28/2010 01:28:23 PM PST
Updated: 01/28/2010 01:28:23 PM PST
LOS ANGELES—A father is facing a third trial on charges he murdered his 4-year-old daughter by throwing her off a cliff in Los Angeles County.
Brown's attorney, Pat Harris, says he will appeal the decision.
Two juries have deadlocked over whether Brown, a former airport baggage handler, tossed his daughter Lauren Sarene Key into the Pacific Ocean in Rancho Palos Verdes in November 2000.
Prosecutors say Brown killed her to avoid paying about $1,000 in monthly child support. Harris argues the girl slipped and fell 120 feet from Inspiration Point.
Brown was tried in 2006 and 2009. He remains in jail and is due back in court March 2.
Dad pleads guilty to 2nd-degree manslaughter in death of 4-month-old son (Golden Valley, Minnesota)
Dad WILLIE ERVIN FRANKLIN III must be one of the worst "caretaker" dads we've reported on here at Dastardly Dads--and we've had plenty. This guy has it all: abuses the baby and then buries him under a heavy blanket. Then Daddy goes to another room so he can smoke a little weed and call an X-rated chat room. He even turns up the music so he can't hear the dying baby cry. What a piece of sh**.
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/82823137.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Golden Valley dad pleads guilty in death of 4-month-old
Medical examiner was unable to determine the cause of death. Father admitted to neglecting 4-month-old.
Star Tribune
Last update: January 27, 2010 - 9:02 PM
A man who left his crying 4-month-old son face-down on a pillow under a quilt pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the boy's death and is expected to be sentenced to five years in prison.
Willie Ervin Franklin III, 24, quietly answered yes to each question in Hennepin County District Court from his lawyer Ann Remington. He said he was alone in his Golden Valley apartment with his namesake and was unable to calm the child. Franklin said he threw a baby bottle at Willie Franklin IV, bruising him. Then he put the baby face down on a pillow and covered him with a blanket later determined to weigh 4 pounds.
Franklin then went into another room, smoked marijuana, called an X-rated chat line and turned up the music so he couldn't hear the baby. He admitted being in the other room for 30 minutes. When he returned, the baby wasn't breathing. Franklin called police and tried to resuscitate the infant, he testified.
In a previous court session, the medical examiner said he was unable to determine a cause of the child's death, Remington said. An autopsy revealed no internal injuries to the boy, and he had minimal signs of suffocation.
Franklin is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
ROCHELLE OLSON
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/82823137.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Golden Valley dad pleads guilty in death of 4-month-old
Medical examiner was unable to determine the cause of death. Father admitted to neglecting 4-month-old.
Star Tribune
Last update: January 27, 2010 - 9:02 PM
A man who left his crying 4-month-old son face-down on a pillow under a quilt pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the boy's death and is expected to be sentenced to five years in prison.
Willie Ervin Franklin III, 24, quietly answered yes to each question in Hennepin County District Court from his lawyer Ann Remington. He said he was alone in his Golden Valley apartment with his namesake and was unable to calm the child. Franklin said he threw a baby bottle at Willie Franklin IV, bruising him. Then he put the baby face down on a pillow and covered him with a blanket later determined to weigh 4 pounds.
Franklin then went into another room, smoked marijuana, called an X-rated chat line and turned up the music so he couldn't hear the baby. He admitted being in the other room for 30 minutes. When he returned, the baby wasn't breathing. Franklin called police and tried to resuscitate the infant, he testified.
In a previous court session, the medical examiner said he was unable to determine a cause of the child's death, Remington said. An autopsy revealed no internal injuries to the boy, and he had minimal signs of suffocation.
Franklin is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
ROCHELLE OLSON
Dad facing charges in death of 6-week-old son; previously convicted on murdering 5-week-old son in 1991 (Louisville, Kentucky)
A tiger doesn't change his stripes.
Dad ROBERT WILFRED LONG JR was convicted back in 1991 for murdering his 5-week-old son, but Daddy got early release from prison. Almost twenty years later, Daddy is "facing charges related to the death" of his 6-week-old son. The family had reported the baby as "missing."
I wish I could say these "repeater" child abusers and killers are unusual, but they aren't.
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11890331
Baby found dead inside SUV; father faces charges
Posted: Jan 27, 2010 3:53 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 6:37 AM CST
By Marisela Burgos
Posted by Charles Gazaway
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A 44-year-old Louisville man is facing charges related to the death of his six-week-old son. After being questioned by Metro Police, Robert Wilfred Long Junior was charged late Wednesday with menacing, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.
According to Dwight Mitchell, a LMPD spokesperson, the Crimes Against Children Unit received a call around 10 a.m. Wednesday about the missing infant from the family of the baby. Mitchell said the boy may have disappeared as early as Monday.
Around 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, the investigation led detectives to a SUV parked in the driveway of a home in the 5500 block of Ridgecrest Road. Mary Simpson, a Ridgecrest Road resident, was home when officers surrounded the black SUV and broke out the front right passenger window.
"I'd seen them breaking the window in that truck," said Simpson. "I didn't know a baby was in there."
Mitchell said the missing baby was found dead inside the SUV. How the baby died is not yet clear. The Jefferson County Coroner's office said they will conduct an autopsy on Thursday. Police immediately took the father of the infant, later identified by police as Long, into custody.
Simpson has lived on Ridgecrest Road for over 30 years and never imagined she would witness what she saw unfold Wednesday afternoon.
"Oh, it scared me to death, Simpson said. "I got a little grandbaby I'm raising. I've had him since he was 17 months. I just don't know how somebody could be that cruel."
Long is being held at Louisville Metro Corrections and is expected to appear before a judge Thursday morning. Metro Police say Long could face more charges, depending on the results of the autopsy on the baby.
We learned Long has a long criminal history, which includes other charges regarding the death of an infant. In 1991, Long was convicted of murdering his five-week-old son. He told police the child slipped and fell down ten steps, but the medical examiner ruled the injuries were consistent with child abuse. In May 1992, a jury found long guilty and recommended he be sentenced to 35 years in prison, but he was released early.
Dad ROBERT WILFRED LONG JR was convicted back in 1991 for murdering his 5-week-old son, but Daddy got early release from prison. Almost twenty years later, Daddy is "facing charges related to the death" of his 6-week-old son. The family had reported the baby as "missing."
I wish I could say these "repeater" child abusers and killers are unusual, but they aren't.
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11890331
Baby found dead inside SUV; father faces charges
Posted: Jan 27, 2010 3:53 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 6:37 AM CST
By Marisela Burgos
Posted by Charles Gazaway
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A 44-year-old Louisville man is facing charges related to the death of his six-week-old son. After being questioned by Metro Police, Robert Wilfred Long Junior was charged late Wednesday with menacing, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.
According to Dwight Mitchell, a LMPD spokesperson, the Crimes Against Children Unit received a call around 10 a.m. Wednesday about the missing infant from the family of the baby. Mitchell said the boy may have disappeared as early as Monday.
Around 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, the investigation led detectives to a SUV parked in the driveway of a home in the 5500 block of Ridgecrest Road. Mary Simpson, a Ridgecrest Road resident, was home when officers surrounded the black SUV and broke out the front right passenger window.
"I'd seen them breaking the window in that truck," said Simpson. "I didn't know a baby was in there."
Mitchell said the missing baby was found dead inside the SUV. How the baby died is not yet clear. The Jefferson County Coroner's office said they will conduct an autopsy on Thursday. Police immediately took the father of the infant, later identified by police as Long, into custody.
Simpson has lived on Ridgecrest Road for over 30 years and never imagined she would witness what she saw unfold Wednesday afternoon.
"Oh, it scared me to death, Simpson said. "I got a little grandbaby I'm raising. I've had him since he was 17 months. I just don't know how somebody could be that cruel."
Long is being held at Louisville Metro Corrections and is expected to appear before a judge Thursday morning. Metro Police say Long could face more charges, depending on the results of the autopsy on the baby.
We learned Long has a long criminal history, which includes other charges regarding the death of an infant. In 1991, Long was convicted of murdering his five-week-old son. He told police the child slipped and fell down ten steps, but the medical examiner ruled the injuries were consistent with child abuse. In May 1992, a jury found long guilty and recommended he be sentenced to 35 years in prison, but he was released early.
Dad arrested for beating son with extension cord (Jacksonville, Florida)
Dad KENNETH WOODY has been arrested on charges of child abuse after his son showed up in school with welts and bruises from a beating with an extension cord.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/22360302/detail.html
Police: Father Beat Son With Extension Cord
Boy Showed Welts, Bruises To School Officer Tuesday
POSTED: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UPDATED: 8:17 pm EST January 27, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville father police said beat his son with an extension cord was arrested on charges of child abuse.
Police said Kenneth Woody's son showed several welts and bruises to a Duval County School Board police officer at North Shore Elementary School on Tuesday.
They said the boy told them he did not want to go home because he "keeps getting whipped with an extension cord."
Police questioned Woody, the boy's father, and then charged him with child abuse.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/22360302/detail.html
Police: Father Beat Son With Extension Cord
Boy Showed Welts, Bruises To School Officer Tuesday
POSTED: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UPDATED: 8:17 pm EST January 27, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville father police said beat his son with an extension cord was arrested on charges of child abuse.
Police said Kenneth Woody's son showed several welts and bruises to a Duval County School Board police officer at North Shore Elementary School on Tuesday.
They said the boy told them he did not want to go home because he "keeps getting whipped with an extension cord."
Police questioned Woody, the boy's father, and then charged him with child abuse.
Dad charged with murder in shaking death of 4-month-old son (Houston, Texas)
Dad JEMONE RACHIEM WILLIAMS has been charged with murder in the shaking death of his 4-month-old son.
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Shaken-infant-dies-father-charged-with-murder--83025417.html
Shaken infant dies, father charged with murder
by khou.com staff
Posted on January 29, 2010 at 8:27 AM
HOUSTON – A man accused of shaking his 4-month-old baby boy to death has been charged with murder, authorities said.
The baby was rushed to the hospital Tuesday night and died Wednesday, a CPS spokesperson said.
Jemone Rachiem Williams is out of jail on a $30,000 bond and is scheduled to be in court Friday.
Investigators told 11 News that other relatives could face charges in the case.
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Shaken-infant-dies-father-charged-with-murder--83025417.html
Shaken infant dies, father charged with murder
by khou.com staff
Posted on January 29, 2010 at 8:27 AM
HOUSTON – A man accused of shaking his 4-month-old baby boy to death has been charged with murder, authorities said.
The baby was rushed to the hospital Tuesday night and died Wednesday, a CPS spokesperson said.
Jemone Rachiem Williams is out of jail on a $30,000 bond and is scheduled to be in court Friday.
Investigators told 11 News that other relatives could face charges in the case.
Dad found guilty of injuring 2-month-old son; infant suffered severe head trauma and partially blind (Idaho Falls, Idaho)
Dad BRAD ZSADANYI has been found guilty in the shaking injuries of his 2-month-old son. The baby suffered severe head trauma, and is now blind in one eye.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897129
Father Found Guilty of Shaking, Injuring Baby
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 03:41 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 05:47 PM CST
IDAHO FALLS – A jury found an Idaho Falls father guilty of shaking his then 2-month-old and causing serious injury.
On the morning of Apr. 11, 2009, Brad Zsadanyi told police he was alone with the baby but adamantly denied knowing how he got hurt.
Baby Jacob was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome. The doctor who first treated the infant testified in court this week the child came into the emergency room in critical condition and had blood on his swollen brain.
The infant suffered severe head trauma and is now blind in one eye.
The infant's mother testified she had asked Zsadanyi what happened. He told her he didn't support the child's head. When she confronted him a second time, he changed his story. He said while he was holding the baby, the child fell onto his chest.
Zsadanyi now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced March 13.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11897129
Father Found Guilty of Shaking, Injuring Baby
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 03:41 PM CST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 05:47 PM CST
IDAHO FALLS – A jury found an Idaho Falls father guilty of shaking his then 2-month-old and causing serious injury.
On the morning of Apr. 11, 2009, Brad Zsadanyi told police he was alone with the baby but adamantly denied knowing how he got hurt.
Baby Jacob was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome. The doctor who first treated the infant testified in court this week the child came into the emergency room in critical condition and had blood on his swollen brain.
The infant suffered severe head trauma and is now blind in one eye.
The infant's mother testified she had asked Zsadanyi what happened. He told her he didn't support the child's head. When she confronted him a second time, he changed his story. He said while he was holding the baby, the child fell onto his chest.
Zsadanyi now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced March 13.
Separated fathers face access changes after Chisholm report (Australia)
Australia has already experimented with lockstep 50/50 custody (no questions asked) and it's been a disaster. Too many children (like Darcy Freeman, who is mentioned below) have been left at the complete mercy of an abusive father and have died as a result. If you got to the Australia tab, you can pull up more news stories over the past 6-7 months of Australian children who were killed by mentally ill, addicted, and/or abusive fathers who just had to have their "rights." It's time that other countries learn from Australia's mistakes instead of blindly repeating them.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/separated-fathers-face-access-changes-after-chisholm-report/story-e6frg6nf-1225824395007
Separated fathers face access changes after Chisholm report
Caroline Overington
From: The Australian January 28, 2010 3:41PM
SEPARATED fathers are not entitled to a 50-50 time split with their children, and legislation introduced by the Howard government in 2006 should be amended to make that clear.
A 300-report by retired family court judge Richard Chisholm recommends five changes to the so-called “shared parenting” law, which he described as a “tangle” that had taken the focus off “what is best for the children”.
The hotly anticipated Chisholm report, which was ordered by Attorney-General Robert McClelland after the shocking death of Melbourne girl Darcey Freeman, who was thrown to her death from the West Gate Bridge last year, says the shared parenting law has made it difficult for women to raise allegations of violence in the Family Court system.
A separate, 1000-page report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, also released this afternoon, says the majority of lawyers now believe that the 2006 reforms favour fathers over mothers, and parents over children.
The two reports into shared parenting - plus a third report, by the Family Law Council - were released simultaneously by Mr McClelland this afternoon.
Mr McClelland said the government would review all reports before making changes but agreed that a false idea had taken hold in the community that fathers were entitled to a 50-50 time split.
“How we address that is what we've now got to decide,” he said.
The release of the reports comes three years after the Howard government introduced the idea that the care of children should be shared between parents, after divorce.
The shared parenting law was described at the time as the most significant change to family law in Australia since the Family Law Act (1975) was introduced by the Whitlam government.
The law requires the Family Court to presume that a child's best interests are served by having a relationship with both parents after divorce. It also asks the court to consider equal time for parents.
Fathers hailed the move, saying they had too long been cut out of their children's lives, because courts had been biased against them. Figures suggested that one in four children had no contact at all with their father, after divorce.
The laws have come in for fierce criticism from women's groups, and academics, who argue that it may not be in the best interests of children.
The law punishes women who raise allegations of violence that they cannot prove in court, by lumping them with the entire cost of proceedings. All three reports found that women had become reluctant to raise allegations of violence, if they had no proof - such a police report - that violence had occurred.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/separated-fathers-face-access-changes-after-chisholm-report/story-e6frg6nf-1225824395007
Separated fathers face access changes after Chisholm report
Caroline Overington
From: The Australian January 28, 2010 3:41PM
SEPARATED fathers are not entitled to a 50-50 time split with their children, and legislation introduced by the Howard government in 2006 should be amended to make that clear.
A 300-report by retired family court judge Richard Chisholm recommends five changes to the so-called “shared parenting” law, which he described as a “tangle” that had taken the focus off “what is best for the children”.
The hotly anticipated Chisholm report, which was ordered by Attorney-General Robert McClelland after the shocking death of Melbourne girl Darcey Freeman, who was thrown to her death from the West Gate Bridge last year, says the shared parenting law has made it difficult for women to raise allegations of violence in the Family Court system.
A separate, 1000-page report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, also released this afternoon, says the majority of lawyers now believe that the 2006 reforms favour fathers over mothers, and parents over children.
The two reports into shared parenting - plus a third report, by the Family Law Council - were released simultaneously by Mr McClelland this afternoon.
Mr McClelland said the government would review all reports before making changes but agreed that a false idea had taken hold in the community that fathers were entitled to a 50-50 time split.
“How we address that is what we've now got to decide,” he said.
The release of the reports comes three years after the Howard government introduced the idea that the care of children should be shared between parents, after divorce.
The shared parenting law was described at the time as the most significant change to family law in Australia since the Family Law Act (1975) was introduced by the Whitlam government.
The law requires the Family Court to presume that a child's best interests are served by having a relationship with both parents after divorce. It also asks the court to consider equal time for parents.
Fathers hailed the move, saying they had too long been cut out of their children's lives, because courts had been biased against them. Figures suggested that one in four children had no contact at all with their father, after divorce.
The laws have come in for fierce criticism from women's groups, and academics, who argue that it may not be in the best interests of children.
The law punishes women who raise allegations of violence that they cannot prove in court, by lumping them with the entire cost of proceedings. All three reports found that women had become reluctant to raise allegations of violence, if they had no proof - such a police report - that violence had occurred.
Lawmakers table DV probe into bail reform (West Haven, Connecticut)
It appears that dad SELAMI OZDEMIR is the killer referred to in the other Connecticut article (see two posts down). He murdered his wife while out on bail--just hours after he was arrested on another DV charge.
http://www.chargerbulletin.com/2010/01/28/lawmakers-table-domestic-violence-probe/
Lawmakers Table Domestic Violence Probe
by The Charger Bulletin January 28, 2010
A Connecticut legislative task force that’s discussing ways to improve domestic violence laws is holding off from examining a West Haven murder-suicide.
Rep. Mae Flexer says the case remains under investigation. Once that’s complete, she says the House Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence will decide whether to look into the Jan. 17 incident.
West Haven police say 42-year-old Selami Ozdemir shot his wife, 25-year-old Shengyl Rasim, to death and killed himself hours after Ozdemir was arrested for the second time in four months on domestic violence charges.
Police say Ozdemir was able to post $25,000 bail and returned to his home, violating orders to stay away from his wife.
State prosecutors are already looking into how the case was handled.
http://www.chargerbulletin.com/2010/01/28/lawmakers-table-domestic-violence-probe/
Lawmakers Table Domestic Violence Probe
by The Charger Bulletin January 28, 2010
A Connecticut legislative task force that’s discussing ways to improve domestic violence laws is holding off from examining a West Haven murder-suicide.
Rep. Mae Flexer says the case remains under investigation. Once that’s complete, she says the House Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence will decide whether to look into the Jan. 17 incident.
West Haven police say 42-year-old Selami Ozdemir shot his wife, 25-year-old Shengyl Rasim, to death and killed himself hours after Ozdemir was arrested for the second time in four months on domestic violence charges.
Police say Ozdemir was able to post $25,000 bail and returned to his home, violating orders to stay away from his wife.
State prosecutors are already looking into how the case was handled.
Dad murders sister, ex-wife in front of their child (Lancaster, California)
Yet another UNNAMED DAD who slaughters his child's mother--and right in front of the child too.
http://www.koat.com/news/22339058/detail.html
Officials Probe Apparent Double Murder Suicide
POSTED: 6:49 pm MST January 25, 2010
UPDATED: 6:51 pm MST January 25, 2010
LANCASTER, Calif. -- A man killed his sister and ex-wife, who was shot to death in front of the couple's child, then fatally turned the gun on himself, sheriff's officials said Monday.
The bodies were found in the northeastern Los Angeles County cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck said.
Peck said the man phoned his father saying he killed his sister and intended to kill himself. The father went to his daughter's Palmdale home where he found her dead, Peck said. At about the same time, deputies responded to a 911 call of shots fired at a Lancaster home. Deputies arrived to find a woman, identified as the man's ex-wife, dead of multiple gunshot wounds after she was shot in front of the couple's child, Peck said.
The man was later found in his vehicle in Lancaster, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Peck said.
The identities of the three have not yet been released.
http://www.koat.com/news/22339058/detail.html
Officials Probe Apparent Double Murder Suicide
POSTED: 6:49 pm MST January 25, 2010
UPDATED: 6:51 pm MST January 25, 2010
LANCASTER, Calif. -- A man killed his sister and ex-wife, who was shot to death in front of the couple's child, then fatally turned the gun on himself, sheriff's officials said Monday.
The bodies were found in the northeastern Los Angeles County cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck said.
Peck said the man phoned his father saying he killed his sister and intended to kill himself. The father went to his daughter's Palmdale home where he found her dead, Peck said. At about the same time, deputies responded to a 911 call of shots fired at a Lancaster home. Deputies arrived to find a woman, identified as the man's ex-wife, dead of multiple gunshot wounds after she was shot in front of the couple's child, Peck said.
The man was later found in his vehicle in Lancaster, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Peck said.
The identities of the three have not yet been released.
Mom held hostage by dad backs DV reforms: Stop giving bail to abusers (Hartford, Connecticut)
When you start a blogging project like Dastardly Dads, you always end up wishing you had tagged certain pieces of information for future reference. I now wish I had tagged "bail." Because I can't even count how many times somebody got seriously hurt or killed after Daddy got out of jail on bail for child abuse and/or domestic violence, only to go home and "finish business." If I can find the time, I'll have to go back and tally the ones I can locate by memory or other means.
As you see in the cases mentioned below, dad RICHARD SHENKMAN and another UNNAMED DAD both abused their bail status to inflict more violence on their families.
http://www.courant.com/news/domestic-violence/hc-dv-tyler-0128.artjan28,0,3639207.story
Woman Held Hostage By Husband Backs Domestic Violence Reforms
Nancy P. Tyler's Remarks At Press Conference Hosted By Domestic Violence Coalition
1,592 estimated family violence incidents in Connecticut year-to-date, based on 2007 data.
By JOSH KOVNER
The Hartford Courant
January 28, 2010
HARTFORD — - Since escaping from the clutches of her estranged husband, who police said kidnapped her, held her hostage, and then set fire to their home in South Windsor in July, Nancy Tyler has largely tended to the business of healing.
She went on two national news shows in the aftermath of her 13-hour ordeal and spoke out in court about Connecticut's bail system because her husband, Richard Shenkman, had been, at the time of the South Windsor attack, free on $500,000 bail after he was charged with setting fire to the couple's house in East Lyme in March 2007.
Otherwise, she had been publicly silent for months, drawing strength from her son, 20, and daughter, 24.
On Wednesday, Tyler, a lawyer in downtown Hartford, spoke out again.
She chose as the forum a news briefing by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence on its legislative agenda for 2010, a slate of reforms being presented at a time of both increased violence against women in Connecticut and heightened media attention on the issues.
She invoked a recent case — a Jan. 16 murder-suicide in West Haven, in which the husband, charged in his second family-violence case in five months, posted bail, allegedly returned to the house, and shot his 25-year-old wife to death and then killed himself. Their two sons, one 6 years old, the other 7 months, were inside the house at the time.
"Most people have no idea what it was like for that woman, trapped in her home, with her husband threatening to kill her, begging for her life. But I do," Tyler said. "It happened to me." Her estranged husband is in jail, facing charges that include kidnapping, arson and attempted murder.
Tyler spoke Wednesday before a cluster of TV news cameras from behind a lectern in a legislative hearing room, flanked by victim advocates, state lawmakers, and the top prosecutor in Windham County, all of whom were there to support the coalition's agenda.
"I can imagine her last moments and I pray none of you will ever be forced to live through moments like those," Tyler said.
She said domestic violence respects no boundaries.
"Who will be the next victim?" she asked. "It could easily be someone you know. A colleague. A neighbor. A friend. Even a family member. Domestic violence cuts across all economic, ethnic, religious, cultural, educational and age barriers."
She said that unless state lawmakers act to strengthen prevention programs and crisis services, "make no mistake about it, these deaths and the family destruction will continue, life by life."
Tyler said that when she speaks publicly about family violence, it is for two reasons: To protect her family, as in seeking reform of the way that the state's bail system treats those accused of domestic violence, and to try to help other women who face dire situations. She said that she felt a strong connection to the coalition's legislative slate.
"I am here because I am a victim of domestic violence," said Tyler, 58. "This occasion really makes a difference for me."
The coalition's agenda focuses on crimes against immigrant women; toughening statutes on criminal threatening; increasing funding for shelters for battered women; teaching children as early as kindergarten about healthy relationships and mutual respect; and pressing for workplace allowances for victims who need time off to relocate, attend court hearings, receive therapy or heal from injuries.
Erika Tindill, the coalition's executive director, said that it would take $3 million a year in state funding to enable all 16 of the shelters for battered women under the coalition's umbrella to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now, only seven of the shelters are staffed around the clock.
Windham State's Attorney Patricia Froehlich said that more funding is needed to ensure that prosecutors in courthouses throughout the state can continue to be assigned exclusively to domestic violence cases — which invariably are complex matters that require time and attention.
Both these issues and others, including the call to elevate the charge of second-degree threatening from a misdemeanor to a felony, have been brought up to the legislature before, without success.
With respect to shelter staffing, "the fight always is, where are we going to get the money?" said Tindill. "Well, we're going to have to make some hard choices. ... At what point does a community say, 'Enough.' How many 6-year-olds have to see their mother killed?"
This year, though, the advocates and some of the legislators are saying that the General Assembly will likely be more receptive than in the past to toughening laws, closing gaps in the criminal justice system and expanding services to victims of domestic violence.
A legislative task force, appointed in November in response to large increases in the volume of domestic violence cases coming into state courts and of women requesting crisis services, will announce its package of proposed reforms on Feb. 8.
The panel's chairwoman, state Rep. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, said at Wednesday's forum that she expects "significant overlap" with the coalition's legislative agenda. "We hope, in this legislative session, that we can make real progress," Flexer said.
As you see in the cases mentioned below, dad RICHARD SHENKMAN and another UNNAMED DAD both abused their bail status to inflict more violence on their families.
http://www.courant.com/news/domestic-violence/hc-dv-tyler-0128.artjan28,0,3639207.story
Woman Held Hostage By Husband Backs Domestic Violence Reforms
Nancy P. Tyler's Remarks At Press Conference Hosted By Domestic Violence Coalition
1,592 estimated family violence incidents in Connecticut year-to-date, based on 2007 data.
By JOSH KOVNER
The Hartford Courant
January 28, 2010
HARTFORD — - Since escaping from the clutches of her estranged husband, who police said kidnapped her, held her hostage, and then set fire to their home in South Windsor in July, Nancy Tyler has largely tended to the business of healing.
She went on two national news shows in the aftermath of her 13-hour ordeal and spoke out in court about Connecticut's bail system because her husband, Richard Shenkman, had been, at the time of the South Windsor attack, free on $500,000 bail after he was charged with setting fire to the couple's house in East Lyme in March 2007.
Otherwise, she had been publicly silent for months, drawing strength from her son, 20, and daughter, 24.
On Wednesday, Tyler, a lawyer in downtown Hartford, spoke out again.
She chose as the forum a news briefing by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence on its legislative agenda for 2010, a slate of reforms being presented at a time of both increased violence against women in Connecticut and heightened media attention on the issues.
She invoked a recent case — a Jan. 16 murder-suicide in West Haven, in which the husband, charged in his second family-violence case in five months, posted bail, allegedly returned to the house, and shot his 25-year-old wife to death and then killed himself. Their two sons, one 6 years old, the other 7 months, were inside the house at the time.
"Most people have no idea what it was like for that woman, trapped in her home, with her husband threatening to kill her, begging for her life. But I do," Tyler said. "It happened to me." Her estranged husband is in jail, facing charges that include kidnapping, arson and attempted murder.
Tyler spoke Wednesday before a cluster of TV news cameras from behind a lectern in a legislative hearing room, flanked by victim advocates, state lawmakers, and the top prosecutor in Windham County, all of whom were there to support the coalition's agenda.
"I can imagine her last moments and I pray none of you will ever be forced to live through moments like those," Tyler said.
She said domestic violence respects no boundaries.
"Who will be the next victim?" she asked. "It could easily be someone you know. A colleague. A neighbor. A friend. Even a family member. Domestic violence cuts across all economic, ethnic, religious, cultural, educational and age barriers."
She said that unless state lawmakers act to strengthen prevention programs and crisis services, "make no mistake about it, these deaths and the family destruction will continue, life by life."
Tyler said that when she speaks publicly about family violence, it is for two reasons: To protect her family, as in seeking reform of the way that the state's bail system treats those accused of domestic violence, and to try to help other women who face dire situations. She said that she felt a strong connection to the coalition's legislative slate.
"I am here because I am a victim of domestic violence," said Tyler, 58. "This occasion really makes a difference for me."
The coalition's agenda focuses on crimes against immigrant women; toughening statutes on criminal threatening; increasing funding for shelters for battered women; teaching children as early as kindergarten about healthy relationships and mutual respect; and pressing for workplace allowances for victims who need time off to relocate, attend court hearings, receive therapy or heal from injuries.
Erika Tindill, the coalition's executive director, said that it would take $3 million a year in state funding to enable all 16 of the shelters for battered women under the coalition's umbrella to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now, only seven of the shelters are staffed around the clock.
Windham State's Attorney Patricia Froehlich said that more funding is needed to ensure that prosecutors in courthouses throughout the state can continue to be assigned exclusively to domestic violence cases — which invariably are complex matters that require time and attention.
Both these issues and others, including the call to elevate the charge of second-degree threatening from a misdemeanor to a felony, have been brought up to the legislature before, without success.
With respect to shelter staffing, "the fight always is, where are we going to get the money?" said Tindill. "Well, we're going to have to make some hard choices. ... At what point does a community say, 'Enough.' How many 6-year-olds have to see their mother killed?"
This year, though, the advocates and some of the legislators are saying that the General Assembly will likely be more receptive than in the past to toughening laws, closing gaps in the criminal justice system and expanding services to victims of domestic violence.
A legislative task force, appointed in November in response to large increases in the volume of domestic violence cases coming into state courts and of women requesting crisis services, will announce its package of proposed reforms on Feb. 8.
The panel's chairwoman, state Rep. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, said at Wednesday's forum that she expects "significant overlap" with the coalition's legislative agenda. "We hope, in this legislative session, that we can make real progress," Flexer said.
Police were TOLD by dad that he didn't have custody, but police took child from mother anyway; then dad murders child (Lawrenceburg, Kentucky)
Of all the cases we've reported at Dastardly Dads, this has got to be one of the most horrifying. And not just because there was a violent father, TIMOTHY FRAZIER, who killed his son in a murder-suicide. It was because this father was able to get access to his son after obtaining "custody" illegally--and all with the help of the local police department, who swooped down and stole this boy from his mother. This is a case involving SYSTEMWIDE failure and incompetence. For additional background, see the posts listed below:
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/12/hold-judges-public-officials.html
Dad TIMOTHY FRAZIER was successful in getting the police to remove his 21-month-old son from his mother's custody with a phony Emergency Protective Order (EPO) that "requested" temporary custody. It didn't "grant" him custody. The police department is now being sued. Whether these guys willfully misinterpreted this document or just lack basic literacy skills is still to be determined in court.
However, new evidence has surfaced that the police were TOLD BY THE FATHER on the telephone that he didn't have custody. THREE TIMES. Do we have problems with listening comprehension here in addition to basic literacy???
A link to the recording is available at the website below.
http://www.wlky.com/news/22370318/detail.html
Recording Released In Murder-Suicide Case
Recording Shows Father Told Police He Didn't Have Custody Of Son
By Eric King/WLKY
POSTED: 6:24 pm EST January 28, 2010
UPDATED: 8:17 pm EST January 28, 2010
BARDSTOWN, Ky. -- WLKY has uncovered new information in a Bardstown murder-suicide case.
WLKY obtained an audio recording of a conversation between Timothy Frazier and the Lawrenceburg Police Department. Police said in May 2009, Frazier shot his 21-month-old son in the head, then turned the gun on himself.
The Lawrenceburg Police Department is being sued for illegally taking the boy from his mother and placing him in the custody of his father, who according to police, later killed him.
In the call, Frazier made it clear, three times, that he did not have custody of the child.
The call came into the Lawrenceburg Police Department on May 13, just hours after Frazier filed an emergency protective order against his ex-girlfriend, Candice Dempsey, of 21-month-old Cole.
The EPO was filed in Bardstown, where Frazier lived. Dempsey lived in Lawrenceburg.
In the call, the dispatcher asked Frazier why he thought Dempsey was a danger to the boy.
"Well, I mean, she threatened to wreck. According to, I mean it's on the EPO, she's threatened to wreck while he's in the car," Frazier told the dispatcher.
"Does the EPO give temporary custody of one or the other?" the dispatcher asked.
"No, it don't," Frazier said.
The EPO stated that Frazier requested temporary custody of the child because, he was "afraid for his son's safety."
The judge did not give Frazier custody, but referred him to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or law enforcement if he believed the child was in danger.
In the recording, Frazier acknowledged that the EPO did not grant him custody.
"They won't let him reside with me. She won't let him reside with me. Until the hearing, have him put in a, what do they call it? I hate to do it. A shelter. I hate to do it, but I," Frazier trailed off.
The morning after the conversation, two Lawrenceburg Police officers took the child from his mother in Lawrenceburg and placed him in Frazier's custody in Bardstown.
Two weeks later, both were found dead. Police called it a murder-suicide.
"This child was unlawfully taken from his mother," said Dempsey's attorney Ron Hillerich.
In June, Hillerich filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city of Lawrenceburg for illegally seizing the child.
"He knew himself, a lay person, that the judge had not granted him temporary custody. Yet, the Lawrenceburg Police Department looked at it, or at least they say they did. I think they just looked at the first page of the motion and determined they were to take custody of the child from the mother and give him to the dad," said Hillerich.
WLKY has uncovered the sworn statements of the two Lawrenceburg officers involved in seizing the child.
Lt. Chris Atkins and Officer Nathan Doty, in a deposition, both admitted under oath that they did not read the EPO in its entirety.
Late Thursday afternoon, WLKY spoke with the attorney representing the Lawrenceburg Police Department.
In a statement, Spencer Noe said, "The Lawrenceburg Police Department did everything correctly. What they did was correct and proper. I'm confident, at the conclusion of this, they will be exonerated."
The trial is scheduled for October.
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/12/hold-judges-public-officials.html
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/11/dad-arrested-for-assaulting-2-month-old.html
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/07/mom-sues-over-babys-murder-by-custodial.html
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-did-murdering-dad-get-custody.html
Dad TIMOTHY FRAZIER was successful in getting the police to remove his 21-month-old son from his mother's custody with a phony Emergency Protective Order (EPO) that "requested" temporary custody. It didn't "grant" him custody. The police department is now being sued. Whether these guys willfully misinterpreted this document or just lack basic literacy skills is still to be determined in court.
However, new evidence has surfaced that the police were TOLD BY THE FATHER on the telephone that he didn't have custody. THREE TIMES. Do we have problems with listening comprehension here in addition to basic literacy???
A link to the recording is available at the website below.
http://www.wlky.com/news/22370318/detail.html
Recording Released In Murder-Suicide Case
Recording Shows Father Told Police He Didn't Have Custody Of Son
By Eric King/WLKY
POSTED: 6:24 pm EST January 28, 2010
UPDATED: 8:17 pm EST January 28, 2010
BARDSTOWN, Ky. -- WLKY has uncovered new information in a Bardstown murder-suicide case.
WLKY obtained an audio recording of a conversation between Timothy Frazier and the Lawrenceburg Police Department. Police said in May 2009, Frazier shot his 21-month-old son in the head, then turned the gun on himself.
The Lawrenceburg Police Department is being sued for illegally taking the boy from his mother and placing him in the custody of his father, who according to police, later killed him.
In the call, Frazier made it clear, three times, that he did not have custody of the child.
The call came into the Lawrenceburg Police Department on May 13, just hours after Frazier filed an emergency protective order against his ex-girlfriend, Candice Dempsey, of 21-month-old Cole.
The EPO was filed in Bardstown, where Frazier lived. Dempsey lived in Lawrenceburg.
In the call, the dispatcher asked Frazier why he thought Dempsey was a danger to the boy.
"Well, I mean, she threatened to wreck. According to, I mean it's on the EPO, she's threatened to wreck while he's in the car," Frazier told the dispatcher.
"Does the EPO give temporary custody of one or the other?" the dispatcher asked.
"No, it don't," Frazier said.
The EPO stated that Frazier requested temporary custody of the child because, he was "afraid for his son's safety."
The judge did not give Frazier custody, but referred him to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or law enforcement if he believed the child was in danger.
In the recording, Frazier acknowledged that the EPO did not grant him custody.
"They won't let him reside with me. She won't let him reside with me. Until the hearing, have him put in a, what do they call it? I hate to do it. A shelter. I hate to do it, but I," Frazier trailed off.
The morning after the conversation, two Lawrenceburg Police officers took the child from his mother in Lawrenceburg and placed him in Frazier's custody in Bardstown.
Two weeks later, both were found dead. Police called it a murder-suicide.
"This child was unlawfully taken from his mother," said Dempsey's attorney Ron Hillerich.
In June, Hillerich filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city of Lawrenceburg for illegally seizing the child.
"He knew himself, a lay person, that the judge had not granted him temporary custody. Yet, the Lawrenceburg Police Department looked at it, or at least they say they did. I think they just looked at the first page of the motion and determined they were to take custody of the child from the mother and give him to the dad," said Hillerich.
WLKY has uncovered the sworn statements of the two Lawrenceburg officers involved in seizing the child.
Lt. Chris Atkins and Officer Nathan Doty, in a deposition, both admitted under oath that they did not read the EPO in its entirety.
Late Thursday afternoon, WLKY spoke with the attorney representing the Lawrenceburg Police Department.
In a statement, Spencer Noe said, "The Lawrenceburg Police Department did everything correctly. What they did was correct and proper. I'm confident, at the conclusion of this, they will be exonerated."
The trial is scheduled for October.
Dad arrested for beating 6-year-old son in public men's room (Steelton, Pennsylvania)
Note that the headline, like many of these headlines, is misleading. It wasn't a random "man" who stumbled across this child in a public men's room and started to abuse him. Oh, no. This was a DAD that was bashing the head of his 6-year-old son into the bathroom changing table.
In this case, Dad is identified as JOHQUAN AQUIL HALL. Daddy is now in jail and charged with simple assault and endangering the welfare of child.
Hat tip to Annie for finding this.
http://www.fox43.com/news/wpmt-childabuse-pmnews-1-28-2010,0,3927479.story
Man Arrested For Child Abuse At Colonial Park Mall
Witnesses report hearing the child screaming in the bathroom
Melissa Nardo Content Editor
12:35 PM EST, January 28, 2010
LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP - Around 6:30 PM Lower Paxton Township Police were called to the Colonial Park Mall to investigate a report that a father had just physically abused his son in the men's room near the Food Court.
Upon arrival, officers met with Mall Security and witnesses who all heard the child screaming,
One of the witnesses then entered the men's room and had observed a man holding a male child up by the ankles, banging the child's head on the changing table, all while twisting the child's arm behind his back.
Based on witness accounts, and an officer observing and feeling a bump and bruise on the 6-year-old child's head, officers arrested the child's father.
Johquan Aquil Hall, 29, of Steelton, is now charged with Simple Assault and Endangering the Welfare of Children.
The child was turned over to the mother, who said she would be taking him to the hospital.
Hall was arraigned at Night Court by Magisterial District Judge Kenneth Lenker who set bail at $10,000. Hall was taken to Dauphin County Prison when he was unable to post bail.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Lower Paxton Township Police Department at (717) 657-5656 or the Tip-Line at (717) 635-2606.
In this case, Dad is identified as JOHQUAN AQUIL HALL. Daddy is now in jail and charged with simple assault and endangering the welfare of child.
Hat tip to Annie for finding this.
http://www.fox43.com/news/wpmt-childabuse-pmnews-1-28-2010,0,3927479.story
Man Arrested For Child Abuse At Colonial Park Mall
Witnesses report hearing the child screaming in the bathroom
Melissa Nardo Content Editor
12:35 PM EST, January 28, 2010
LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP - Around 6:30 PM Lower Paxton Township Police were called to the Colonial Park Mall to investigate a report that a father had just physically abused his son in the men's room near the Food Court.
Upon arrival, officers met with Mall Security and witnesses who all heard the child screaming,
One of the witnesses then entered the men's room and had observed a man holding a male child up by the ankles, banging the child's head on the changing table, all while twisting the child's arm behind his back.
Based on witness accounts, and an officer observing and feeling a bump and bruise on the 6-year-old child's head, officers arrested the child's father.
Johquan Aquil Hall, 29, of Steelton, is now charged with Simple Assault and Endangering the Welfare of Children.
The child was turned over to the mother, who said she would be taking him to the hospital.
Hall was arraigned at Night Court by Magisterial District Judge Kenneth Lenker who set bail at $10,000. Hall was taken to Dauphin County Prison when he was unable to post bail.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Lower Paxton Township Police Department at (717) 657-5656 or the Tip-Line at (717) 635-2606.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Dad on trial for sexually abusing, raping daughters (Dublin, Ireland)
UNNAMED DAD is currently on trial for sexually abusing his now adult daughters. He is charged with unlawful carnal knowledge, buggery and 19 charges of indecent assault against one daughter, and 25 counts of indecent assault against the other. In general, it seems that Dad was a violent alcoholic who was bad news anyway you look at it.
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/woman-claims-father-sexually-abused-her-for-years-443735.html
Woman claims father sexually abused her for years
27/01/2010 - 19:37:02
A woman has described how she was allegedly sexually abused as a young child by her father in their south Dublin city home.
She told the Central Criminal Court that the accused was often drunk and violent and would hit her mother and the children. She said he raped her twice and subjected her to four years of sexual abuse.
He has pleaded not guilty to unlawful carnal knowledge, buggery and 19 charges of indecently assault against one daughter and 25 counts of indecently assaulting another.
The now 43-year-old woman told prosecuting counsel, Mr Paul McDermott SC, that once after abusing her he said: “It's OK, lots of fathers do this with their daughters.”
She said while living with him she knew what he was doing was wrong but was more worried about him killing her mother.
“My father betrayed my trust sexually but at the end of it my mother couldn't get away from him, that's the tragedy,” she told the jury.
She described feeling trapped and terrified and wishing she could “just disappear”. She said she was very skinny as a child and wished she was fat to “protect” herself. She claimed her father would ask her to bring him a drink and would use this as an excuse to get her into his room and abuse her.
She said the first time he raped her at eight-years-old she got a feeling that it had happened before. She said during the rape she had a “terrible feeling of loneliness” and a “terrible pain”.
She said she was in fear of the accused and did not feel like she had a father. She said the family spent one Christmas Day in a garda station after he had got drunk and smashed up the house.
“I was afraid of my father but, as strange as it sounds, I actually loved him,” she said. “But I always knew he wasn't the same as other men.”
She said she once asked him why he did not treat her mother like a wife and he responded by slapping her across the face.
Defence counsel, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, asked her why she did not tell her mother of the abuse. She responded that her father had told her not to tell anyone. She said at one point she felt she did not really have a mother either because her mother ran off for several days and did not take her with her.
She agreed with Mr O'Carroll that she had let her father stay with her for several days while she studied in England but said she was “disgusted” when he greeted her by hugging her and saying “we shouldn't feel like this about each other”.
The trial continues before Mr Justice George Birmingham and a jury of six men and six women.
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/woman-claims-father-sexually-abused-her-for-years-443735.html
Woman claims father sexually abused her for years
27/01/2010 - 19:37:02
A woman has described how she was allegedly sexually abused as a young child by her father in their south Dublin city home.
She told the Central Criminal Court that the accused was often drunk and violent and would hit her mother and the children. She said he raped her twice and subjected her to four years of sexual abuse.
He has pleaded not guilty to unlawful carnal knowledge, buggery and 19 charges of indecently assault against one daughter and 25 counts of indecently assaulting another.
The now 43-year-old woman told prosecuting counsel, Mr Paul McDermott SC, that once after abusing her he said: “It's OK, lots of fathers do this with their daughters.”
She said while living with him she knew what he was doing was wrong but was more worried about him killing her mother.
“My father betrayed my trust sexually but at the end of it my mother couldn't get away from him, that's the tragedy,” she told the jury.
She described feeling trapped and terrified and wishing she could “just disappear”. She said she was very skinny as a child and wished she was fat to “protect” herself. She claimed her father would ask her to bring him a drink and would use this as an excuse to get her into his room and abuse her.
She said the first time he raped her at eight-years-old she got a feeling that it had happened before. She said during the rape she had a “terrible feeling of loneliness” and a “terrible pain”.
She said she was in fear of the accused and did not feel like she had a father. She said the family spent one Christmas Day in a garda station after he had got drunk and smashed up the house.
“I was afraid of my father but, as strange as it sounds, I actually loved him,” she said. “But I always knew he wasn't the same as other men.”
She said she once asked him why he did not treat her mother like a wife and he responded by slapping her across the face.
Defence counsel, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, asked her why she did not tell her mother of the abuse. She responded that her father had told her not to tell anyone. She said at one point she felt she did not really have a mother either because her mother ran off for several days and did not take her with her.
She agreed with Mr O'Carroll that she had let her father stay with her for several days while she studied in England but said she was “disgusted” when he greeted her by hugging her and saying “we shouldn't feel like this about each other”.
The trial continues before Mr Justice George Birmingham and a jury of six men and six women.
Dad spotted smoking dope with sons on YouTube (Gretna, Nebraska)
Dad (and apparent pothead) DAVID K. JOHNSON has been arrested after he was spotted on YouTube smoking marijuana with his 17- and 19-year-old sons.
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=11889742
Neb. dad spotted smoking dope with sons on YouTube
Associated Press - January 27, 2010 3:45 PM ET
GRETNA, Neb. (AP) - Sarpy County authorities have arrested a 44-year-old Gretna man who was spotted on YouTube, smoking marijuana with his sons.
Sarpy County sheriff's investigators say they found more than 90 videos showing David K. Johnson and his sons, ages 17 and 19.
Authorities say pipes and some marijuana were seized during a Jan. 12 search of the Johnsons' home.
Johnson has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse and with infractions for possession of drug paraphernalia and less than an once of marijuana.
The boys were cited for marijuana infractions.
There is no public phone listing for the Johnsons. David Johnson's court-appointed attorney refused to comment on Wednesday.
Johnson remains free on a $250 cash bond - 10 percent of the $2,500 bail.
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=11889742
Neb. dad spotted smoking dope with sons on YouTube
Associated Press - January 27, 2010 3:45 PM ET
GRETNA, Neb. (AP) - Sarpy County authorities have arrested a 44-year-old Gretna man who was spotted on YouTube, smoking marijuana with his sons.
Sarpy County sheriff's investigators say they found more than 90 videos showing David K. Johnson and his sons, ages 17 and 19.
Authorities say pipes and some marijuana were seized during a Jan. 12 search of the Johnsons' home.
Johnson has been charged with misdemeanor child abuse and with infractions for possession of drug paraphernalia and less than an once of marijuana.
The boys were cited for marijuana infractions.
There is no public phone listing for the Johnsons. David Johnson's court-appointed attorney refused to comment on Wednesday.
Johnson remains free on a $250 cash bond - 10 percent of the $2,500 bail.
Dad answers bail on suspicion of murdering 2-month-old daughter (London, England, United Kingdom)
Dad TOM SMITH is "suspected" of murdering his 2-month-old daughter, who died from head injuries after 4 days on life support.
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4875497.Father_answers_bail_on_suspicion_of_murdering_two_month_old_daughter/
Father answers bail on suspicion of murdering two-month-old daughter
4:13pm Wednesday 27th January 2010
A FATHER suspected of murdering his two-month-old daughter has had his bail extended by police.
Baby Chantelle Pilkington spent four days on a life support machine at Great Ormond Street Hospital before she died in August last year.
She had suffered head injuries and her dad, Tom Smith, 23, was later arrested on suspicion of causing her grevious bodily harm.
But, following a post mortem, police decided to upgrade the case to a murder investigation.
Smith, of Friars Street, Shoebury, will answer bail again on March 31.
http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4875497.Father_answers_bail_on_suspicion_of_murdering_two_month_old_daughter/
Father answers bail on suspicion of murdering two-month-old daughter
4:13pm Wednesday 27th January 2010
A FATHER suspected of murdering his two-month-old daughter has had his bail extended by police.
Baby Chantelle Pilkington spent four days on a life support machine at Great Ormond Street Hospital before she died in August last year.
She had suffered head injuries and her dad, Tom Smith, 23, was later arrested on suspicion of causing her grevious bodily harm.
But, following a post mortem, police decided to upgrade the case to a murder investigation.
Smith, of Friars Street, Shoebury, will answer bail again on March 31.
Dad on trial for shaking 2-month-old son; baby now partially blind (Bonneville County, Idaho)
It's particularly irritating to me when a dad like BRAD ZSADANYI admits he was alone with the baby when the baby was injured, but still plays dumb in court about knowing how the baby got hurt or who did it. The mom says that Dad told her that he "fell when holding the infant." Whatever. Doesn't change the fact that this baby is now blind in one eye from the brain damage and/or retinal damage. Retinal damage in particular is associated with violent shaking. Go to the shaken baby tab below to check out some of the research.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11884980
Father on Trial For Shaking Infant Son
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 06:47 PM CST
Updated: Jan 27, 2010 11:48 AM CST
By Hailey Higgins, Local News 8 Reporter
BONNEVILLE COUNTY - A father said his infant son seemed totally fine until he saw a bruise on his head, according to recorded police interviews heard Tuesday in his trial.
Brad Zsadanyi, 23, faces felony injury to a child charges after his two-month-old son is diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome.
In interviews heard in court, Zsadanyi told police he was alone with the baby the morning of April 11, 2009 but adamantly denied knowing how he got hurt.
But, in court, the mother who asked her identity be hidden, testified when she asked Zsadanyi what happened, he first told her he didn't support the child's head.
When asked again, she said he changed his story and that he fell when holding the infant and his son hit his head on Zsadanyi's chest.
Doctor Justin Thompson first treated the baby and testified the child came into the hospital in critical condition with blood on his swollen brain.
He is now blind in one eye because of the injuries.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11884980
Father on Trial For Shaking Infant Son
Posted: Jan 26, 2010 06:47 PM CST
Updated: Jan 27, 2010 11:48 AM CST
By Hailey Higgins, Local News 8 Reporter
BONNEVILLE COUNTY - A father said his infant son seemed totally fine until he saw a bruise on his head, according to recorded police interviews heard Tuesday in his trial.
Brad Zsadanyi, 23, faces felony injury to a child charges after his two-month-old son is diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome.
In interviews heard in court, Zsadanyi told police he was alone with the baby the morning of April 11, 2009 but adamantly denied knowing how he got hurt.
But, in court, the mother who asked her identity be hidden, testified when she asked Zsadanyi what happened, he first told her he didn't support the child's head.
When asked again, she said he changed his story and that he fell when holding the infant and his son hit his head on Zsadanyi's chest.
Doctor Justin Thompson first treated the baby and testified the child came into the hospital in critical condition with blood on his swollen brain.
He is now blind in one eye because of the injuries.
Dad charged with rape after forcing 14-year-old son to have sex with prostitute; dad was afraid son was gay (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia)
UNNAMED DAD has been charged with rape after "allegedly" forcing his 14-year-old son to have sex with a prostitute. Dad was apparently afraid that the son was gay.
http://qlp.e-p.net.au/news/dad-raped-son-over-sexuality-3026.html
Dad 'raped son' over sexuality
Written by Peter Hackney
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 11:07
A Rockhampton man has been charged with rape after allegedly forcing his 14-year-old son to have sex with a prostitute because he thought he was gay.
Police say the father phoned the prostitute during a family barbeque and arranged to meet her at a nearby motel, The Morning Bulletin reported.
He then allegedly drove his son to the motel and paid the prostitute $50.
The dad waited outside the motel room after allegedly telling his son he wanted to see a used condom as evidence that he had had sex.
A committal hearing at the Rockhampton Magistrates Court found there was enough evidence to have the father stand trial for rape.
http://qlp.e-p.net.au/news/dad-raped-son-over-sexuality-3026.html
Dad 'raped son' over sexuality
Written by Peter Hackney
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 11:07
A Rockhampton man has been charged with rape after allegedly forcing his 14-year-old son to have sex with a prostitute because he thought he was gay.
Police say the father phoned the prostitute during a family barbeque and arranged to meet her at a nearby motel, The Morning Bulletin reported.
He then allegedly drove his son to the motel and paid the prostitute $50.
The dad waited outside the motel room after allegedly telling his son he wanted to see a used condom as evidence that he had had sex.
A committal hearing at the Rockhampton Magistrates Court found there was enough evidence to have the father stand trial for rape.
Dad drags mom from truck as 7-year-old daughter watches (Saanich, BC, Canada)
UNNAMED DAD was driving down the street with his 7-year-old daughter when he spotted the car of his "estranged" wife parked in front of her home. For some reason this irked him, so he forced his way into the home. During the subsequent "domestic dispute" (which was obviously initiated by father), the mother tried to remove the daughter from the dad's vehicle, and as she was doing so, Dad started to pull away. The mother was dragged a short distance before she fell.
A good samaritan neighbor intervened at this point, and pulled his car in front of Dad's vehicle to block it. A fight also broke out between Dad and a man who had been present in the mother's home.
Dad has been arrested and is being held on charges of assault, forcible entry, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
Wonder what kinds of custody/visitation rights Dad will get now? Unfortunately, we can't assume he'll lose his rights for pulling this kind of crap. Dads have received full custody for worse than this.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Mother+dragged+from+truck+seven+year+watches/2485300/story.html
Mother dragged from truck as seven-year-old watches
By Katie Derosa, Times ColonistJanuary 26, 2010
Saanich police are investigating a violent and drawn-out domestic dispute, witnessed by a seven-year-old girl, that ended with the girl's mother being dragged from a pickup truck driven by her estranged husband Sunday evening.
Just before 6 p.m., a 48-year-old man was driving his truck on Ker Avenue with his seven-year-old daughter in the passenger seat, said police spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Fast.
As he drove down the 500-block of the street, he spotted his estranged wife's car parked in front of her home, Fast said. The two are in the midst of a separation, but the man went up to the house and knocked on the door. The door was opened and he forced his way inside to confront his 37-year-old wife and a 30-year-old man in the residence, Fast said.
The older man eventually left, but the woman chased after him and tried to remove her daughter from the pickup.
Fast said there was a struggle involving the three inside the truck and as the woman continued to try to remove the girl, the man started to drive away.
The woman was dragged a short distance down the road until she tumbled away from the truck.
A neighbour pulled his car in front of the truck to prevent it from getting away, and the 30-year-old man pulled the keys from the ignition.
The two men then began to fight, but Saanich police arrived and broke them up.
B.C. Ambulance paramedics took the woman to hospital with minor injuries. The girl was not injured.
The father was arrested and held in custody until a court appearance. Police are recommending charges of assault, forcible entry and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
A good samaritan neighbor intervened at this point, and pulled his car in front of Dad's vehicle to block it. A fight also broke out between Dad and a man who had been present in the mother's home.
Dad has been arrested and is being held on charges of assault, forcible entry, and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
Wonder what kinds of custody/visitation rights Dad will get now? Unfortunately, we can't assume he'll lose his rights for pulling this kind of crap. Dads have received full custody for worse than this.
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Mother+dragged+from+truck+seven+year+watches/2485300/story.html
Mother dragged from truck as seven-year-old watches
By Katie Derosa, Times ColonistJanuary 26, 2010
Saanich police are investigating a violent and drawn-out domestic dispute, witnessed by a seven-year-old girl, that ended with the girl's mother being dragged from a pickup truck driven by her estranged husband Sunday evening.
Just before 6 p.m., a 48-year-old man was driving his truck on Ker Avenue with his seven-year-old daughter in the passenger seat, said police spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Fast.
As he drove down the 500-block of the street, he spotted his estranged wife's car parked in front of her home, Fast said. The two are in the midst of a separation, but the man went up to the house and knocked on the door. The door was opened and he forced his way inside to confront his 37-year-old wife and a 30-year-old man in the residence, Fast said.
The older man eventually left, but the woman chased after him and tried to remove her daughter from the pickup.
Fast said there was a struggle involving the three inside the truck and as the woman continued to try to remove the girl, the man started to drive away.
The woman was dragged a short distance down the road until she tumbled away from the truck.
A neighbour pulled his car in front of the truck to prevent it from getting away, and the 30-year-old man pulled the keys from the ignition.
The two men then began to fight, but Saanich police arrived and broke them up.
B.C. Ambulance paramedics took the woman to hospital with minor injuries. The girl was not injured.
The father was arrested and held in custody until a court appearance. Police are recommending charges of assault, forcible entry and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
"Reckless play" dad pleads guilty to breaking infant son's limbs, ribs (Leeds, England, United Kingdom)
Dad ROBERT BOLD has pleaded guilty to "rough handling" or "reckless play" with his infant son, which lead to THREE broken limbs, and SIX fractured ribs. This pea brain was throwing a baby up in the air and catching him at an age of only 4 WEEKS. But Pea Brain won't be doing any jail time, so long as he keeps his nose clean for the next two years.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Leeds-39Reckless-play39-dad-broke.6016497.jp
Leeds: 'Reckless play' dad broke baby's ribs
Published Date: 27 January 2010
A Leeds father broke three of his baby son's limbs and six ribs by "rough handling" or "reckless play", a court heard.
Robert Bold, 27, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on his son when he was aged between just four and six weeks old.
Bold, of St Alban Approach, Harehills, Leeds, was handed a 39-week suspended sentence and 200 hours unpaid work
Philip Standfast, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court how the baby was eight weeks old when his mother took him to see their GP on October 9, 2008, with a swollen foot.
He was then taken to hospital where he was found to have burst blood vessels in his eye and bruising to his jaw and leg, and injuries around his shoulder and spine.
Further examination revealed older fractures to his body.
Mr Standfast said six ribs were fractured and there were fractures to three separate limbs. He said: "It appears to be more than one set of events that caused these injuries."
Mr Standfast said it was thought the rib injuries were caused by squeezing the baby's chest and the limb injuries caused by a "pulling or twisting motion."
The court heard how the prosecution had accepted Bold's guilty plea on the basis that it was caused by "rough handling" or "reckless play".
Mr Standfast added: "It was not a decision that the crown took lightly and consulted for 28 days with the physician before taking that decision."
Judge James Goss said the offence was so severe it had to be marked with a prison sentence. But he said he would not impose it immediately, provided Bold committed no further offences for the next two years.
He said: "Offences of this kind understandably provoke in the mind of the general public a sense of horror because anyone entrusted with the care of a child is expected to exercise that trust by handling someone so young and so tender appropriately
"You therefore present the court with considerable difficulty."
Judge Goss remarked on a report into the incident that the injuries were caused by throwing the baby up in the air and catching him, as well as squeezing him while chasing another child. The judge said: "(The incident] beggars belief – and would beggar belief to any parent."
Richard Wright, defending, said: the prosecution's acceptance of his client's guilty plea is an "acceptance that the defendant did not intend or envisage any injuries."
"It is an acceptance of inflicting injuries on one occasion by way of rough handling."
He said Bold was now only allowed to have supervised contact with his children but his former partner was happy for him to carry on seeing them.
He said: "Not withstanding their relationship is over, she nonetheless trusts him significantly. She allows him to see the children and undertakes the supervision herself."
Mr Wright said a psychological report states that the offence is difficult to understand.
He added that Bold has no previous convictions, was of previous good character and a hard working man.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Leeds-39Reckless-play39-dad-broke.6016497.jp
Leeds: 'Reckless play' dad broke baby's ribs
Published Date: 27 January 2010
A Leeds father broke three of his baby son's limbs and six ribs by "rough handling" or "reckless play", a court heard.
Robert Bold, 27, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on his son when he was aged between just four and six weeks old.
Bold, of St Alban Approach, Harehills, Leeds, was handed a 39-week suspended sentence and 200 hours unpaid work
Philip Standfast, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court how the baby was eight weeks old when his mother took him to see their GP on October 9, 2008, with a swollen foot.
He was then taken to hospital where he was found to have burst blood vessels in his eye and bruising to his jaw and leg, and injuries around his shoulder and spine.
Further examination revealed older fractures to his body.
Mr Standfast said six ribs were fractured and there were fractures to three separate limbs. He said: "It appears to be more than one set of events that caused these injuries."
Mr Standfast said it was thought the rib injuries were caused by squeezing the baby's chest and the limb injuries caused by a "pulling or twisting motion."
The court heard how the prosecution had accepted Bold's guilty plea on the basis that it was caused by "rough handling" or "reckless play".
Mr Standfast added: "It was not a decision that the crown took lightly and consulted for 28 days with the physician before taking that decision."
Judge James Goss said the offence was so severe it had to be marked with a prison sentence. But he said he would not impose it immediately, provided Bold committed no further offences for the next two years.
He said: "Offences of this kind understandably provoke in the mind of the general public a sense of horror because anyone entrusted with the care of a child is expected to exercise that trust by handling someone so young and so tender appropriately
"You therefore present the court with considerable difficulty."
Judge Goss remarked on a report into the incident that the injuries were caused by throwing the baby up in the air and catching him, as well as squeezing him while chasing another child. The judge said: "(The incident] beggars belief – and would beggar belief to any parent."
Richard Wright, defending, said: the prosecution's acceptance of his client's guilty plea is an "acceptance that the defendant did not intend or envisage any injuries."
"It is an acceptance of inflicting injuries on one occasion by way of rough handling."
He said Bold was now only allowed to have supervised contact with his children but his former partner was happy for him to carry on seeing them.
He said: "Not withstanding their relationship is over, she nonetheless trusts him significantly. She allows him to see the children and undertakes the supervision herself."
Mr Wright said a psychological report states that the offence is difficult to understand.
He added that Bold has no previous convictions, was of previous good character and a hard working man.
Custodial dad arrested after dropping off child; now facing 6th drunk driving charge (Mystic, Connecticut)
Observe that you have to read through most of the verbage below to get to the fact that dad MICHAEL HEBERT has PHYSICAL CUSTODY of his 10-year-old daughter, despite a long history of drunken driving charges (he's now facing his SIXTH charge)--and non-payment of child support. The latest charge came about when Mom suspected that Dad was intoxicated before a scheduled child visitation drop-off. She also knew that he wasn't supposed to drive because his driver's license was suspended after his FIFTH DWI. Needless to say, Daddy's lawyer has the freaking nerve to accuse the mother of "manipulating the system" to get back at his client (the habitual drunk/custodial dad).
What freaking idiotic judge gave this boozer dad custody?
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_026224849.html
Repeat drunken driver arrested after dropping off child
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
A father who had been issued a Connecticut driver's license despite a history of drunken driving is now facing his sixth drunken-driving charge after dropping his daughter off with her mother, a Gloucester resident.
Michael Hebert, 52, of Mystic, Conn., is also facing charges of child endangerment because, police say, he had his 10-year-old daughter in the truck as he drove from Maine to Danvers on Friday evening.
Hebert was arrested Friday by state police after they got a call from his former girlfriend, the child's mother.
The mother, Tammy Adams of Gloucester, told the troopers that she suspected Hebert was drunk behind the wheel and knew that he had no license in Massachusetts because of his prior convictions.
According to Hebert's driving history, his license was suspended for 10 years in 2007, after his fifth drunken-driving conviction.
Police say Adams told them that she feared he would try to take off from police with the girl in the car. Because of that, police waited for him to drop off the girl.
According to a police report, Adams arranged to change the location of the drop-off from Gloucester to a Beverly Hospital facility in Danvers that is across the highway from the state police barracks.
Troopers waited for Hebert to drop off the girl, then pulled him over on Route 62, prosecutor Patrick Collins said. Troopers noticed he was using his fog lights on a clear evening.
Collins told a judge that Hebert smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking at lunch. He went on to fail several field sobriety tests and registered a .10 on a portable breath test for alcohol, though he later refused another alcohol breath test at the barracks after his arrest.
Because of Hebert's lengthy record, his refusal to take the breath test, Judge Richard Mori said, triggers a lifetime loss of license — at least in Massachusetts.
Hebert allegedly told police he believed that, if he had a license in one state, he could drive in any state.
Connecticut Registry of Motor Vehicles spokesman William Seymour confirmed that Hebert was first issued a license in that state in 2003. He said officials are now investigating why Hebert still had his license despite the Massachusetts suspension, which occurred in 2007.
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said that, when a license is suspended here, the information is entered into a national driver registry. When someone here applies for a new license or a conversion of another state's license, registry employees check that database and will not issue a license if they learn it is suspended in another state, she said.
According to Hebert's 12-page driving history, he was convicted of drunken driving in 2002 and 1982 in Essex, and in 2001, 1995 and 1988 in Gloucester. His history also includes repeated suspensions for other driving offenses, as well as for nonpayment of child support in 2005.
Hebert's attorney, William O'Hare, accused Adams of "manipulating the system" to get back at his client, who has physical custody of the girl despite his history.
He also said his client did not know about the license suspension in Massachusetts because it may have been sent to Adams' address. And O'Hare suggested that the portable breath test reading, which is not admissible in court, was until just a few years ago the legal limit.
"When you and I started out in the law," O'Hare told Judge Richard Mori, "it was .15. It's only gone down so the state could get federal highway money."
Mori was not persuaded by O'Hare, however, and granted Collins' request to hold Hebert without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for today.
He also told the prosecutor that Hebert's license should be confiscated and sent back to Connecticut.
If convicted, Hebert faces up to five years in state prison.
What freaking idiotic judge gave this boozer dad custody?
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_026224849.html
Repeat drunken driver arrested after dropping off child
By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
A father who had been issued a Connecticut driver's license despite a history of drunken driving is now facing his sixth drunken-driving charge after dropping his daughter off with her mother, a Gloucester resident.
Michael Hebert, 52, of Mystic, Conn., is also facing charges of child endangerment because, police say, he had his 10-year-old daughter in the truck as he drove from Maine to Danvers on Friday evening.
Hebert was arrested Friday by state police after they got a call from his former girlfriend, the child's mother.
The mother, Tammy Adams of Gloucester, told the troopers that she suspected Hebert was drunk behind the wheel and knew that he had no license in Massachusetts because of his prior convictions.
According to Hebert's driving history, his license was suspended for 10 years in 2007, after his fifth drunken-driving conviction.
Police say Adams told them that she feared he would try to take off from police with the girl in the car. Because of that, police waited for him to drop off the girl.
According to a police report, Adams arranged to change the location of the drop-off from Gloucester to a Beverly Hospital facility in Danvers that is across the highway from the state police barracks.
Troopers waited for Hebert to drop off the girl, then pulled him over on Route 62, prosecutor Patrick Collins said. Troopers noticed he was using his fog lights on a clear evening.
Collins told a judge that Hebert smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking at lunch. He went on to fail several field sobriety tests and registered a .10 on a portable breath test for alcohol, though he later refused another alcohol breath test at the barracks after his arrest.
Because of Hebert's lengthy record, his refusal to take the breath test, Judge Richard Mori said, triggers a lifetime loss of license — at least in Massachusetts.
Hebert allegedly told police he believed that, if he had a license in one state, he could drive in any state.
Connecticut Registry of Motor Vehicles spokesman William Seymour confirmed that Hebert was first issued a license in that state in 2003. He said officials are now investigating why Hebert still had his license despite the Massachusetts suspension, which occurred in 2007.
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said that, when a license is suspended here, the information is entered into a national driver registry. When someone here applies for a new license or a conversion of another state's license, registry employees check that database and will not issue a license if they learn it is suspended in another state, she said.
According to Hebert's 12-page driving history, he was convicted of drunken driving in 2002 and 1982 in Essex, and in 2001, 1995 and 1988 in Gloucester. His history also includes repeated suspensions for other driving offenses, as well as for nonpayment of child support in 2005.
Hebert's attorney, William O'Hare, accused Adams of "manipulating the system" to get back at his client, who has physical custody of the girl despite his history.
He also said his client did not know about the license suspension in Massachusetts because it may have been sent to Adams' address. And O'Hare suggested that the portable breath test reading, which is not admissible in court, was until just a few years ago the legal limit.
"When you and I started out in the law," O'Hare told Judge Richard Mori, "it was .15. It's only gone down so the state could get federal highway money."
Mori was not persuaded by O'Hare, however, and granted Collins' request to hold Hebert without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for today.
He also told the prosecutor that Hebert's license should be confiscated and sent back to Connecticut.
If convicted, Hebert faces up to five years in state prison.
Dad admits sexual abuse of 10-year-old daughter (Brownwood, Texas)
Dad MICHAEL SHANE CORONADO has admitted to police that he sexually abused his 10-year-old daughter. He has been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child, a 1st-degree felony. Daddy had just been released from prison the month before the abuse started.
http://www.brownwoodnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1281:brownwood-man-charged-with-sexual-abuse-of-his-daughter&catid=35:news&Itemid=58
Brownwood Man Charged with Sexual Abuse of his Daughter
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 18:08 Author: Lisa Tipton
Local News
Early Police Chief David Mercer released information on Tuesday regarding an investigation that his department began on January 6th regarding the sexual assault of a child. Mercer said that the victim, a 10-year-old girl, stated that her biological father, 36-year-old Michael Shane Coronado of Brownwood, had forced her to have sex with him. The girl and her mother were taken to the Hill Country Children’s advocacy center in Burnet, Texas for a forensic interview and exam. The exam confirmed that the girl had trauma that was consistent with sexual abuse according to Mercer.
Sgt. Shawn Dibrell made contact with the suspect and brought him to the Early Police Department for an interview. Mercer said that during the interview, Coronado admitted to having sex with his daughter.
The sexual acts occurred at their home while they lived in Early and in Brownwood, and Coronado was placed under arrest on Friday after admitting to the offenses according to Mercer. Coronado was charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of a young Child, a 1st degree felony and is being held in the Brown County Jail on $125,000 bond.
Mercer also said that Coronado had been released from prison in February 2009 and the abuse began in March 2009 with the last time being in August 2009 according to Coronado’s statement to police.
Chief Mercer said that the law of continuous sexual abuse became effective September 1, 2007 and originally was punishable under the death penalty, but was later changed cited as to harsh of punishment.
http://www.brownwoodnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1281:brownwood-man-charged-with-sexual-abuse-of-his-daughter&catid=35:news&Itemid=58
Brownwood Man Charged with Sexual Abuse of his Daughter
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 18:08 Author: Lisa Tipton
Local News
Early Police Chief David Mercer released information on Tuesday regarding an investigation that his department began on January 6th regarding the sexual assault of a child. Mercer said that the victim, a 10-year-old girl, stated that her biological father, 36-year-old Michael Shane Coronado of Brownwood, had forced her to have sex with him. The girl and her mother were taken to the Hill Country Children’s advocacy center in Burnet, Texas for a forensic interview and exam. The exam confirmed that the girl had trauma that was consistent with sexual abuse according to Mercer.
Sgt. Shawn Dibrell made contact with the suspect and brought him to the Early Police Department for an interview. Mercer said that during the interview, Coronado admitted to having sex with his daughter.
The sexual acts occurred at their home while they lived in Early and in Brownwood, and Coronado was placed under arrest on Friday after admitting to the offenses according to Mercer. Coronado was charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of a young Child, a 1st degree felony and is being held in the Brown County Jail on $125,000 bond.
Mercer also said that Coronado had been released from prison in February 2009 and the abuse began in March 2009 with the last time being in August 2009 according to Coronado’s statement to police.
Chief Mercer said that the law of continuous sexual abuse became effective September 1, 2007 and originally was punishable under the death penalty, but was later changed cited as to harsh of punishment.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Free Nazia Quazi: Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt
An excellent essay by Katha Pollitt, one of my favorite writers.
It is utterly appalling that a father (in this case QUAZI MALIK ABDUL GAFFAR) can legally block his adult daughter from leaving Saudi Arabia, even though she has joint Indian-Canadian citizenship. (The father is an Indian citizen living in Saudi Arabia.) Is it any surprise that the daughter says her father has been physically and verbally abusive all her life?
Perhaps the most appalling fact is Canada's disinterest in helping one of its citizens, who is being held prisoner in another country.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100208/pollitt
Free Nazia Quazi
Subject to Debate
By Katha Pollitt
This article appeared in the February 8, 2010 edition of The Nation.
January 21, 2010
In most countries, a woman in her mid-20s is legally an adult. And in most countries, foreigners are free to leave when they like. In its flagrant rejection of these two principles, Saudi Arabia is unique, and that is a big problem for 24-year-old Nazia Quazi.
For more than two years Nazia, an IT specialist who graduated from the University of Ottawa and holds dual Canadian-Indian citizenship, has been trying to leave Riyadh and go home to Canada. Her troubles began on November 23, 2007, when she entered Saudi Arabia with her parents on a visitor's visa. In Saudi Arabia, foreign visitors must have a sponsor, a local man who handles their paperwork. Nazia's sponsor is her father, Quazi Malik Abdul Gaffar, an Indian citizen who has worked in Saudi Arabia for many years. At some point Nazia's father clandestinely switched her visitor's visa to a more permanent visa--one that requires that he, as her sponsor, approve her exit visa. This he refuses to do. No exit visa, no departure. Worse, Nazia says he has confiscated both her Indian and Canadian passports and all her identity documents--driver's license, health card, credit cards and so on--and refuses to return them. She is trapped.
Nazia's father is not only her sponsor; he is also her mahram, or guardian, the male relative who in the Saudi system controls nearly every moment of a woman's life. As detailed in a 2008 Human Rights Watch report, under this system a woman must seek her mahram's permission to go to school, travel abroad, marry, open a bank account, hold a job, rent an apartment or even have elective surgery. (In June the Saudi government told the UN Human Rights Council that the guardianship system no longer exists, but HRW and the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan confirm that it does.) In effect, it makes women children for life--there are middle-aged Saudi women who are under the legal control of their own sons. Nazia's father thus has not only been able to force his daughter, through the sponsorship system, to remain in Riyadh; as her mahram he has total control of her life while she is there--even though neither Nazia nor her father is a Saudi citizen.
Nazia alleges that her parents, especially her father, have been physically and verbally abusive to her for years; a friend of hers told me in phone calls and e-mails that Nazia described various such incidents when she was living in Canada. In Saudi Arabia her situation has grown worse: in July 2008, she says, her father threatened her with a knife, saying he would kill her if she tried to leave. She also says that in order to break up her relationship with her boyfriend, whom her parents regard as insufficiently Muslim and too modern, her parents tried to force her to marry a stranger they had chosen for her. Not only her father but also her mother and her two brothers, both students in Canadian universities, are opposed to giving Nazia her freedom.
Nazia's passport problem is unusually complicated because of her dual citizenship. She was able to obtain an emergency Indian passport certificate, which is good for six months, but the Indian Embassy regards her father's withholding of the exit visa as a family matter and will not intervene. She applied for a new Canadian passport this past November, but since her father seized her IDs, all she has is a photocopy of her original passport, and embassy officials have told her this may not be enough. In any case, she's been told by the Canadian Embassy and the Saudi passport office she would still need an exit visa. Nazia has contacted the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC), a government agency, but so far it has not indicated that it will be able to help her. (That these bureaucracies are so slow and convoluted adds to the frustration, of course. I've spent two weeks phoning the Indian and Canadian embassies and the Saudi HRC, invariably to be told, on the rare occasions when I reach an actual human being, that I am speaking to the wrong person.)
The good news is that Human Rights Watch has taken up Nazia's case. It has sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh urging it to protect Nazia and help her return home, and HRW's Toronto committee is deluging members of Parliament with letters on her behalf. Nazia is, after all, a Canadian citizen, and Canada should be as concerned about her rights and safety as about any Canadian held against her will in a foreign land. It should issue her a new passport immediately and whisk her out of Saudi Arabia, exit visa or no exit visa, because of the ongoing threat to her safety and denial of her basic human rights--rights that the Saudi government agreed to protect when it signed the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2001. Nazia's case offers the Canadian government a chance to redeem itself after its shocking refusal this past October to help Nathalie Morin, a Canadian living in Saudi Arabia whose husband refuses to let her and her children out of the country. Nazia's case is easier, in a way, because she is single and no children are involved. But more than one person I've talked with has suggested that the fact that the Quazis are Muslim is relevant: the embassy in Riyadh doesn't want to get involved in what it apparently views as a Muslim family dispute.
At one level, it is that. Nazia's father won't take my calls, but I've spoken with her older brother, who declined to comment for this story, and with her employer, a friend of her father's who claims he is trying to broker a solution. To them the fact that Nazia is a 24-year-old college graduate is irrelevant, as are her feelings, her fears, her wishes and her rights. What matters is her father's disapproval of her boyfriend.
But that's a problem for the Quazis. It's not a reason for Canada to allow Nazia to be deprived of her rights. How far have women come if a democratic, secular country like Canada permits a father to imprison his adult daughter in the cage of Saudi laws?
It is utterly appalling that a father (in this case QUAZI MALIK ABDUL GAFFAR) can legally block his adult daughter from leaving Saudi Arabia, even though she has joint Indian-Canadian citizenship. (The father is an Indian citizen living in Saudi Arabia.) Is it any surprise that the daughter says her father has been physically and verbally abusive all her life?
Perhaps the most appalling fact is Canada's disinterest in helping one of its citizens, who is being held prisoner in another country.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100208/pollitt
Free Nazia Quazi
Subject to Debate
By Katha Pollitt
This article appeared in the February 8, 2010 edition of The Nation.
January 21, 2010
In most countries, a woman in her mid-20s is legally an adult. And in most countries, foreigners are free to leave when they like. In its flagrant rejection of these two principles, Saudi Arabia is unique, and that is a big problem for 24-year-old Nazia Quazi.
For more than two years Nazia, an IT specialist who graduated from the University of Ottawa and holds dual Canadian-Indian citizenship, has been trying to leave Riyadh and go home to Canada. Her troubles began on November 23, 2007, when she entered Saudi Arabia with her parents on a visitor's visa. In Saudi Arabia, foreign visitors must have a sponsor, a local man who handles their paperwork. Nazia's sponsor is her father, Quazi Malik Abdul Gaffar, an Indian citizen who has worked in Saudi Arabia for many years. At some point Nazia's father clandestinely switched her visitor's visa to a more permanent visa--one that requires that he, as her sponsor, approve her exit visa. This he refuses to do. No exit visa, no departure. Worse, Nazia says he has confiscated both her Indian and Canadian passports and all her identity documents--driver's license, health card, credit cards and so on--and refuses to return them. She is trapped.
Nazia's father is not only her sponsor; he is also her mahram, or guardian, the male relative who in the Saudi system controls nearly every moment of a woman's life. As detailed in a 2008 Human Rights Watch report, under this system a woman must seek her mahram's permission to go to school, travel abroad, marry, open a bank account, hold a job, rent an apartment or even have elective surgery. (In June the Saudi government told the UN Human Rights Council that the guardianship system no longer exists, but HRW and the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan confirm that it does.) In effect, it makes women children for life--there are middle-aged Saudi women who are under the legal control of their own sons. Nazia's father thus has not only been able to force his daughter, through the sponsorship system, to remain in Riyadh; as her mahram he has total control of her life while she is there--even though neither Nazia nor her father is a Saudi citizen.
Nazia alleges that her parents, especially her father, have been physically and verbally abusive to her for years; a friend of hers told me in phone calls and e-mails that Nazia described various such incidents when she was living in Canada. In Saudi Arabia her situation has grown worse: in July 2008, she says, her father threatened her with a knife, saying he would kill her if she tried to leave. She also says that in order to break up her relationship with her boyfriend, whom her parents regard as insufficiently Muslim and too modern, her parents tried to force her to marry a stranger they had chosen for her. Not only her father but also her mother and her two brothers, both students in Canadian universities, are opposed to giving Nazia her freedom.
Nazia's passport problem is unusually complicated because of her dual citizenship. She was able to obtain an emergency Indian passport certificate, which is good for six months, but the Indian Embassy regards her father's withholding of the exit visa as a family matter and will not intervene. She applied for a new Canadian passport this past November, but since her father seized her IDs, all she has is a photocopy of her original passport, and embassy officials have told her this may not be enough. In any case, she's been told by the Canadian Embassy and the Saudi passport office she would still need an exit visa. Nazia has contacted the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC), a government agency, but so far it has not indicated that it will be able to help her. (That these bureaucracies are so slow and convoluted adds to the frustration, of course. I've spent two weeks phoning the Indian and Canadian embassies and the Saudi HRC, invariably to be told, on the rare occasions when I reach an actual human being, that I am speaking to the wrong person.)
The good news is that Human Rights Watch has taken up Nazia's case. It has sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh urging it to protect Nazia and help her return home, and HRW's Toronto committee is deluging members of Parliament with letters on her behalf. Nazia is, after all, a Canadian citizen, and Canada should be as concerned about her rights and safety as about any Canadian held against her will in a foreign land. It should issue her a new passport immediately and whisk her out of Saudi Arabia, exit visa or no exit visa, because of the ongoing threat to her safety and denial of her basic human rights--rights that the Saudi government agreed to protect when it signed the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2001. Nazia's case offers the Canadian government a chance to redeem itself after its shocking refusal this past October to help Nathalie Morin, a Canadian living in Saudi Arabia whose husband refuses to let her and her children out of the country. Nazia's case is easier, in a way, because she is single and no children are involved. But more than one person I've talked with has suggested that the fact that the Quazis are Muslim is relevant: the embassy in Riyadh doesn't want to get involved in what it apparently views as a Muslim family dispute.
At one level, it is that. Nazia's father won't take my calls, but I've spoken with her older brother, who declined to comment for this story, and with her employer, a friend of her father's who claims he is trying to broker a solution. To them the fact that Nazia is a 24-year-old college graduate is irrelevant, as are her feelings, her fears, her wishes and her rights. What matters is her father's disapproval of her boyfriend.
But that's a problem for the Quazis. It's not a reason for Canada to allow Nazia to be deprived of her rights. How far have women come if a democratic, secular country like Canada permits a father to imprison his adult daughter in the cage of Saudi laws?
Dad charged with manslaughter in death of 2-month-old son (St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada)
Dad SHAWN GALLANT has been charged with manslaughter in the death of his 2-month-old son.
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/01/25/12606101.html
Dad charged in baby's death
CRIME: St. Thomas infant died at a London hospital in May 2008
By JOE BELANGER, THE LONDON FREE PRESS
Last Updated: 26th January 2010, 12:37am
The father of a St. Thomas infant found unconscious and not breathing nearly two years ago has been charged with manslaughter.
Two-month-old Lucas Rozell Gallant was found by his mother, Jennifer Rozell, in their Parkside Dr. home on May 5, 2008.
The baby was taken by ambulance to Elgin General Hospital, then transferred to London Health Sciences Centre, where he died two days later.
After a "lengthy" investigation, police charged the baby's father, who has since moved to the Niagara area where he was arrested Thursday.
"Because it's an infant, there was a lot of medical evidence required and it took a long time for the pathologist to come to some conclusions and give us their opinions," said Det.-Sgt. Chris Perrin.
The baby's family could not immediately be reached for comment.
Charged with manslaughter is Shawn Gallant, 23.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, Perth OPP continue to investigate the death of a one-month-old infant from Mitchell.
Police have identified Skyla Lynn Rivet as the child who died from injuries Jan. 16. The nature of the injuries hasn't been released. An autopsy was done last week.
Results of the autopsy were not released.
The baby was taken to Stratford General Hospital on Jan. 15, where she was stabilized and transferred to Children's Hospital at the London Health Sciences Centre. The baby remained in the critical care unit overnight, but died the next day.
The infant's family lives on Ontario Rd., also known as Hwy. 8, which is the main thoroughfare in Mitchell. The family lives in an apartment above a store.
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/01/25/12606101.html
Dad charged in baby's death
CRIME: St. Thomas infant died at a London hospital in May 2008
By JOE BELANGER, THE LONDON FREE PRESS
Last Updated: 26th January 2010, 12:37am
The father of a St. Thomas infant found unconscious and not breathing nearly two years ago has been charged with manslaughter.
Two-month-old Lucas Rozell Gallant was found by his mother, Jennifer Rozell, in their Parkside Dr. home on May 5, 2008.
The baby was taken by ambulance to Elgin General Hospital, then transferred to London Health Sciences Centre, where he died two days later.
After a "lengthy" investigation, police charged the baby's father, who has since moved to the Niagara area where he was arrested Thursday.
"Because it's an infant, there was a lot of medical evidence required and it took a long time for the pathologist to come to some conclusions and give us their opinions," said Det.-Sgt. Chris Perrin.
The baby's family could not immediately be reached for comment.
Charged with manslaughter is Shawn Gallant, 23.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, Perth OPP continue to investigate the death of a one-month-old infant from Mitchell.
Police have identified Skyla Lynn Rivet as the child who died from injuries Jan. 16. The nature of the injuries hasn't been released. An autopsy was done last week.
Results of the autopsy were not released.
The baby was taken to Stratford General Hospital on Jan. 15, where she was stabilized and transferred to Children's Hospital at the London Health Sciences Centre. The baby remained in the critical care unit overnight, but died the next day.
The infant's family lives on Ontario Rd., also known as Hwy. 8, which is the main thoroughfare in Mitchell. The family lives in an apartment above a store.
Indictment: Fugitive dad stabbed child's mother dead; abandoned 3-year-old son (Trenton, New Jersey)
Dad JOSE DELGADO-FEBRES (aka MICHAEL MARTINEZ) has been indicted in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, the mother of their 3-year-old son. The murder took place while the 3-year and the mother's teenage son were in the home. Shortly after the murder, dad disappeared, effectively abandoning the 3-year-old. Not that anybody would accuse him of being a good dad or anything.
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/01/26/news/doc4b5e84d017a01088015123.txt
Indictment: Fugitive stabbed his child's mother dead
Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN
Staff Writer
TRENTON — At-large murder suspect Jose Delgado-Febres has been indicted in absentia on charges he killed his girlfriend at their Trenton home while their children were inside the Beatty Street apartment nine months ago, authorities said yesterday.
The 36-year old fugitive is accused of ramming a blade into 27-year-old Yerika Hernandez’s back during an early morning argument on April 28, 2009.
Delgado-Febres, a Guatemalan also known as Michael Martinez, has been on the lam since the incident. When cops arrived at the crime scene at 1:20 a.m., they found the mother of two lying in a pool of blood.
Delgado-Febres is the biological father of Hernandez’s youngest son, who was 3 years old when his mom was taken from him. The fugitive also was the stepdad of Hernandez’s teenage son, who called the cops after witnessing his mom fall prey to the alleged domestic violence.
Medics rushed Hernandez to Capital Health-Fuld hospital, but she was soon pronounced dead from the deep puncture wound.
Hernandez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, but she had been living in Trenton for several years prior to her death. Hernandez enjoyed cooking Spanish meals for her loving family and dancing, according to her obituary. She was buried in her native country.
Cops issued arrest warrants for Delgado-Febres on the day of the murder, but the fugitive never answered his charges. The cold-hearted father abandoned his son and didn’t attend his girlfriend’s funeral. The INTERPOL international police force is reportedly hunting for the suspect in addition to U.S. law-enforcement agencies.
Yesterday, Mercer County Prosecutor Joe Bocchini said a county grand jury slapped Delgado-Febres with an indictment on counts of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. Those charges were handed up last week.
If you know where Delgado-Febres is hiding, call the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663.
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/01/26/news/doc4b5e84d017a01088015123.txt
Indictment: Fugitive stabbed his child's mother dead
Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
By SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN
Staff Writer
TRENTON — At-large murder suspect Jose Delgado-Febres has been indicted in absentia on charges he killed his girlfriend at their Trenton home while their children were inside the Beatty Street apartment nine months ago, authorities said yesterday.
The 36-year old fugitive is accused of ramming a blade into 27-year-old Yerika Hernandez’s back during an early morning argument on April 28, 2009.
Delgado-Febres, a Guatemalan also known as Michael Martinez, has been on the lam since the incident. When cops arrived at the crime scene at 1:20 a.m., they found the mother of two lying in a pool of blood.
Delgado-Febres is the biological father of Hernandez’s youngest son, who was 3 years old when his mom was taken from him. The fugitive also was the stepdad of Hernandez’s teenage son, who called the cops after witnessing his mom fall prey to the alleged domestic violence.
Medics rushed Hernandez to Capital Health-Fuld hospital, but she was soon pronounced dead from the deep puncture wound.
Hernandez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, but she had been living in Trenton for several years prior to her death. Hernandez enjoyed cooking Spanish meals for her loving family and dancing, according to her obituary. She was buried in her native country.
Cops issued arrest warrants for Delgado-Febres on the day of the murder, but the fugitive never answered his charges. The cold-hearted father abandoned his son and didn’t attend his girlfriend’s funeral. The INTERPOL international police force is reportedly hunting for the suspect in addition to U.S. law-enforcement agencies.
Yesterday, Mercer County Prosecutor Joe Bocchini said a county grand jury slapped Delgado-Febres with an indictment on counts of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. Those charges were handed up last week.
If you know where Delgado-Febres is hiding, call the Trenton police confidential tip line at (609) 989-3663.
Dad arrested for DWI under Leandra's Law; 13-year-old son in car (Camden, New York)
Dad RICHARD COBEY has been charged with driving while intoxicated with his 13-year-old son in the vehicle. Thanks to New York state's new Leandra's Law, Daddy could be looking at a felony.
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Father-arrested-for-DWI-under-Leandra-s-Law/dSobeHO3006B-voDvnJChg.cspx
Father arrested for DWI under Leandra’s Law
Last Update: 11:04 am
Vienna (WSYR-TV) – State Police arrested a man Monday night for driving while intoxicated with his 13-year old son was a passenger in the vehicle.
State Police say Richard Cobey, 37, of Camden, was pulled over in the Town of Vienna and arrested after they determined he was intoxicated.
Cobey was arraigned in the Town of Vienna court and held in the Oneida County Jail on $2,500 cash or bond. He is scheduled to reappear in court on January, 28 at 2:00 p.m.
Driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle became felony in New York State last December. The act, called Leandra's Law, was named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, of Manhattan, who was killed going to a sleepover. She and six other children were passengers in a vehicle that crashed on Manhattan's Henry Hudson Parkway in October. Police say the driver was drunk.
Arrested at the same time as Cobey was Mistie Wickham, 40, who lives with Cobey in Camden. State Police say Wickham was charged with criminal contempt after it was determined that she violated the provisions of an order of protection that was in place on Cobey's son's behalf. She was released on an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in the Town of Vienna court on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Father-arrested-for-DWI-under-Leandra-s-Law/dSobeHO3006B-voDvnJChg.cspx
Father arrested for DWI under Leandra’s Law
Last Update: 11:04 am
Vienna (WSYR-TV) – State Police arrested a man Monday night for driving while intoxicated with his 13-year old son was a passenger in the vehicle.
State Police say Richard Cobey, 37, of Camden, was pulled over in the Town of Vienna and arrested after they determined he was intoxicated.
Cobey was arraigned in the Town of Vienna court and held in the Oneida County Jail on $2,500 cash or bond. He is scheduled to reappear in court on January, 28 at 2:00 p.m.
Driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle became felony in New York State last December. The act, called Leandra's Law, was named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, of Manhattan, who was killed going to a sleepover. She and six other children were passengers in a vehicle that crashed on Manhattan's Henry Hudson Parkway in October. Police say the driver was drunk.
Arrested at the same time as Cobey was Mistie Wickham, 40, who lives with Cobey in Camden. State Police say Wickham was charged with criminal contempt after it was determined that she violated the provisions of an order of protection that was in place on Cobey's son's behalf. She was released on an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in the Town of Vienna court on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Dad accused of felony murder in death of 3-month-old son (Bismarck, North Dakota)
Dad AARIN CROTTY is charged with felony murder in the shaking death of his 3-month-old son.
http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/29233/group/News/
Published January 26 2010
ND father accused of murder given more prep time
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck man accused of shaking to death his infant son has been granted more time before trial.
Twenty-year-old Aarin Cratty has pleaded not guilty to a felony murder charge that could land him in prison for life if he is convicted. He is accused in the October death of 3-month-old Hank Cratty.
Judge David Reich on Monday granted a 60-day extension on court proceedings. A trial date will be set sometime after June 1.
Prosecutor Lloyd Suhr said the timeline would give the North Dakota State Lab enough time to complete all of its autopsy reports and for the attorneys to study the reports.
http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/29233/group/News/
Published January 26 2010
ND father accused of murder given more prep time
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck man accused of shaking to death his infant son has been granted more time before trial.
Twenty-year-old Aarin Cratty has pleaded not guilty to a felony murder charge that could land him in prison for life if he is convicted. He is accused in the October death of 3-month-old Hank Cratty.
Judge David Reich on Monday granted a 60-day extension on court proceedings. A trial date will be set sometime after June 1.
Prosecutor Lloyd Suhr said the timeline would give the North Dakota State Lab enough time to complete all of its autopsy reports and for the attorneys to study the reports.
Dad accused of killing wife, twin sons, appears in court (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Dad NEAL JACOBSON is blaming the death of his father 3 YEARS BEFORE for the triple murder of his wife and twin sons. Riigght.
http://www.wptv.com/content/news/centralpbc/westpalmbeach/story/neal-jacobson-murder-wife-twin-sons-killed-welling/CeDaf-I-O0eueS8cBBh-eA.cspx
1st appearance for dad accused of murder
Reported by: WPTV staff
Email: webteam@wptv.com
Last Update: 11:45 am
WEST PALM BEACH, FL--A man accused of killing his wife and twin sons made his first appearance in court Tuesday.
A judge ordered Neal Jacobson held without bond.
He also told Jacobson that he did not qualify for a public defender and must hire his own attorney.
Jacobson is charged with three counts of first degree murder in connection with the deaths of his wife Franki and their twin boys, Joshua and Eric, at their Wellington home.
Police say after Jacobson murdered his family, he tried to overdose on pain killers and then crashed his car in Delray Beach.
A police report says when authorities caught up with him, Jacobson blamed the killings on his father's death three years ago, telling them he went off the deep end.
http://www.wptv.com/content/news/centralpbc/westpalmbeach/story/neal-jacobson-murder-wife-twin-sons-killed-welling/CeDaf-I-O0eueS8cBBh-eA.cspx
1st appearance for dad accused of murder
Reported by: WPTV staff
Email: webteam@wptv.com
Last Update: 11:45 am
WEST PALM BEACH, FL--A man accused of killing his wife and twin sons made his first appearance in court Tuesday.
A judge ordered Neal Jacobson held without bond.
He also told Jacobson that he did not qualify for a public defender and must hire his own attorney.
Jacobson is charged with three counts of first degree murder in connection with the deaths of his wife Franki and their twin boys, Joshua and Eric, at their Wellington home.
Police say after Jacobson murdered his family, he tried to overdose on pain killers and then crashed his car in Delray Beach.
A police report says when authorities caught up with him, Jacobson blamed the killings on his father's death three years ago, telling them he went off the deep end.
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