The Child Protection eNewsletter

Minnesota County sued for releasing serial sex offender…
Families of two Idaho murder victims are suing Becker County, Minnesota for releasing Joseph Edward Duncan III on low bail. http://www.keyc.tv Duncan was found in July in an Idaho restaurant with abducted eight-year-old Shasta Groene, and he has been charged with her abduction and rape, the rape, abduction and murder of her nine-year-old brother Dylan, and the murder of her mother, another brother and another man. vol3_iss42, vol3_iss43, and vol3_iss53 Duncan was arrested in Detroit Lakes last year and charged with criminal sexual conduct, but he was released on $15,000 bail and disappeared. He was later arrested in Idaho after the incident at the Groene home where three people were murdered and two children were kidnapped. (See video at http://www.keyc.tv) Duncan is also wanted by California officials in connection with abduction of a 10 year old boy. vol3_iss47

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Idaho. It says Becker County was negligent in releasing Duncan on just $15,000 bail on a child molestation charge, and negligent in not monitoring him closely. The lawsuit also seeks to prevent Duncan from profiting from his alleged crimes from book or movie deals. http://www.startribune.com

Catholic Church fights extensions of statute of limitations…
Roman Catholic Church officials in Pennsylvania say a proposal to let sexual-abuse victims file lawsuits decades after they were abused would be "fundamentally unfair" and could financially ruin dioceses across the state. http://hosted.ap.org Pennsylvania has a strict statute of limitations that has kept most sexual abuse cases out of the courts, but some lawmakers are now recommending a one-year window in which victims could file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred. The proposal followed a scathing report issued in September by the Philadelphia district attorney's office that documented how two cardinals and top aides hid decades of abuse allegations involving the Philadelphia Archdiocese. vol3_iss54 Similar legislation is pending in Ohio. http://www.ncronline.org

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Portland, the first in the country to file for bankruptcy because of abuse settlements, is at the heart of a debate that could affect future claims by alleged victims of priest sex abuse. Attorneys are fighting over who, exactly, owns the churches and the property they're standing on. http://hosted.ap.org A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday on whether the individual parishes and Catholic schools own their assets, as the archdiocese argues, or whether those assets belong to the archdiocese itself, as the plaintiffs say.

In other news…
Spokane Mayor Jim West was recalled from office Tuesday in a special election prompted by news accounts that he offered City Hall jobs and perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com West has been also accused by two young men of sexually molesting them when they were boys. vol3_iss31 and http://www.foxnews.com

An 18-year-old Louisiana woman has been charged with killing her 3-month-old baby by putting in him in clothes dryer and turning it on. http://www.courttv.com

Child-welfare workers had heard rumors that a couple kept some of their 11 adopted children in cages two years before the youngsters were removed from the home, a witness testified in a custody hearing Tuesday. http://www.courttv.com Officials tried to follow up on the rumors in 2003, but Michael and Sharen Gravelle would not cooperate and a full investigation was never conducted, said Jo Ellen Johnson, an investigator for the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services. vol3_iss52, vol3_iss53, and vol3_iss54

Jurors deliberated five hours Thursday before recommending that Joseph Smith, convicted last month of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia's rape and murder, should die for his crime. http://www.cbsnews.com The case became known worldwide because Carlie's abduction from a car wash parking lot on Feb. 1, 2004 was taped by a surveillance camera and broadcast repeatedly. vol2_iss6



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