The Child Protection eNewsletter

“Deliver us from evil”… 
Lionsgate films will release its upcoming documentary about child molestation scandals in the Catholic Church without a rating after the trailer garnered a restrictive tag from the Motion Picture Assn. of America.  http://www.cnn.com  "Deliver Us From Evil" focuses on a northern California priest, Father Oliver O'Grady, who admits on camera to being an active pedophile who was harbored by the church for more than 30 years.  Lionsgate will release it on October 13.  The trailer is available at the movie’s website at  http://www.deliverusfromevilthemovie.com.  O’Grady began his abuse in the Boston Archdiocese.

Massachusetts has just extended its statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases, in large part in response to pedophile priest scandal.  http://www.masslive.com  The new law extends the statute of limitations for childhood victims of sex abuse from the current 15 years to 27 years.  Victims would have until they are 43 to report sexual abuse since the reporting deadline starts when the child turns 16.  The state's four Catholic bishops supported extending the deadline on prosecuting criminal sexual abuse against children.

Meanwhile, police in the Mexican state of Puebla began searching Tuesday for a Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting children in Los Angeles, officials said.  http://hosted.ap.org  Reverend Nicolas Aguilar, charged in California with 19 felony counts of committing lewd acts on a child, was reportedly seen in a small village in Puebla earlier this month.  The case gained widespread attention last week when U.S. lawyers filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City conspired with Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony to protect Aguilar.  Both cardinals denied the charges, and Rivera urged Aguilar to turn himself in.

According to Dallas-Fort Worth television station WFAA, just days ago the Dallas Catholic Diocese agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a young victim of sexual abuse.  http://www.wfaa.com She was one of at least 13 girls molested at the Saint Pius X Parish day care by two male employees.

If you or someone you love is dealing with the pain of recovery from clergy abuse, we suggest you visit http://www.snapnetwork.org .

Lost computer may free John Mark Karr… 
One-time JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr rejected a plea deal offer from prosecutors that would have freed him on probation in exchange for a guilty plea on child pornography charges, his lawyer said Thursday.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com  Prosecutors deny speculation that the deal was offered because prosecutors have lost the computer containing the evidence against Karr.  http://www.cbsnews.com  Defense attorneys have moved for dismissal of the case and Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Cerena Wong agreed earlier this week to consider tossing out the five misdemeanor charges Karr faces.  She also criticized prosecutors for not telling her that the computer that allegedly held the pornographic images was lost even though they had known about it since Aug. 30.  http://hosted.ap.org

In other news...  
A father in Nepal sold his daughter for $25, paid in installments.  http://www.cnn.com  She is one of an estimated 20,000 young girls from the Dang and Deukhari valleys who are sold by their own families to work as bonded laborers in one-year contracts, according to aid organizations.  Often the contract is renewed year after year.  The “kamlari” practice is centered in those two valleys.

Melinda Duckett, mother of missing toddler Trenton Duckett, left a total of three suicide notes.  The two most recent letters, to her parents and grandparents, were released Tuesday.  http://www.wftv.com  A letter to the public had been previously released.  Copies of all three letters and video from a three part interview of Ms. Duckett are available online at  http://www.wftv.com.

The founder of the company that produces the "Girls Gone Wild" videos of women appearing in sexual situations pleaded guilty Monday to additional charges of failing to document the ages of young women engaging in sexual acts in the videos.  http://www.cbsnews.com

A Johnson County, Kansas mother saw a text message to her teenage daughter and it led to the arrest of a convicted sex offender.  http://www.thekansascitychannel.com  Shawnee police said that late last week the mother of a 14-year-old girl noticed a suspicious text message.  She confronted her daughter, who told her about her relationship with a 46-year-old man.

Police have arrested the mother and two cousins of a pregnant 16-year-old who are accused of forcing the teen to drink turpentine in an attempt to induce an abortion.  http://www.cbsnews.com  According to Columbus, Georgia police the sex crimes unit was handling the case because they already were investigating a sexual assault case involving the pregnant teen.  Investigators believe the girl conceived during that assault.

A jury in North Dakota’s first death penalty case in nearly a century decided Friday a convicted sex offender should be executed for kidnapping and killing college student Dru Sjodin after she left a shopping mall.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com

A hallmark of "Mission: Impossible" was the message that would self-destruct after a spy played it.  Now a startup communications company promises that same level of secrecy with a Web-based messaging system designed to leave no traces.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com


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