The Child Protection eNewsletter

New Hampshire says Manchester Diocese still lacks 'commitment' to prevent child sexual abuse…

An independent audit of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester has found critical gaps in programs to protect children from sexual abuse, state prosecutors said. Read More Here In its second court-mandated audit of the diocese, the state cited a lack of "acceptance or commitment" on the part of church leaders. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said progress has been made, but she remains concerned about the "tone at the top," particularly in regard to the Reverend Edward Arsenault, who heads the diocese's efforts to prevent and report sexual abuse.

The audit found that one new allegation of sexual abuse by a priest had been made in the last year. Authorities would not give any details but said the accused priest no longer is in active ministry.

Under a 2002 agreement, the diocese agreed to annual checks in exchange for avoiding criminal prosecution. The agreement came after the diocese acknowledged its conduct had harmed children and that it probably would have been convicted of child endangerment had it not settled with the state.

Last month, the diocese released its own internal audit, which said it made "significant progress" through better screening and training last year. The Diocesan Review Board said the diocese continues to report abuse allegations to civil authorities, but a church official wouldn't say how many allegations were received or passed along.

Meanwhile, a victims’ rights group revealed that the Archdiocese of St. Louis allowed a priest to continue serving parishes for more than a decade after he signed a written confession in 1978 admitting to sexual abuse of boys. Read More Here The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, announced the settlement of a lawsuit against the Reverend Donald "Duck" Straub over abuse that happened in 1973 and 1974, when Straub, then a seminary student, was working at Resurrection Parish in St. Louis. The victim was 13 when the abuse began.

SNAP officials said that in 1978, parents of other children at the parish came forward alleging sexual abuse, prompting a confession signed by Straub and witnessed by Bishop John Wurm, who is now deceased. "I acknowledge the allegations are true," Straub wrote.

Younger Girls Binge Drinking More…

Public health officials say girls between the ages of 12 and 14 are drinking more than boys. Read More Here By age 15 approximately half the boys and girls in America have had a whole drink of alcohol, according to a report by the U.S. Surgeon General. While binge drinking is going down, there's been a big change between the ages of 12 and 14, where girls are drinking more than boys. The Centers for Disease Control call that an alarming trend. "There are a multitude of dangers," said Jacqueline Miller, a medical officer for the CDC. "Drinking and driving; being more likely to be sexually active; more likely to be engaged in sex without protection; more likely to be in physical fighting; more likely to have sexual abuse; more likely to use drugs."

Two years ago, Rebecca Neff was a model student, on the honor-roll, on her high school softball team in suburban Columbus, Ohio. She was part of a troubling trend: the alarming growth in binge drinking by girls under the age of 15, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston. Today, at seventeen, Neff is a recovering alcoholic. "A lot of people in my school were doing it to fit in," said Neff as she recalled her first drink. "You could get drunk and not care what you did. Not care if you hooked up with a guy and ran out in the street naked. She recalls moving quickly from her first drink to bingeing, downing shot after shot of hard liquor for one reason. "We wouldn't drink cause it tasted good, we wouldn't drink just to get a little tipsy, we'd drink to get drunk," said Neff.

Recent studies show the biggest influence on whether teens drink is how much parents are involved in their lives. But Rebecca's parents, Tom and Marie, who both work at home and rarely drink, kept a close look on their daughter. "You're told of all the things to look for — changes in attitude, changes in friends, dropping grades, all that kind of things," said Marie, Rebecca's mother. "There just wasn't any of that. I guess the only thing I would say is hold the reins tighter. Be suspicious."

"They were perfect examples as parents, but when you get mixed in with all that peer pressure from high school you kind of forget everything you've learned," said Rebecca.

In other news…

Authorities are checking reports of missing children in Washington as they try to find the parents of a baby found in a Phoenix motel. Read More Here Police said three-month-old Tanya Garcia was found alone and crying on a bed yesterday by housekeepers. Police were called and a short time later, a 23-year-old man returned to the room. He told detectives he traveled to Phoenix from Washington with the baby’s parents who asked him to watch the girl while they went to Mexico. Police said they believe that during the baby’s time at the motel, she was left alone for hours at a time.

Nine men who are accused of luring young girls in online chat rooms were arrested in April, making it a busier month than usual, the Jefferson County, Colorado District Attorney's Office announced. Read More Here Two of the suspects are an Army medic and an Army sergeant.

A Kansas woman accused of starving her stepdaughters while keeping her biological children well-fed has pleaded guilty to abuse charges. Read More Here The trial for Jennifer L. Wood had been scheduled to start this week, but she pleaded guilty. In addition to abuse charges, she admitted to one count of aggravated battery stemming from allegations that she choked one of the girls.

Friday marked another day of notably grim testimony as the prosecution makes its case against former Santa Barbara, California child care provider Sylvia Vasquez (accused of keeping her own daughter in a cage), who has pleaded guilty to several counts of child abuse and neglect. Read More Here Two of Vasquez’s former day care providers broke down in tears on the witness stand, and a former county Child Protective Services officer testified she was so troubled by the Vasquez case that she sought a new line of work.

An Arizona high school teacher was arrested and accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, authorities said. Read More Here Phoenix police said the parents of the victim -- a 16-year-old male student whose identity was not released -- contacted the school about a possible sexual relationship between their son and Jennifer Mally, an English teacher and cheerleading coach, that may have been going on since October, 2006.

The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred former Tampa personal injury attorney David Russell Stahl for at least 10 years. Read More Here Stahl was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl. In a separate case, he pleaded guilty to a charge that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl.

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