All articles tagged with #child victims
A multi-year investigation in Omaha led to the arrest of five hotel owners involved in human trafficking, sex and labor exploitation, and related crimes, rescuing multiple victims including minors, with significant law enforcement action and seizures.
Seven individuals, including family members, were charged in Alabama for operating a child abuse and trafficking ring involving children kept in a bunker, with victims as young as 3 years old, and the operation generating significant revenue through abuse. The children are now in state care receiving support, and authorities are investigating further.
Seven individuals have been charged in Alabama for operating a sex trafficking ring out of a concrete bunker, involving children as young as 3, with allegations of rape, torture, kidnapping, and abuse, and authorities believe more victims and arrests may follow.
Authorities in Bibb County uncovered a child sex trafficking ring involving at least ten victims aged 3 to 15, operating for over two years in an underground storm shelter. Seven suspects have been arrested, with more expected, as the investigation reveals disturbing scenes of abuse and drugging, with possible gang ties and immigration issues being investigated. The community and authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward and seek help if needed.
Seven individuals in Alabama have been charged with heinous crimes involving the sexual abuse and trafficking of children, including the use of an underground bunker for abuse, with victims as young as 3 years old, and investigations ongoing to uncover more suspects and victims.
The full excavation of a mass grave containing the remains of babies and children at Tuam, County Galway, is set to begin, aiming to identify victims and address historical injustices linked to the St Mary's mother-and-baby home operated by the Bon Secours Sisters. The process involves international experts and is expected to continue until 2027, with ongoing investigations and DNA testing to seek justice for the victims.
Archaeologists have begun a two-year excavation at a site in Tuam, Ireland, believed to contain the remains of nearly 800 infants buried in unmarked graves by the Bon Secours order between 1925 and 1961, marking a significant step in addressing Ireland's historical treatment of children in religious institutions.
A 12-year-old child died and two others were injured in a school shooting in Vantaa, Finland, with a fellow 12-year-old pupil suspected of the attack taken into custody. The victims were hospitalized, and the suspect and weapon are in police custody. Previous school shootings in Finland have led to stricter gun legislation, but the country still has a significant number of licensed firearms.
Two children, aged 5 and 10, were hit and killed near their elementary school in Riverdale Park, Maryland. The victims were identified as Sky Sosa and Shalom Mbah. The incident occurred when a woman driving a Ford van turned left onto Riverdale Road and hit the children and a man who were crossing the road in a crosswalk. The children were rushed to the hospital but did not survive. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the van was not injured and is not currently in custody. The police investigation is ongoing, and the school community is devastated by the unimaginable loss.
The father of an 11-year-old boy killed in a mass shooting in Cincinnati pleads for an end to the violence, asking "When will this stop?" The shooting, which also injured four other children, occurred when an occupant of a dark sedan opened fire on a crowd in the city's West End neighborhood. Authorities have not released information about the suspect or whether the shooting was targeted. Cincinnati is experiencing a surge in teen shootings, with 50 shootings recorded this year among adolescents aged 13 to 17. The incident is part of a rising trend of fatal shootings against minors across the U.S. in 2023.
Manuel Martinez Jr., a 46-year-old man from East Grand Forks, is accused of sexually abusing his girlfriend's four young daughters over several years. The abuse, which included vaginal and oral sex, attempted anal sex, and inappropriate touching, began in 2012 when the girls were as young as 6 years old. Martinez Jr. wrote letters apologizing for "hurting the girls" and expressed self-hatred for his actions. He has been charged with four felony counts of gross sexual imposition.
The owner of a dance studio in Anaheim, Mark Anthony Chavarria, has been charged with 18 counts of sexual assault of six girls aged 12 and 14. The victims alleged they were assaulted while taking classes at Chavarria Institute of the Arts dance studio. The accused has been in the dance industry for over a decade and has been involved in studios throughout Southern California and Phoenix Metro area. Chavarria was arrested on Tuesday and is being held on $5 million bail.
A report by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has revealed that over 150 Catholic priests and clergy members associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore were accused of sexually abusing at least 600 children since the 1940s. The report, based on hundreds of thousands of documents obtained through subpoena of church records and interviews with hundreds of victims and witnesses, also found that church officials who became aware of abuse displayed more empathy for the abusers than for the victims, and that the church was more concerned with avoiding scandal and negative publicity than it was with protecting children. Maryland lawmakers have also passed a bill to end the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits related to child sexual abuse.