Trinity Mount Ministries

Showing posts with label mobile Blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile Blogger. Show all posts

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Lucas Warriors raise awareness for missing 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) A group who calls themselves the Lucas Warriors gathered outside Intrust Bank Arena today and it wasn't to watch basketball.

The Lucas Warriors is a group here in Kansas who hopes to find Lucas Hernandez.

On Saturday, members stood outside Intrust Bank Arena with signs in hand in hopes of bringing Lucas home.

The Lucas Warriors talked to both Kansans and out of state fans about Lucas Hernandez and spreading the word about his disappearance.

"I love to tell his story. I think he's such a precious little boy. I think everybody just needs to know his story," says Julie LaForce.

Even if for some it wasn't easy.

"I know myself personally, I'm extremely quiet and kind of shy, so to be out here in the middle of thousands of people is a hard thing for me to do. But at this point, I would do anything to bring Lucas home," says Sheila Medlam.

The group say they have received training from Texas Equusearch to help find Lucas. They also say they're working with Lucas' dad Jonathan and his family to get help from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

As fans asked them "Who's Lucas?" the warrior group was glad they could bring awareness to his disappearance.

"What brings a better crowd than college basketball? Especially since we have Kansas, KU playing here. He needs to go national. He can't be forgotten. I'm not going to let him slip through the cracks. None of us are."

Original Article

Trinity Mount Ministries

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Five defendants convicted of child sex trafficking

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Oklahoma

Five Who Purchased and Sold Children for Sex in Oklahoma City Ordered to Serve Combined 38 Years in Prison and Pay Over $635,000 in Restitution to Victims

OKLAHOMA CITY – Five defendants convicted of child sex trafficking were ordered to serve a combined 38 years in federal prison and pay over $635,000 in restitution to victims, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

According to court records, in October 2014, Maurice M. Johnson engaged in sex trafficking of two girls (aged 14 and 15) and an adult female.  As soon as the 14-year-old girl was recruited, Johnson instructed her to start calling phone numbers from the escort section of the Yellow Pages to find Tonya Gay Gum, whom he knew as "Carmen."  At the time, Gum operated at least twenty phone numbers listed in the escort section of the Oklahoma City Yellow Pages.  The 14-year-old victim made contact with Gum and sent her photographs of herself and the adult female.  After that, Gum began arranging commercial sex transactions between her established customer base (or new customers who called her phone lines) and the females under Johnson’s control.  Johnson drove the girls to hotels, residences, and commercial spaces, where the customers paid in cash for sex.  After each commercial sex transaction, Gum met the girls at different locations in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area to receive the proceeds, which Gum and Johnson split.  They did not give any money to the victims they trafficked.

A federal grand jury indicted Johnson on December 3, 2014.  He pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking on January 30, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron.  In August 2017, he was sentenced to 240 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Gum and three customers who purchased sex with the children were indicted by a federal grand jury on June 16, 2015.  On  November 19, 2015, Gum pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking, also before Judge Cauthron.  In August 2017, she was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.

The three customers—William M. Baker, Trung N. Duong, and Curtis A. Anthony—purchased sex with the children in October 2014.  Before their convictions, their cases went before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held in February 2017 that they could be convicted of child sex trafficking even if they did not know or recklessly disregard a child victim’s age, so long as they had a "reasonable opportunity to view" the child victim.

On May 9, 2017, Duong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking.  On November 2, 2017, Baker also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking.  In August 2017, Judge Cauthron sentenced each of them to 24 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Anthony went to trial and was convicted by a federal jury on June 19, 2017, of both conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking and child sex trafficking.  He was sentenced in October 2017 to 120 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

All of these defendants will be required to register as sex offenders for 25 years after released from custody.

At the time of the sentencings, the court deferred a determination of restitution.  Today Judge Cauthron amended the judgments and ordered all five defendants to pay $635,247 in restitution to victims, with each defendant jointly and severally liable for the full amount immediately.  "Although the innocence of these children cannot be restored, we are pleased that the Court is holding the defendants responsible for paying for the future care and treatment caused by their crimes," said Acting U.S. Attorney Troester.

This case is the result of an investigation by United States Department of Homeland Security and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys McKenzie Anderson and David Petermann prosecuted the case.

Department Of Justice

Trinity Mount Ministries

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

YouTube to boost moderator team preventing child exploitation videos

By Ben Lovejoy

Following reports of sexualised videos of children attracting hundreds of comments from suspected pedophiles, YouTube has announced that it will be boosting its content moderator team to 10,000 people – but only by the end of 2018. The current team is reported to be around 8,000 people.

A Times investigation first uncovered the scale of the problem eleven days ago, with volunteer flaggers claiming that YouTube wasn’t taking the problem seriously …

YouTube, part of one of the most valuable enterprises in the world, gave them no help, according to one of the flaggers who spoke to The Times anonymously.

YouTube’s initial response was to acknowledge that it needed to do more to tackle the problem through both machine-learning and additional human resources.

A few days later, the company said that it had removed 150,000 videos, turned off comments on 625,000 more and terminated 270 accounts.

In a new blog post last night, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced the additional measures the company would be taking.

We will continue the significant growth of our teams into next year, with the goal of bringing the total number of people across Google working to address content that might violate our policies to over 10,000 in 2018.

At the same time, we are expanding the network of academics, industry groups and subject matter experts who we can learn from and support to help us better understand emerging issues.

We will use our cutting-edge machine learning more widely to allow us to quickly and efficiently remove content that violates our guidelines.

Wojcicki said that machine-learning had already shown ‘tremendous progress’ in tackling extremist content, and that the company had begun training AI systems to detect videos that may impact child safety, though Buzzfeed notes that the challenge here may be greater.

It’s unclear whether machine learning can adequately catch and limit disturbing children’s content — much of which is creepy in ways that may be difficult for a moderation algorithm to discern.

Part of the issue comprises videos uploaded by children, which may be innocent in intent, but which attract creepy comments and worse from pedophiles.

Screenshots show how one YouTube user left dozens of inappropriate comments on videos posted by boys aged between seven and 14.

“Send me the 2 minute naked wrestling match private,” the user wrote. “And I will tell you everything you need to know to grow your channel. I wanna see u naked. It feels awesome to be naked on YouTube, try it bro.”

The blog post says that YouTube is also ramping up its team of ad reviewers to ensure advertising doesn’t appear alongside or within inappropriate videos.

We believe this requires a new approach to advertising on YouTube, carefully considering which channels and videos are eligible for advertising. We are planning to apply stricter criteria, conduct more manual curation, while also significantly ramping up our team of ad reviewers to ensure ads are only running where they should.

READ MORE

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Atrocities on kids rise in Assam

Guwahati: Assam has reported a three-fold increase in the number of cases relating to crimes against children between 2014 and 2016. Nearly 75 per cent of these were kidnapping cases.

According to the Crime in India 2016 report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released by Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, the number of cases related to crime against children increased from 1,385 in 2014 to 2,385 in 2015 and 3,964 in 2016.

Tripura reported 369 cases, followed by Meghalaya (213), Mizoram (178), Manipur (137), Arunachal Pradesh (134) and Nagaland (25). The report said of the 3,964 cases reported in Assam last year, 2,970 were kidnapping cases followed by murders (35).

With the region prone to trafficking, 1,519 cases of abduction related to procurement of minor girls, followed by 676 cases in which minor girls were kidnapped and forced into marriage. The state reported 32 cases of trafficking and another 31 cases relating to kidnapping for prostitution.

Save the Children, an NGO, blamed poor implementation of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), slow progress of trial and poor enforcement of the laws. "If child protection committees are set up in each village, block and the district as stipulated by ICPS, crimes against children will come down. This will help us keep a database of children and keep watch on crimes against them too. Similarly, criminals like those involved in trafficking rackets are taking advantage of the improved communication like mobile networks to take their targets out easily," project coordinator of Save the Children in Assam, Deba Prasad Sarma, said.

He stressed the need for a state-level action plan to check crimes against children.

Chiranjeeb Kakoty, director of Northeast Society for Promotion of Youth and the Masses (NESPYM), another NGO here, however, said many cases of kidnapping could be cases of elopement. "As soon as a girl goes missing, parents immediately lodge a missing complaint in a police station and in most cases a kidnapping case is also registered. But during investigation, it has often been found that the girl had eloped. Kidnapping and trafficking are serious issues but a large chunk of such kidnappings are mutual elopement," he said.

The NCRB report also revealed 821 cases of sexual offence against children in Assam in 2016 of which 586 were rape cases. Mizoram reported 167 cases followed by Tripura (156), Meghalaya (151), Manipur (43) and Nagaland (27). The cases were registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012.

The number of cases of juveniles in conflict, however, came down to 436 in 2016 against 487 in 2014 and 624 in 2015. Meghalaya reported 84 cases involving juveniles. The figure was 57 in Arunachal Pradesh, followed by Mizoram (53), Tripura (25), Nagaland (18) and Manipur (10).

Source - The Telegraph

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Monday, December 4, 2017

UNICEF highlights child online safety at World Internet Conference

Source: Xinhua

WUZHEN, Zhejiang, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Four sculptures stood in great contrast to the advanced technology on display in Wuzhen Internet International Conference and Exhibition Center; however, they attracted just as much, if not more, attention from visitors.

The "Cyber Cocoon Kids" art installation, presented by UNICEF China at the on-going World Internet Conference, shows the four key online risks for children: cyberbullying, excessive internet use, online child sexual abuse and oversharing personal information.

Artist Xie Yong and creative director Kevin Wang came up with the concept of "Cyber Cocoon Kids" to represent the potential isolation that can occur when children inhabit a cyber world that parents and caregivers do not fully understand.

"Protecting children online is a vital issue in internet governance, and also closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals," said Fatoumata Ndiaye, UNICEF deputy executive director.

At the conference, UNICEF also co-hosted a Child Online Safety Forum bringing global experts to share learning, experience and practice in this area.

"The internet offers children access to a whole world of possibilities to learn, connect and play," said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to China. "As policy makers, digital industry representatives or as parents and caregivers, we need to protect children from the worst that digital technology has to offer and expand their access to the best."

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Sunday, December 3, 2017

79 alleged child predators have been arrested across New Jersey:

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) --

A total of 79 alleged child predators have been arrested across New Jersey.

Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced the massive roundup of predators and child pornography offenders on Friday.

Among those accused include a camp counselor, a youth minister and several adults who allegedly tried to have children transported across state lines for the purposes of sex.

The attorney general has a strong message for those engaging in these disturbing acts.

"If you're lurking in a chat room looking to exploit a child, our investigators are lurking alongside you," Porrino said.

The roundup was part of Operation Safety Net.

Those arrested were identified as:

William Esker, 22, of Bayonne, N.J., was charged on Sept. 7 by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office with aggravated criminal sexual contact for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with a girl, 14, over whom he had direct supervision as a camp counselor. He also is charged with providing obscene material to a child and endangering the welfare of a child.

Donald Beckwith, 34, of Browns Mills, N.J., is charged in Delaware with sexual solicitation of a minor and attempt to commit unlawful sexual contact with a minor. Beckwith, a captain in the Air Force stationed in New Jersey, met a girl, 14, through an online chat group for children and allegedly engaged her in sexual conversations, ultimately asking her to meet him in person. He allegedly met the girl twice in Delaware. The first time, he allegedly reached under her shirt and tried to touch her breast, and the second time he allegedly hugged her and repeatedly asked her to lie on a bed in the back of his vehicle and watch a movie with him. The New Jersey State Police arrested Beckwith on Aug. 16 in an investigation initiated by the Delaware State Police. Detectives allegedly found over 10 nude images of an underage girl on his phone.

Michael DeBlock, 22, of Hopatcong, N.J., a youth minister, was arrested on Oct. 10 and charged by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office with possession of child pornography and conveying obscene materials to a child. DeBlock allegedly exchanged sexual photos and texts with a girl, 14, including a photo of his penis.

Brandon Morris, 24, of Hammonton, N.J., was arrested on Oct. 17 and charged by the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office with manufacturing child pornography, endangering the welfare of a child by sexual conduct, conveying obscene materials to a child, and possession of child pornography. Morris allegedly engaged multiple underage girls in conversations on FaceTime, instructing them to perform sexual acts on themselves, which he recorded.

A 17-year-old student from Bergen County, whose name is not being released due to his juvenile status, was arrested on Aug. 17 and charged by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office with manufacturing, distributing and possessing child pornography, as well as invasion of privacy. The juvenile allegedly had over 1,000 files of suspected child pornography on his electronic devices, including video recordings he allegedly made by hiding his smartphone in a private bathroom in order to record underage boys who were nude, showering or urinating.

Craig Kirschner, 39, of Marlboro, N.J., was arrested on Aug. 21 and charged by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office with luring a child, attempted sexual assault of a minor, and conveying obscene material to a minor. Kirschner allegedly solicited an undercover detective, whom he believed to be a 15-year-old male, to meet for oral sex. The detective was monitoring a mobile app when he encountered Kirschner. After the undercover detective identified himself as a 15-year-old boy, Kirschner allegedly sent him photos of an erect penis, asked him to meet for oral sex, and stated "I can be generous for your trouble."

Isaac Toney, 40, of Trenton, N.J., was arrested on July 17 by the New Jersey State Police and charged with luring a child. He allegedly used a mobile app to solicit an undercover detective, whom he believed was a 14-year-old male, for oral sex. He was arrested at Veterans Park in Hamilton, Mercer County, where he allegedly was to meet the "boy" for a sexual encounter.

READ MORE

Trinity Mount Ministries Website: http://www.TrinityMount.Info

DOJ - Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

Readout of Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand Trip to Ottawa, Canada for Trilateral Summit on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand traveled to Ottawa, Canada on Thursday, Nov. 30, to lead the U.S. delegation in the Trilateral Summit on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls.  This is the second meeting of the trilateral working group.  The first was hosted by the U.S. in 2016 and next year’s meeting will be in 2018, hosted by Mexico.

Associate Attorney General Brand met with Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Canada’s Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs and Ismerai Betanzos Ordaz, Indigenous Rights Coordinator, Mexican Commission on the Development of Indigenous Rights.

“Tackling the issue of violence against Indigenous women and girls in our region and in the U.S. is not only a matter of criminal justice, but a moral imperative,” said Associate Attorney General Brand.

During the event, the three countries agreed to continue to prioritize the discussions, committing to continue the dialogue in 2018. Government representatives, in partnership with Indigenous women from across North America, will participate in events during the upcoming year, in preparation for the next meeting, which will be hosted by Mexico in the fall of 2018.

Themes discussed at this meeting were the importance of meaningful consultation with indigenous women regarding solutions to violence; promising practices for improving criminal justice responses to violent crimes against Indigenous women and girls; and the need for rigorous data collection to understand the full extent of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking in Indigenous communities.

To address this need for data, Associate Attorney General Brand has directed the Department’s National Institute of Justice to adapt an ongoing study on violence in Indian Country to add an inquiry about the prevalence rates of human trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls.

Canada, Mexico and the United States of America were also pleased to welcome Indigenous women from their respective countries to attend the event as full partners in order to ensure that their voices were included in the discussions. Indigenous women shared their experiences and perspectives, contributing to the development of outcomes for the working group.

The Department of Justice remains committed to addressing violence against indigenous women and girls in all of its forms through aggressive law enforcement and programs that serve victims.  The Department is committed to working with our international partners to share information and develop capabilities to address cross-border crimes like sex and labor trafficking together.

Associate Attorney General Brand’s visit supports the Justice Department’s continuing efforts under the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety.

Trinity Mount Ministries Website:
http://www.TrinityMount.Info

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

DOJ - Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, November 27, 2017

An Alabama man pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography between 1997 and 1998, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town of the Northern District of Alabama.

Charles Mark McCormack, 54, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography before Chief U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre of the Northern District of Alabama.  Sentencing is set for April 3, 2018.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea between Aug. 1, 1997, and Oct. 15, 1998, McCormack used a minor, born in or about 1992, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of the conduct, by videotaping the minor urinating in a bathroom in his residence in Colbert County, Alabama. 

McCormack was employed as a kindergarten teacher during a May 2016 search of his residence, which resulted in law enforcement discovering fewer than 25 images of nude and topless females believed to constitute child pornography and a suitcase containing young girls’ panties.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations is investigating this case with the cooperation of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  Trial Attorney William M. Grady of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Fortune of the Northern District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.

This investigation is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: www.justice.gov/psc.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

STOP IT NOW!

Our Work

Stop It Now! was founded by Fran Henry, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who learned first hand that standard approaches to keeping children safe from child sexual abuse at that time did not respond to the complex relationships surrounding most abuse. 

Her vision? To have the sexual abuse of children recognized as a preventable public health problem, to make helping adults take responsibility to prevent and stop sexual abuse of children a main focus of prevention, and to create effective programs based on these principles. She created Stop It Now! over 20 years ago to prevent the sexual abuse of children by mobilizing adults, families and communities to take actions that protect children before they are harmed.

In 2015, Stop It Now! became an affiliate of Klingberg Family Centers(link is external), a private, nonprofit multi-service agency based in New Britain, CT. Founded in 1903, Klingberg's mission is to extend hope and healing to children and families whose lives have been traumatized by abuse and/or neglect in its various forms, severe family problems and mental health issues. 

Our Approach: using research to inform practical, balanced solutions

Our efforts are guided by this understanding: to truly prevent harm to children, all adults need to accept responsibility for recognizing, acknowledging and confronting behaviors that lead to abuse.  More importantly, any long-term prevention strategy must change societal norms, so the sexual abuse of children is not tolerated and appropriate forms of help, support and accountability are provided to child victims and adult survivors, those who sexually abuse children, and the families of both.

Our ProgramsHelp Services - Provides direct help to individuals with questions or concerns about child sexual abuse.Prevention Advocacy - Advocates for the issue to be addressed as a public health priority.Prevention Education - Develops, assesses and distributes educational materials.Technical Assistance and Training – Provides consulting and training services to professionals, organizations, coalitions, and community-based programs.Our Impact

Stop It Now! has made significant and permanent contributions to the fields of public health, child abuse prevention, and crime prevention. These include pioneering a focus on adult responsibility for child sexual abuse prevention, successfully developing and replicating community-based prevention program, and collaborative work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Our Research

Consistent with a public health approach, Stop It Now! uses current scientific research, original market research, and program tracking and evaluation to develop its programs. Using a variety of methods - from focus groups to public opinion surveys to meta-analyses - and cooperating with leading researchers, we continue to build the evidence base needed for practical and effective prevention programs and materials.

Please Visit - http://www.stopitnow.org/

Are your kids’ toys safe?

When shopping this holiday, keep guidelines in mind.

By Dayton Children's Hospital

You are probably already swamped with toy advertisements this holiday season. Toys are supposed to be fun and help with appropriate development, but knowing the safety of the toys you buy your kids is extremely important. Each year, scores of kids are treated in hospital emergency departments for toy-related injuries.

For safety, manufacturers follow certain guidelines and label most new toys for specific age groups. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) closely monitors and regulates toys. Any toys made in or imported into the United States after 1995 must comply with CPSC standards. But perhaps the most important thing a parent can do is to supervise play.

Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when shopping for toys:

• Toys made of fabric should be labeled as flame resistant or flame retardant.

• Stuffed toys should be washable.

• Painted toys should be covered with lead-free paint.

• Art materials should say nontoxic.

• Crayons and paints should say ASTM D-4236 on the package, which means that they’ve been evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

• Avoid older or hand-me-down toys. They may not meet current safety standards or have become hazardous through play.

• Read labels for age appropriateness and check the guidelines published by the CPSC or other groups. Age levels for toys are determined by safety factors, not intelligence or maturity.

After you’ve purchased safe toys, make sure kids know how to use them. Playing with your kids teaches them how to play safely while having fun.

To keep toys safe at home, parents should:

• Teach kids to put toys away.

• Check toys regularly to make sure that they aren’t broken or unusable:

• Wooden toys shouldn’t have splinters.

• Bikes and outdoor toys shouldn’t have rust.

• Stuffed toys shouldn’t have broken seams or exposed removable parts.

• Throw away or repair broken toys right away.

• Store outdoor toys when they’re not in use so that they are not exposed to rain or snow.

• Keep toys clean. Read the manufacturer’s directions as some plastic toys can be cleaned in the dishwasher. Another option is to mix antibacterial soap or a mild dishwashing detergent with hot water in a spray bottle and use it to clean toys, rinsing them afterward.

If you find an unsafe toy, check the CPSC website for the latest information about toy recalls or call their hot line at 800-638-CPSC (2772) to report a toy you think is unsafe. If you have any doubt about a toy’s safety, err on the side of caution and do not allow your child to play with it.

This look at a children’s health or safety issue comes from Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Email: newsroom@childrensdayton.org.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

IKEA is re-issuing a recall for the Malm dressers:

Elizabeth Hendren, WTSP 5:55 PM. EST November 21, 2017

Parents, if you still have a dresser from IKEA in your home and you haven't secured it to the wall,  the retailer hopes you will listen to this.

IKEA is re-issuing a recall for the Malm dressers.

The parents of a two-year-old boy are suing the retailer after a Malm dresser fell on top of him at the family's California home.

He's one of eight children who has been killed by dressers tipping over.

IKEA took quite a bit of criticism from groups like 'Kids in Danger' and the 'American Academy of Pediatrics,' who say the retailer didn't do enough to get the word out about the chests and dressers.

There are about 17 million of the recalled dressers that are still out there across the country.

It's pretty simple to fix.

You can get a refund or a free wall anchoring kit.

If you opt for the refund, IKEA will even pick up the dresser from your home free of charge.

If you want to keep it, IKEA will come out and anchor it to the wall.

For either of those options, just log on to Ikea's website or you can call them toll-free.

WTSP 10 News - Video and Source

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

DOJ - Denaturalization Sought Against Five Child Sexual Abusers in Florida, Illinois, and Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Denaturalization Sought Against Five Child Sexual Abusers in Florida, Illinois, and Texas

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed denaturalization lawsuits against five individuals who, according to the Department’s complaints, unlawfully procured their U.S. citizenship by concealing sexual abuse of minor victims during the naturalization process. The civil complaints were filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, the Northern District of Illinois, the Northern District of Texas (two cases), and the Southern District of Texas.

“Committing fraud in any immigration matter undermines the integrity of our immigration system, and is a betrayal of the American people’s generosity,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “It is especially appalling when it also involves the sexual abuse of children. The Department of Justice has a duty to prosecute these crimes vigorously, particularly so for individuals who commit fraud in the naturalization process. I am confident that justice will be done in these cases, and I want to thank ICE, CBP, USCIS, our Civil Division, and our U.S. Attorneys’ offices for their hard work. This Department will continue to fight to denaturalize immigration fraudsters and to protect the American people from sex offenders.”

The cases were referred to the Department of Justice by the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection with investigative support from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“I commend the DHS personnel working diligently to remove dangerous criminals from our streets,” said Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke. “Those who unlawfully procured citizenship by concealing crimes – especially sexual abuse of minors – should have their citizenship revoked.”

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the citizenship of a naturalized U.S. citizen may be revoked, and his or her certificate of naturalization canceled, if naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.

The five defendants committed crimes of sexual abuse of minor victims prior to naturalizing. As the civil complaints allege, such crimes rendered the defendants ineligible for citizenship from the start. By willfully concealing child sexual abuse crimes, the defendants also independently rendered themselves subject to denaturalization.

A description of each of the five cases and the allegations of the United States follows:

Jorge Luis Alvarado

Jorge Luis Alvarado, 56, a native of Mexico, naturalized on March 9, 2000. Shortly before filing his naturalization application, Alvarado made unlawful sexual contact with a sixteen-year-old child. In March 2007, he pleaded guilty in Texas state court to committing indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony. Alvarado was ordered to community supervision and to register as a sex offender. He has been residing in southern Texas. United States of America v. Jorge Luis Alvarado (S.D. Tex.).

Alberto Mario Beleno

Alberto Mario Beleno, 64, a native of Colombia, naturalized on Feb. 26, 2001. Before Beleno naturalized as a U.S. citizen, he committed lewd and lascivious acts on a six-year-old child. In 2001, less than three months after he naturalized, Beleno was arrested and ultimately pleaded guilty/nolo-contendere in Florida state court to committing felony lewd and lascivious exhibition and felony lewd and lascivious molestation on a minor in 1993 and 1994. Beleno was ordered to register as a sex offender for his conduct. His last known residence in the United States is in Miami, Florida. United States of America v. Alberto Mario Beleno (S.D. Fla.).

Eleazar Corral Valenzuela

Eleazar Corral Valenzuela, 49, a native of Mexico, naturalized on June 15, 2000. Prior to applying to naturalize, he sexually abused a minor child. In November 2000, after he had naturalized, Corral pleaded guilty in Illinois state court to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony. He was ordered to register as a sex offender. He has been residing in Aurora, Illinois. United States of America v. Eleazar Corral Valenzuela (N.D. Ill.).

Moises Herrera-Gonzalez

Moises Herrera-Gonzalez, 55, a native of Mexico, naturalized on Sept. 25, 1999. On Jan. 1, 1996, before he filed his naturalization application, Herrera-Gonzalez sexually assaulted and injured a six-year-old child. He filed his naturalization application in September 1996, nine months after the sexual assault. On July 8, 2002, after he naturalized, Herrera-Gonzalez pleaded guilty in Texas state court to committing bodily injury to a child, a third-degree felony. He was sentenced to five years in prison. He has been residing in Arlington, Texas. United States of America v. Moises Herrera-Gonzalez (N.D. Tex.).

Emmanuel Olugbenga Omopariola

Emmanuel Olugbenga Omopariola, 60, a native of Nigeria, naturalized on July 1, 2004. Before he filed his naturalization application in May 2003, Omopariola made unlawful sexual contact with a seven-year-old child. In 2015, after he naturalized, Omopariola pleaded guilty in Texas state court to Indecency with a Child – Sexual Contact, a second-degree felony. He was ordered to five years of community supervision and placed on the sex offender registry. He has been residing in Grand Prairie, Texas. United States of America v. Emmanuel Olugbenga Omopariola (N.D. Tex.).

These cases were investigated by ICE, CBP, and USCIS, and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS). These cases are being prosecuted by OIL-DCS and its National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit) with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Texas, and Southern District of Texas.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Monday, November 20, 2017

Victims 'told not to report' Jehovah's Witnesses child abuse - BBC U.K.

Children who were sexually abused by Jehovah's Witnesses were allegedly told by the organisation not to report it.

Victims from across the UK told the BBC they were routinely abused and that the religion's own rules protected perpetrators.

One child abuse lawyer believes there could be thousands of victims across the country who have not come forward.

The organisation said it did not "shield" abusers and any suggestion of a cover-up was "absolutely false".

'Bring reproach on Jehovah'

BBC Hereford and Worcester spoke to victims - men and women - from Birmingham, Cheltenham, Leicester, Worcestershire and Glasgow, one of whom waived her right to anonymity.

Louise Palmer, who now lives in Evesham, Worcestershire, was born into the organisation along with her brother Richard Davenport, who started raping her when she was four. He is serving a 10-year prison sentence for the abuse.

The 41-year-old, formerly of Halesowen, West Midlands, said she was told not to go to police.

Former Jehovah's Witnesses have been speaking to the BBC about abuse:

"I asked [the organisation], 'what should I do? Do you report it to the police, [or] do I report it to the police'?

"And their words were that they strongly advised me not to go to the police because it would bring reproach on Jehovah."

Another woman, from Worcestershire, said she was sexually abused as a child by a friend of her brother.

She said she told her parents and elders in the congregation what happened and they advised her not to report it.

"It started off just being very cuddly and I was always a very tactile little girl, but it gradually got worse and worse.

"It escalated until... he started raping me."

Jehovah's Witnesses movement at a glance:

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a movement best known for their door-to-door evangelistic work.
Child abuse lawyer Kathleen Hallisey said there were concerns that the organisation's procedures compromised child safety.

"[For example] in order for [victims] to take allegations of sexual abuse further, they have to have two witnesses to the abuse," she said.
The 'two witness' rule - Felicity Kvesic, BBC News

I've spoken to multiple victims who have told me of the abuse they have suffered while in the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation.

What most of them keep coming back to is something known as the "two witness rule".

It is a procedure set by the main governing body of the religion and means for any sin committed, there must be two witnesses to it in order for the elders of the congregation to take any action.

The problem with this is it can be rare to have witnesses in cases of abuse.

The victims I've spoken to said the organisation self-polices and teaches members to avoid interaction with outside authorities or to take another member of the religion to court.

To do so, they say, could lead to expulsion from the religion.

In a statement the organisation said "any suggestion that Jehovah's Witnesses covered up child abuse was absolutely false".

It said victims and their parents had "the absolute right to report the matter to the governmental authorities" and reporting so was "not contingent on the number of witnesses to the offence".

It described child abuse as a "heinous crime and sin" and said the congregation did not "shield abusers from the authorities of the consequences of their actions".

The statement added "loving and protective parents" were the "best deterrent to child abuse" and elders provided "abuse victims and their families with spiritual comfort from the Bible".

In 2013 the Charity Commission started an inquiry into safeguarding issues in the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain - the UK's main Jehovah's Witnesses organisation which the commission regulates.

Its inquiry continues.

For information and support for anyone affected by sexual abuse, including sources of support for children, young people and concerned parents, visit listings on BBC Action Line.

Photos - The Watchtower pamphlets - a free monthly publication of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Original Article

Google responds to brand safety reports it benefited from child abuse on YouTube

Google has responded to reports that it has benefited through adverts appearing on channels that supported child abuse after it closed channel Toy Freaks and announced that it had launched a subsequent investigation on the platform.

During a year where Google has responded to concerns by advertisers over brand safety, where it was found that adverts were running against terrorist propaganda video with the brand's knowledge, it is now defending itself against further claims that the same has happened on channels featuring children.

The channel, Toy Freaks, which began two years ago with Greg Chism and his daughters in different situations, had 8.53 million subscribers making it one of YouTube's top 100 most viewed channels when it was closed.

Google released a statement following the Times claim on Saturday that the channel was one that benefitted from featuring children in 'abusive' situations.

“We take child safety extremely seriously and have clear policies against child endangerment. We recently tightened the enforcement of these policies to tackle content featuring minors where we receive signals that cause concern. It’s not always clear that the uploader of the content intends to break our rules, but we may still remove their videos to help protect viewers, uploaders and children. We’ve terminated the Toy Freaks channel for violation of our policies. We will be conducting a broader review of associated content in conjunction with expert Trusted Flaggers," the statement read.

Google responded to The Drum's questions over what it was planning to do to ensure further examples of child exploitation were not found on the platform.

Asked how quickly it moved upon discovering the violations by Toy Freaks, a spokesman claimed it closed the account "as soon as we were notified, we took action." The channel has also been developing machine learning capabilities to determine which channels do violate its policies, they also highlighted.

"We have strict policies against child endangerment on YouTube. We cannot always speak to the intent of families uploading content, but sometimes they may cross a line and violate our Community Guidelines even if they didn’t intend to do anything harmful. In these instances, we may still remove their videos to help protect the children or viewers. We are going to do a broader review of content such as these with expert Trusted Flaggers," they continued to explain.

On brand safety and how YouTube was working with advertisers to avoid future brand safety concerns, it was claimed that it had "ramped up" its training to educate clients and agencies on the safety controls that had been introduced.

"In any situation whereby a brand's ad runs against content they feel is inconsistent with their values, we work with them to review their current settings and put additional exclusions in place. We continue to be transparent on the process we've made with our machine learning algorithms and our dedication to making sure they are reaching the right audience on YouTube," it was stated.

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Article by Stephen Lepitak

Trinity Mount Ministries YouTube Channel

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Lest we forget: The missing children of India

More than 2,40,000 children went missing between 2012 and 2017.

In 2016, the Delhi High Court had raised concern over the issue of missing children in the country, equating it with the menace of terrorism. And if the government data is to be believed, the issue is indeed of grave importance.

Information from the Ministry of Women and Child Development show that more than 2,40,000 children went missing between 2012 and 2017. However, the number might be much higher in reality as many such cases often go unreported.

According to The New York Times, the police is also reluctant in fling first information report in such cases. The international media outlet claimed that FIRs were filed in only 40% of the cases between 2012 and 2014.

The report further mentioned that there could be many socio-economic factors behind the menace of missing children. One of the reasons cited is poverty. It says that families living in acute poverty at times fail to report the matter to police if the possible reason behind it is abuse of any manner.

Some families are so poor that they even resort to selling their children as they do not have the means of livelihood to sustain, said the report.

NYT further says that a bad monsoon can also be a factor leading to spike in missing children cases. According to the report, bad monsoon pushes families to starvation, and hence the children are set out to work. It is in this situation that the children often fall prey to trafficking situations.

A recent report by the US, millions of children and women in India are victims of sex trafficking.

FBI MISSING - MYRA LEWIS

#MISSING

MYRA LEWIS

Camden, Mississippi
March 1, 2014

Date(s) of Birth Used: November 30, 2011
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 3'1"
Weight:27 pounds
Sex: Female
Race: Black

Reward:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information regarding the whereabouts of Myra Lewis.

Remarks:

Myra Lewis was last seen wearing white or khaki pants, a turquoise sweater with a bear on the front, and pink tennis shoes.

Details:

Myra Lewis, age 2, has been missing in Mississippi since March 1, 2014. She was last seen by family members, between 10:30 am and 11 am, playing outside her home in Camden, Mississippi.

Submit a Tip:

If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Field Office: Jackson

Submit an anonymous Tip online

Ripley County Law enforcement officers honored

Referring to one of the accomplishments of Ripley County Sheriff Jeff Cumberworth:

"Jeff started a drone project, which will not only be used for law enforcement purposes, but can also be used to find a missing child because it has heat seeking technology."

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Photo: Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel, (from left) recognized ISP Detective Sgt. Tom Baxter, Ripley County Sheriff Jeff Cumberworth and BPD Chief Stan Holt.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

FBI MISSING - AKIA SHAWNTA EGGLESTON

#MISSING

AKIA SHAWNTA EGGLESTON

May 3, 2017
Baltimore City, Maryland

Date(s) of Birth Used: September 6, 1994

Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 4'11"
Weight: 100 pounds
Sex: Female
Race: Black

Scars and Marks: Eggleston has a tattoo of cherries on her left shoulder blade.

Reward:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information regarding the whereabouts of Akia Shawnta Eggleston.

Details:

Akia Shawnta Eggleston was last seen on May 3, 2017, in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore City, Maryland.  She was eight months pregnant when she disappeared and was reported missing on May 7, 2017, when she did not show up for her baby shower. Akia has not been seen or heard from since that time.

Submit a Tip:

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI's Baltimore Field Office at (410) 265-8080, the Baltimore City Police Department at (410) 396-2499, your local FBI office, or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Field Office: Baltimore

Submit an anonymous Tip online