Latest Child abuse News
UK backs local inquiries into child sexual abuse gangs after Musk stoked controversy
LONDON (AP) — Britain's government said Thursday that it will support a series of local inquiries into cases of organized child sexual abuse in the wake of a furor largely stoked by the world's richest man Elon Musk. In a statement to lawmakers, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said...
The death toll in last week's mass shooting in Montenegro rises to 13
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A man who was wounded in a mass shooting on New Year's Day in Montenegro died on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 13. The Jan. 1 shooting took place in the western town of Cetinje after a bar brawl. A 45-year-old local man killed 12 people in...
In his first 2025 catechism lesson, Pope says anyone who exploits or abuses a child answers to God
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday denounced the “scourge” of child labor and other abuses suffered by children, saying anyone who harms or exploits a child will have to answer to God. Francis dedicated his first catechism lesson of 2025 to the plight of children, telling...
The list of Maine parents waiting for a lawyer grew by 700 percent in 2024
Like many of her colleagues, family law attorney Taylor Kilgore has been watching the list of child protection cases in need of lawyers grow over the past year. When the state removes children from their parents’ care because of concerns about abuse or neglect, those parents are...
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt reach divorce settlement after 8 years
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott J. Nord approved the agreement Tuesday,...
Investigators believe missing Alabama toddler died months ago
FAYETTE, Ala. (AP) — The mother of a missing Alabama toddler told investigators that the boy died and that his body was kept in a bag in a storage shed before being moved, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday against the woman. Authorities do not know where 1-year-old...
South Korean families pray for relatives who vanished into North Korean prisons a decade ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In the past year, Choi Jin-young has done everything he can to bring attention to his father, a missionary who's serving a life sentence in North Korea. He’s met senior U.N., U.S. and other human rights officials, testified at public events, and accepted many media...
Guatemala authorities raid ultra-orthodox Jewish sect's compound after report of abuse
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan authorities searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect Friday, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the National Civil Police and...
Testimony of Texas man whose execution was halted in shaken baby case is challenged again
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ attorney general sought again on Thursday to stop a man on death row from testifying to lawmakers who have raised doubts about his guilt and successfully paused his execution at the last minute in October. Robert Roberson was convicted in 2003 of...
Takeaways from AP's reporting on a child sex abuse crisis inside a secretive Christian sect
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — For decades, a little-known Christian sect has dealt with its abusive ministers and spiritual elders mostly in secret, shunning legal action in favor of urging victims to forgive the predators in their midst. Forgiveness, however, was far from a cure: The...
