Backpage ad site: Aider of traffickers, or way to stop them?
By MARTHA IRVINE Is the huge classified ad site an abettor of sexual trafficking and exploitation, or a beacon of free expression? Does it generate crime, or help solve it?…
Crimes against children
Pakistan police officers, spy fired over child abuse case
A top government official in eastern Pakistan says he has fired a provincial intelligence chief and three senior police officers for failing to act against a gang that blackmailed the…
Police: Birthday cake beating followed week of handcuffing
A 9-year-old boy who was fatally beaten over a missing birthday cake had been handcuffed for up to three hours a day for a week before the deadly assault, according…
Raid spotlights Subway pitchman’s ties to ex-foundation head
By TOM MURPHY and RICK CALLAHAN A raid at the home of a well-known Subway restaurant pitchman is casting a glaring spotlight on his relationship with the former head of…
US archbishop quits after archdiocese charged with cover-up
By NICOLE WINFIELD Pope Francis has started making good on his promise to not let even the most senior churchmen get away with sex abuse or cover-up. On Monday, he…
Child sex abuse claims shake UN as revelations continue
By CARA ANNA The boys said they approached the French soldiers because they were hungry. Some were so young they didn’t quite understand the acts the soldiers demanded in return.…
Sentencing for man who kept 4 sons in filthy home
A father whose four young sons could communicate only in grunts when authorities rescued them from a filthy Denver apartment faces up to seven years in prison when he’s sentenced…
IMPACT: Abused children die as authorities fail to protect
By HOLBROOK MOHR and GARANCE BURKE At least 786 children died of abuse or neglect in the U.S. in a six-year span in plain view of child protection authorities —…