Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By John Jensen, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A former Asheville, North Carolina day care worker has been sentenced to at least 19 years in state prison. 46-year-old Michael Roy Carter began molesting a girl when she was 3-years-old, the abuse continued for almost a decade. According to the lawsuit, Carter’s attention was drawn to the victim recently after she was enrolled at Rainbow Child Care in 1989, an Asheville day care center that is no nonexistent. The lawsuit claims Carter would take the victim into the bathroom, fondle her, performed a sex act on her and forced her to perform one on him. The suit also names Carter’s wife, Angela P. Carter, and his parents, who owned the center. The suit alleges each conspired with Carter to hide his serial abuse of the children at the center. Carter would persuade the victim’s mother to allow her to stay over night with Carter at his home he shared with his wife. The lawsuit alleges Carter began to molest and rape the victim when she was about 11-years-old. Once the victim reached the age of fourteen, she ceased contact with Carter to develop relationships with friends, fellow students and her peers. Carter continued to contact the victim via email and telephone calls. According to the lawsuit, one email stated, “I still love you more than anything … I know in your heart you still care but I don’t understand why we can’t talk.” The victim began to seek counseling for sexual abuse in September 2008. Through her extensive therapy, the victim finally reported the abuse to police, which prompted the investigation and, ultimately, Carter’s arrest and criminal conviction. The facility was shut down in the early 1990s, however records don’t indicate the reason it closed. Carter pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree statutory rape. Carter was sentenced to 230-285 months in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender after his release from prison. For more details please read Former Asheville day care employee gets 19 years after serially abusing a child at the care center.
Police have charged a teen with sexually abusing children at a Seneca County New York day care center. According to the Seneca County Sheriff’s Department, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with juvenile delinquency for committing acts that would amount to seven counts of child abuse and seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child if he were an adult. Deputies allege the teen had sexual contact with several children on several different dates over the last nine months; the boys range in age from six to nine-years-old. The day care center has not been identified, but investigators said it is located on the south end of Seneca County. Seneca County Child Protective Services and the State Office of Children and Family Services are working in conjunction with the Seneca County Sheriff’s Department during the investigation.
Sheriff Pat Kelly and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office have been investigating claims as to sexual groping at two local at home day care centers. Children of six families claimed t hat a 72-year-old man had inappropriate contact with their children in Athens County. The day care centers are located in the Dover Township and Trimble areas.
A Delaware pediatrician was found guilty of child abuse and rape of his patients. Earl Bradley, 58, was accused of raping and assaulting more than 100 girls that he treated. He was convicted of 24 counts of rape, assault and sexual exploitation in Sussex Superior Court.
The number of victims of child sexual abuse and molestation grows each year. According to the U.S. Justice Department, roughly 32% of girls and 14% of boys are molested before the age of 18. In addition, nearly 2/3 of all sexual assaults reported involved minors and roughly 1/3 involved children under the age of 12. In most cases, child molestation goes unreported. Estimates are that only 35% of sexual abuse is reported. The reason may be because kids are frightened or embarrassed to say anything.
In Colorado and other States, parents put faith and trust in both their church and day care center. Parents expect that the church day care center is a safe haven for their children and that there children will be provided with a learning environment that promotes the health, welfare, and education of the children. Unfortunately, in some day care centers in Colorado and other States, children are sexually molested and assaulted by day care workers and employees who are supposed to supervise and protect the children under their care. The molestation at a church day care center is among the most heinous acts and crimes imaginable for a parent.
A recent court ruling may make it easier for victims of child pornography to receive restitution from those convicted of possessing child pornographic images. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal restitution law generally does not require victims to detail how an individual defendant harmed them in order to get compensation, a ruling different from previous court holdings. However, legal experts are saying that the issue will probably end up having to be answered by the U.S. Supreme Court because of the disagreement among courts. In the Texas case, a woman sought compensation from an East Texas man who was previously convicted of possession images of child pornography. If you would like to read more see 
A day care owner in Adams County, Pennsylvania, who is accused of not reporting acts of child sex abuse at her day care, has waived her arraignment. The former Aspers day care employee recently pleaded guilty to molesting six girls who attended the day care, which is located at the 100 block of Clines Church Road. Police were notified by Children and Youth in May 2010. After local police were presented with the sexual abuse allegations, other mothers of victims came forward. A sign is posted on the front door of the residential day care reading that the child care center is closed until February 21. Sadly, the Adams County Child Advocacy Center stated the number of reports of child abuse is increasing, also calling it an epidemic. A statistic in a local Pennsylvania newspaper stated that one in every four girls and one in every six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18-years-old. All the six girls in this case who were sexually abused are now receiving help. Raymond Messinger, the man who admitted to sexually abusing the young girls, will be sentenced in March 2011. For more read 