By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
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 Pennsylvania day care owner accused of not reporting sexual abuse waives arraignment.
A 32-year-old director of an Austin, Texas, day care center has been indicted on a capital murder charge. Christina Suzanne Lyons was charged after a 10-week-old child left in her care died. The Hays County (Texas) Grand Jury returned the count against Lyons; the indictment accuses her of intentionally causing blunt force trauma to the infant’s head on November 18, 2010. Sherri Tibbe, Hays County District Attorney, told a local paper that her office will not seek the death penalty, meaning Lyons could face a life sentence without parole if convicted. For more see 
The Oregon State Police believe that two teenage boys drowned after waves swept the boys off a rocking outcropping and into the ocean. According to Lt. Gregg Hastings, the body of 18-year-old Connor Gregory Ausland was found. However, authorities have yet to find 17-year-old Jack Harnsongkram. Both young men are residents of Eugene, Orgeon, and were students at South Eugene High School. Hastings also stated that the two teenagers were visiting the area, near Smelt Sands State Park in Lincoln County, with a group of other teens and adults. A local television station reported that a third teen was also knocked into the surf by the powerful waves but manages to get out safely. Police believe that both Ausland and Harnsongkram drowned. For more details please read 
A 15-year-old sophomore has been charged with cyberstalking and using false information for an alleged Facebook posting that occurred in November 2010. According to an affidavit, the student at Smithfield High School used a fake account to harass a freshman who, because of a birth deformity, is missing part of her foot. The sophomore allegedly used the fake account to pose as the freshman. The account also had a picture of a bloody severed foot and included the freshman’s last name and birthdate. John Reis, an anti-bullying educator, is concerned that people are not taking the incident seriously, thinking of it as a practical joke instead. Reis is concerned that other students are not appreciate the inherent meanness of the phony account. Also according to the affidavit, the sophomore’s father was rude to police and seemed annoyed when police came knocking on the family’s door. Reis says that parents need to be proactive instead of running for cover. Parents should take responsibility themselves as well as let their children take responsibility for their actions. When a child behaves inappropriately there should be consequences, children should and accept those consequences and learn from their behavior. The Rhode Island State Police cyber crimes units confiscated 3 computers from the sophomore’s home. To read more on this story please see
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Child Doula Services have come together to conduct monthly inspections for child passenger safety. According to CHP Officer Paul Dahlen the goal is to educate not enforce. Hopefully educating those drivers with child passengers will reduce child personal injury and child death statewide. Properly installing child safety seats is a state-wide issue. Dahlen stated that 90 percent of inspected car seats are improperly installed. Proper installation of child safety seats is important because it can reduce the chance of a child being ejected from the vehicle during a crash, as well as decrease a child’s chance of sustaining severe personal injuries or being killed. Under the current California law, children must be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (either car or booster seat) until the child is at least 6-years-old or weighs 60 pounds or more. The current fine for violating this law can be significant, 435 plus add points to an individual’s driving records. For more on this topic please see