Sexual Abuse

May 13 2013

Incident captured on surveillance video

LAWNDALE, Calif. — A 60-year-old instructional aide at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale was facing possible charges today for allegedly sexually molesting a mentally challenged 16-year-old girl.

Juan Carlos Gutierrez was arrested Friday and was booked on suspicion of annoying or molesting a child, according to the sheriff’s department. He was released on bond Saturday.

According sheriff’s detectives, Gutierrez went into a stairwell at the school with the girl and fondled her over her clothing on Tuesday.

May 8 2013

Claim is “outrageous and pathetic”

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A dancer-choreographer has filed a claim against Michael Jackson’s estate related to alleged child sex abuse by the late pop icon.

Wade Robson, now 30, denied in testimony at Jackson’s child molestation trial in 2005 that he had been molested by the singer.

Two months after Jackson’s death in 2009, Robson said they had “a wonderful relationship” and he called Jackson “a kind human being.”

Mar 12 2013

Resolves only a portion of the roughly 190 lawsuits

LOS ANGELES, calif.—The Los Angeles Unified School District announced today it has settled 58 legal claims alleging sexual abuse of students at Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles.

The district described the settlements as a multimillion-dollar deal, but declined to provide an exact figure until the amounts were approved in court.

NBC4 reported that the settlements ranged from about $400,000 to $500,000 for each plaintiff.

Jan 30 2013

LAUSD is target of scrutiny

Former state Sen. Martha Escutia, now a partner at an Irvine law firm, called Tuesday for an independent investigation of what she called disproportionate sexual abuse of Latino students by teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The call came in the wake of claims that LAUSD teacher Robert Pimentel sexually abused children at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary School in Wilmington.

Jennifer Thompson  |   OW College Intern
Oct 18 2012

Ow recommendation: Yes

Proposition 35 expands the definition of human trafficking and imposes tougher penalties on those convicted. According to the state’s official voter’s guide, this measure defines crimes related to the creation and distribution of obscene materials depicting minors as a form of human trafficking.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.