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12-year-old youth carried out sex attacks on children
A teenager was detained for three years after carrying out sex attacks on children when he was only 12 years old.
Even though Steven Thain, who is now 19, had been assessed as having a mental age of between nine and ten at the time of the offences, the judge rejected a defence plea to spare a jail sentence.
The judge, Lord Woolman, stated: "The protection of children from sexual abuse is of vital importance to society. In this case, I am satisfied that only a term of custody is appropriate."
Thain, of Buckie, Banffshire, was convicted of indecent behaviour towards a six-year-old girl in 2002, when he exposed himself to the child. He was also found guilty of assaulting and sodomising two boys, aged eight and ten, in the same year.
Thain's laywer argued that the crimes were committed under special circumstances, because his client was a child at the time, had learning difficulties and was very immature for his age. Lord Woolman replied he had taken into account Thain's age at the time of the offences, but also had to consider other matters, including the very serious nature of the offences and the effect they had had on his victims. A teenager was detained for three years after carrying out sex attacks on children when he was only 12 years old. ... more -
“I feel like crying when I see my friends going to school”
Three months after Cyclone Nargis struck, most of the estimated 2.4 million storm-affected people are still struggling to rebuild their lives. May Thet, a teenage girl, has become the chief family breadwinner, collecting empty water bottles to sell in Mawlamyinekyun, one of the hardest-hit areas.
“My job is to collect the empty plastic water bottles that people dump on the ground and sell them to a bottle-buyer in our town… Sometimes, I make about 3,500 kyat [US$3] per day.
“Now I can afford to send my little sister to school, and at the same time provide enough income so my mother has no serious financial worries… My mother has re-opened her road-side noodles shop, but earns just US$1 per day.
“We can't think of rebuilding our house yet, because money for food and for school is a first priority. My mother always told me she wanted me to go to school, but couldn’t afford the school fees for both my sister and me.
“I feel like crying when I see my friends going to school, but, I have to console myself. It's my destiny. There are a lot of us who can’t go to school because we have to help our parents.
“See that student over there? Just look how pleased he is with the books he has received from his teacher. I envy him a lot, but if I ask my mother to send me to school, it would only put her in deeper debt. I just don’t want to talk about it any more. Earning the family income is much more important right now than going to school.
“My mother said no [to my going to Yangon to look for work as a housemaid], because she was afraid I would be sexually assaulted or trafficked into the sex industry. I'm also afraid of being sold or raped. But my mother told me I cannot go there. I have to listen to my mother's orders." Three months after Cyclone Nargis struck, most of the estimated 2.4 million storm-affected people are still struggling to rebuild thei... more -
College Presidents Want Drinking Age Lowered
College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus. College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling ... more
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16-year-old murder suspect arrested
The teen wanted for the murder of a man shot after a football practice in Federal Way last week was arrested and charged Monday with second-degree murder.
Federal Way Police say 16-year-old Luis F. Cosgaya-Alvarez of Kent was taken into custody in South Seattle.
The shooting happened just 8 p.m. as practice was ending for the Federal Way Hawks, a junior league football team. A crowd of parents and players were leaving at the time.
That's when police say a black SUV pulled up and someone shot 26-year-old Ormero Garcia Mendez in the head.
Witnesses say they had seen the SUV before circling the lot as if the driver was in search of someone.
According to friends, the Mendez was there to pick up another friend's child. He had come to the field every night.
Police say they don't believe the shooting was gang related.
KING 5 normally doesn't release the names of juveniles, but we are in this instance because of the severity of the crime. The teen wanted for the murder of a man shot after a football practice in Federal Way last week was arrested and charged Monday with s... more -
Tired teens at risk of breaking their hearts
Sleep-deprived teenagers are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks - and their mobile phones, computer games and iPods could be to blame, research suggests.
A study of teens aged 13 to 16 found those who slept less than 6½ hours a night were up to three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.
Researchers said the "technological invasion of the bedroom" was responsible for creating a generation of sleep-starved youngsters.
The study, published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, looked at the sleeping patterns of 238 teenagers and found that the duration of sleep directly affected blood pressure.
Those who had trouble nodding off at night or waking up in the morning were also at increased risk.
It is the first study of its kind to look at the link between sleep and blood pressure in healthy teens.
The author of the research, Susan Redline from University Hospital's Sleep Disorders Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, said "sleep insufficiency" was often related to mobile phones, music and computers in the bedroom.
"There are teens who text message or listen to music all night, compounded by early school hours. Adolescents need nine hours of sleep," Professor Redline said.
"Parents should optimise sleep quality for their family with regular sleep and wake times and bedrooms should be quiet, dark and conducive to sleep."
High blood pressure in childhood is linked to heart disease in adulthood.
Professor Redline said the results could have huge public health implications. Sleep-deprived teenagers are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks - and their mobile phones, computer games and iP... more -
Man kidnaps case worker. Brings Gun to High school. School on lock down!
The second week of school started at Smyrna High School Monday morning with the building on lockdown.
Police said it was spurred by a family dispute that became a kidnapping, and led to an alert across the southeastern United States.
Police in Rutherford County are searching for William Dorris Irwin after an incident began at a domestic violence center in Murfreesboro.
Irwin's wife, who has an order of protection against him, was in the parking lot of the Murfreesboro Domestic Violence Center talking to a counselor when police said Irwin suddenly showed up.
According to police, Irwin then took the domestic violence worker and dropped her off at a Citgo gas station in Smyrna, but not before telling the worker he was going to kidnap his 16-year-old son from Smyrna High School.
The worker immediately called police, prompting the high school not to allow anyone in or out of the building.
"There was no imminent danger on campus this morning. There was no one that actually ever entered the campus with any sort of guns. This was completely off-campus and they (executed a lockdown) as a way of keeping the campus secure," said James Evans, spokesman for Rutherford County schools.
School was let out at its normal time on Monday.
Irwin was arrested three times in July and August on charges of assaulting his wife and armed robbery.
Irwin's son and the boy's mother are together and both are currently in a safe location.
Irwin was last seen driving a black 2005 Nissan Altima with Tennessee tag number 653 LCV.
This is the second lockdown of a Rutherford Country school on Monday. Eagleville School was placed on lockdown status after an armed man robbed a Regions Bank in downtown Eagleville early Monday morning. The second week of school started at Smyrna High School Monday morning with the building on lockdown. ... more -
England stars urge end to knives
David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Goal keeper David James say there must be an end to fatal stabbings in England. The players joined Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and senior police officers in a press conference in Watford on Britain's Gun Crime. David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Goal keeper David James say there must be an end to fatal stabbings in England. The players joined Ho... more
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What happened to LA's youngest model?
At 18, the Santa Monica high school student faces everyday teen issues while dreaming of being back on the runway.
GERREN TAYLOR was still playing with Barbie dolls when she walked the runway for the first time at Los Angeles Fashion Week in 2003. Just 12 at the time, she was the youngest person ever to be represented by the runway division of L.A. Models. Although most agencies require girls to be 14, it's not unheard of for 12-year-olds to get work. Actress Milla Jovovich made the cover of Vogue at 12, and Brooke Shields, Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss were all stars before they turned 16.
With her long legs and confident walk, Taylor looked as though she would follow in their footsteps. Then, during Richard Tyler's show, the last one of the week that April, she stepped onto the runway in a wedding gown and stumbled hard. She tripped once, then again on the train that was in front of her, because the dress was accidentally put on backward. When her eyes welled up with tears, even the most hardened fashionistas wanted to give her a hug.
I wrote about that moment, the one that made Taylor a novelty -- the 12-year-old, plucked from the crowd on an L.A. street corner, who tripped on the high-fashion runway. It made for a good story. Other people thought so too. Oprah came calling, and designers lined up to book her.
That September, she went to New York to see if she could make it on the world stage, and walked in the Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson and Tracy Reese shows. Hilfiger even paid to have her teeth fixed, telling Taylor she was going to be a top model. Making enough money for college seemed a sure bet after she became the first African American in a Marc Jacobs ad campaign. "We're all expecting her to be a big star," Jacobs said.
Then she disappeared. A year later, Taylor didn't book a single runway job. The advertising work dried up too, and so did the magazine editorials. She went to Europe to try her luck at the fashion weeks there, but was told by booking agents in Paris that 38-inch hips on a pole-thin 6-foot frame made her too big to model. (They wanted her to diet down to 35 inches.) In less than two years, her career had come to a halt.
That's where the story ends for most. Fashion designers and editors move on to the next girl and the next. It's just the way of an industry built on selling a fantasy that depends on novelty and impossible ideals. Women try to intellectualize the constant stream of airbrushed images, skinny models and too-expensive products, but the allure is too strong. So we go on searching for some notion of beauty that is always just out of reach. And we don't think much about what happened to last year's model.
EXCEPT with Taylor, documentary filmmaker Darryl Roberts was there to pick up where the industry left off.
His film "America the Beautiful," opening Friday at the Laemmle Sunset 5, follows the arc of her brief career, trying to understand why we are obsessed with physical beauty. We see Taylor and her mom, Michele Gerren, struggling to navigate the sexualized world of fashion, while arguing about whether it's too soon for the young model to start wearing a bra. We hear from Taylor's school principal, who says with prescience, "How can you comprehend at 12 or 13 that you're going to be discarded?"
Then, in 2005, when Taylor returns from Europe humiliated, we watch her hit rock bottom. Agonizing over the flaws she perceives in her pancake flat stomach, her flawless face looks straight into the camera and she says, "I'm ugly."
She had written herself off at 15. At 18, the Santa Monica high school student faces everyday teen issues while dreaming of being back on the runway. ... more -
Parents 'clueless' about teen drug, alcohol abuse
"An annual survey from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York reported that parents are clueless when it comes to their teenagers’ behavior, which contributes to their drug and alcohol abuse, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
According to the survey:
— It is easier for teenagers to obtain prescription drugs than beer;
— Forty-two percent of teenagers said they can buy marijuana in one day or less;
— One-quarter of teenagers said they know a parent of a classmate or a friend who uses marijuana;
— Of the teenagers surveyed who do drink, almost 30 percent said their drink of choice was hard liquor mixed with soda or something sweet and 16 percent said they preferred beer;
The survey goes on to report that parents are failing to monitor their children’s activities and are not setting good examples for their kids.
More than 1,000 teens and more than 300 of their parents were surveyed. Almost half of the teens surveyed said they leave the house on school nights to hang out with their friends -- and half of those teens come home after 10 p.m. because they have been drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana or doing other drugs.
A little less than 30 percent of the teenagers said they come home between 8 and 10 p.m., but they are also drinking and/or using drugs.
Only 14 percent of the parents surveyed said their teenagers leave the house to hang out with friends on school nights.
"Every mother and father should look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are doing the parenting essential to help their child negotiate the difficult teen years free of tobacco, alcohol and drugs," said Elizabeth Planet, CASA's director of special projects."
I "An annual survey from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York reported that pare... more -
Illegal drug admissions soar in UK hospitals
Apparently it seems some UK teens are caning it a little bit too hard!
A recent study has shown '41% increase in the number of under-16s admitted to hospital with drug poisoning, from 596 admissions to 839.'
And it's not just the teen-boppies getting high, the amount of 16 to 24-year-olds that admitted taking cocaine rose to 6%.
Marjorie Wallace, the chief exec. of mental health charity Sane said that 'the rise in the number of young people admitted to hospital for drug-related mental or behavioural disorders is shocking.
I'd have to agree with you there Marjorie. Apparently it seems some UK teens are caning it a little bit too hard! ... more -
13-year-old in a coma after schnapps binge
A 13-year old girl in Minden drank herself into a coma while her friends looked on and did nothing. The curious schoolgirl took a sip of the alcohol – and then proceeded to down almost one and a half bottles of the booze. The unconscious girl was immediately sent to an intensive care unit. An alcohol test revealed her blood-alcohol level to be at a life-threatening 3.2. Lisa sank into a coma for 24 hours while her body fought the alcohol poisoning A 13-year old girl in Minden drank herself into a coma while her friends looked on and did nothing. The curious schoolgirl took a sip ... more
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Alcohol to go - is it targetting teens?
"The makers call it a "party in a pouch."
Critics say it's more like an alcoholic candy bar.
ShotPak is a line of alcoholic beverages that come in shot-sized, laminated-foil plastic pouches that are reminiscent of the drinks children pack in school lunches.
Purple Hooter is one of the drinks, which sell for 99 cents to $1.50 in liquor stores and for more in some nightclubs. There are also a Kamikaze, Lemon Drop, Sour Apple and a higher alcohol line of pocket-sized drinks called STR8UP of vodka, whiskey, tequila and rum -- all ironically made at a distillery in Temperance, Mich., and sold throughout Southern California. The company is legally headquartered in Irvine but is run mostly from Sarasota, Fla., where its parent company is located.
ShotPak refers to its drink as "the shot . . . without the glass!" The company's critics call it a blatant play to entice underage drinkers and to get alcohol into schools and other public venues where it wouldn't ordinarily be drunk.
"Images of these packs stuffed in jeans pockets can give kids the wrong idea. It turns this into an alcoholic candy bar," said George Hacker, a policy advocate with the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington.
Until recently, the company's home page on the Internet showed a photo of just the middle of an attractive young woman. There was no head and not much of her legs. But there was a tight, bare belly clad in low slung bluejeans with a Purple Hooter pouch wedged into her front pocket.
In April, the company's main website was found in violation of advertising standards for alcoholic beverages set by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a self-regulating industry trade group.
ShotPak also had a MySpace page that talked about how "these shots are perfect to take with you tailgating, at concerts, to sporting events, on vacations, on a plane or on your next camping or boat trip."
Its list of MySpace friends include celebutante Kim Kardashian and a nearly naked woman who calls herself Jessica Rabbit. The page also contained other sexually suggestive imagery.
ShotPak made changes on both websites to comply with the standards set by the industry trade group after The Times called the Distilled Spirits Council asking about the images. "We are tidying up what might be considered controversial. We are trying to turn this into a positive product," said R. Charles Murray, chief executive of Beverage Pouch Group, which owns the ShotPak brand.
Still, some experts said they believed the convenient format of the ShotPak could encourage abuse.
"Combining vodka with raspberry drinks . . . and calling it a party in a pouch. Who are they appealing to? This isn't the kind of thing adults drink," said Dr. Michael Brody of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Adults of 25 to 40 years old are the prime targets, Murray said.
Murray said the company would sell about $500,000 of the drinks this year and was marketing a convenient drink "for a social setting" such as tailgate parties at sporting events, beaches or while boating -- situations where people don't want to cart glass around."
What do you think? Would you drink them? "The makers call it a "party in a pouch." Critics say it's more like an alcoholic candy bar. ... more -
Son uses web to hunt mum's killer
Patricia Grainger was 25 when she was found dead near her home in Parson Cross, Sheffield, on August 10, 1997.
She had been strangled, stabbed and sexually assaulted. Her body was found in a brook covered by a mattress.
The crime has never been solved and now her son, Daniel, 16, has renewed the hunt for her killer.
He has launched a website, www.whokilledmymum.com, which he hopes will lead to a breakthrough.
He said: "I hope someone out there will come forward to help put my mum's killer away and to let her rest in peace and to allow myself and my family to continue life the best we can."
The website includes photos, news articles and a blog from Daniel, who was just five when he lost his mother.
He said he remembers little from the day his mother's body was found, apart from "crying and seeing the police everywhere on the street".
Daniel hopes advances in technology and DNA testing will help finally bring the culprit to justice.
He added: "My mum was a lovely woman who would not hurt a fly. She was friendly and would talk to anyone who would talk to her.
"There is no known reason why someone would do what they did.
"I hope that because of advances in science and technology, her killer can be found."
Anyone with information should call South Yorks police on 0114 220 2020 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Patricia Grainger was 25 when she was found dead near her home in Parson Cross, Sheffield, on August 10, 1997. ... more -
Another suicide in Bridgend
Another teen has reportedly taken his own life in the suicide-stricken Welsh county of Bridgend. Initial reports state the 23-year-old was found hanged on Saturday morning.
"Police were called to the address in the Betws area at around 11.54am on Saturday.
Despite there being 22 suicides in the area from 2007 to June 2008, police are denying any link between the deaths:
"There are no suspicious circumstances and an investigation is being carried out on behalf of the coroner." Another teen has reportedly taken his own life in the suicide-stricken Welsh county of Bridgend. Initial reports state the 23-year-old... more -
Cheerleaders practice to be clowns!
26 cheerleaders cram themselves into an elevator at Jester Hall - practicing for their future careers as clowns apparently and the most fun clown stunt ever invented - the Clown Car!
I love the end where the woman says "only 15 people or 3000 pounds" - given the fact that these are teenaged cheerleaders, you know that they were under the weight limit by at least 2995 pounds! 26 cheerleaders cram themselves into an elevator at Jester Hall - practicing for their future careers as clowns apparently and the mos... more -
Teenager shot dead in South London after being chased into shop
A teenager was shot dead last night after being followed by a gang of youths into a grocery shop in South London. After the fatal shot was fired inside a branch of Costcutter on Camberwell Road, Southwark, a group of suspects fled the scene on mopeds.
When I was growing up in South London, there was at least honour among thugs that fighting and a punch up was enough to resolve arguments. Since them youts have been playing to much Grand Theft Auto and listening to 50 cent everyone wants to pull out a gun now.
Woe to the mainstream. A teenager was shot dead last night after being followed by a gang of youths into a grocery shop in South London. After the fatal shot... more -
Ban on underage 'castration' divides Thailand
A new law in Thailand is poised to ban castration procedures for biological males under the age of 18. Patients under the age of 21 will require parental permission to go ahead with the surgery.
LGBT activists raised the concern that a major and largely irreversible decision such as gender reassignment surgery should not be undertaken by children and teenagers, who might regret the move later in life. Prior to the new law, there were no age restrictions to the operation, and few or no questions asked. The procedure was also inexpensive, costing only $150.
It is estimated that out of Thailand’s 66 million people, about 180,000 are transgendered. Transsexuals and transgendered people are regarded as natural in Thailand, which is primarily Buddhist. According to Buddhist faith with its belief in reincarnation, the gender of the person is less fixed than the gender of the body into which a person might be born. In this sense, men who dress and live as women are accepted as part of the world’s natural order.
Some young individuals are not very happy about the new regulations, and some medical professionals don’t see a need to change the status quo.
Paiboon Marvin, a 16-year-old business student who is now too young to have the operation, has every intention of becoming a woman, and would rather not have to wait: "I don’t think I’m too young to do it. I know I won’t change my mind. I’ve known since I was a kid that I’m not male."
The president of the Medical Association of Thailand, Aurchat Kanjanapitak, took Marvin’s side: "We should respect their decisions and age shouldn’t be a fixed requirement. If someone happens to have a woman’s heart in a man’s body and doesn’t want to keep his testicles, the change should be allowed."
What do you think? Should teenagers and even children be allowed to receive hormone treatment and undergo surgery to allow them to live in and with the body they desire? Or does it make sense to wait until individuals are older even though sexual development during puberty will often make it much harder, especially for male-to-female transsexuals, to 'pass' and be content with their bodies? A new law in Thailand is poised to ban castration procedures for biological males under the age of 18. Patients under the age of 21 wi... more -
Trend: summer camps for gay and lesbian youth
An Edmonton summer camp for gay, lesbian and transgendered youth has inspired a national movement: two new camps - one in Ottawa and one in British Columbia - are planned for the summer of 2009 following the success of Camp fYrefly, which hosted its largest camp to date in July.
The camp is open to gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual children as well as to those questioning their sexual identities. The camp does not only offer a save haven for LGBT
kids, but also encourages them to participate in leadership courses.
According to the organisers, the camp is especially relevant because sexual minorities are coming out at younger ages than before, at an average age of 15 or 16. Because schools and communities are not always able to protect the well-being of LGBT children and teenagers, organisers are convinced that there is a huge need to provide spaces where sexual minority youth can feel like the majority without having to change who they are.
Kyle Janes, 16, was among the visitors who travelled the farthest to attend Camp fYrefly. Janes says he's the only gay person in his hometown of Codroy Valley, a small Newfoundland community of 2,000. The homophobia and discrimination he experienced after coming out a year ago caused him to wonder if he made the right decision - until he went to Camp fYrefly. "The sense of community and family you get from the camp is amazing," he said.
Attending Camp fYrefly changed his mind and provided him with the tools to effect change, Janes said. He now aspires to working as a gay rights activist and wants to start his work in his own community at home by opening a gay/straight alliance group and offering workshops on sexual orientation: "There are other people growing up and I know they're going to have to go through what I'm going through, and I want to take my experience and make it more friendly here." An Edmonton summer camp for gay, lesbian and transgendered youth has inspired a national movement: two new camps - one in Ottawa and o... more -
New law would ban MySpace, Facebook at US libraries
"Legislation to ban kids' access to myspace.com and facebook.com in public libraries is picking up steam in Congress. If passed, libraries that allow that access could be stripped of Federal funding. The bill is called D.O.P.A. The Delete Online Predators Act. It was introduced Federal law required all libraries to filter out pornographic websites in computers that kids could access.
The director of the Rancho Mirage Public Library tells KPSP Local 2 that while they have a strict policy against allowing kids to access porn on computers, kids are permitted to have full access to myspace.com and facebook.com.
The American Library Association has joined the fight against the proposed new law calling it an unacceptable invasion of privacy.
For it's part myspace.com has recently taken big steps to protect kids from predators including assigning about one third it's entire workforce to deal with security and customer care."
Do you think they should outlaw access to social networking sites at Libraries and other pubilc venues? "Legislation to ban kids' access to myspace.com and facebook.com in public libraries is picking up steam in Congress. If pas... more -
Russia to outlaw emo?
The Russian government is in the process of drafting a law to make emo and goth music illegal, says the Moscow Times.
"State Duma deputies, Public Chamber members and social conservatives have hammered out legislation aimed at heading off the spread of emo culture, which they describe as a 'dangerous teen trend.'" The Russian government is in the process of drafting a law to make emo and goth music illegal, says the Moscow Times. ... more
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