Child Abuse Archives - The Virginia Star

Commentary: Abiding Child Abuse in Schools

May 31, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

The stories of pedophile teachers not being held accountable for their abominable crimes are endless. In an in-depth piece, reporter Matt Drange investigates the issue and what he finds is positively revolting.

A case in North Carolina is typical. In Durham County, a student at Neal Middle School said her chorus teacher, Troy Pickens, had groped her, only disclosing a few years later that he’d raped her. James Key, the school’s principal, didn’t open an investigation until the child’s mother got involved, and even then, according to a subsequent civil suit that settled out of court, the principal “failed to report the groping allegation to law enforcement or child protective services, as required by state law.” Instead, Key allowed Pickens to resign, paving the way for him to remain in the field.

Catholic Civil Rights Group Condemns State Legislation to Force Priests to Break Seal of Confession

March 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Bills in the states of Vermont, Delaware, and Washington would include in mandatory reporting laws information about child sexual abuse a priest learns during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a move the Catholic League states lacks sound reasoning.

Last week Catholic League President Bill Donohue warned the “seal of confession” is “under fire” in Vermont, noting the Catholic civil rights organization is once again “doing battle with lawmakers who want to violate” the priest-penitent privilege, mostly in legislation concerning the sexual abuse of minors.

Florida Democrat Admits Taking Daughter to Drag Shows: ‘Just Folx Dancing in Cute Outfits’

February 7, 2023February 6, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A Florida Democrat lawmaker who admitted in a Twitter post Saturday she takes her teenage daughter to drag shows condemned Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) move to revoke the liquor license of an Orlando venue that allowed minors to attend drag show performances.

State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville), who self-describes as a “community organizer,” denied the sexual nature of drag shows, claiming, instead, the issue is one of “parental rights,” whereby parents can decide to take their children to these performances.

Trump Delivers Plan to Protect Children From ‘Chemical, Physical, and Emotional Mutilation’ of Gender ‘Insanity’

February 4, 2023February 3, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Former President Donald Trump announced a plan Tuesday to protect the nation’s children from the “child abuse” of “chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation” at the bidding of radical gender ideology.

“The leftwing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse – very simple,” the 2024 presidential contender began laying out his vision. “Here’s my plan to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth.”

Virginia Delegate Receives Pushback After Report Saying She Wants to Make it Abuse to Not Affirm a Child’s Gender Identity

October 15, 2022October 14, 2022 Eric Burk

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William) is working to introduce legislation that could make it child abuse or neglect for parents to not affirm their child’s sexual identity or gender orientation, according to a Thursday report from WJLA. That proposal triggered widespread criticism on Friday, and Guzman later criticized WJLA’s reporting.…

Judge Rules Eric Greitens Did Not Engage in Pattern of Domestic Violence, Abuse of Children

September 7, 2022September 6, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

A judge has ruled that former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens did not engage in a pattern of domestic violence or abuse his minor children, bringing an abrupt end to allegations from his ex-wife that fueled a multimillion-dollar political ad campaign that sank Greitens’ political comeback last month.

“The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been no pattern of domestic violence by either Mother or Father,” Boone County Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider wrote in a decision dated Aug. 26 that was reviewed by Just the News. “The children have never been at risk or vulnerable at the hands of either parent.”

Texas Court Reinstates Transgender ‘Child Abuse’ Policy

May 15, 2022May 14, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

Texas government officials can continue to investigate parents who transition their children to the opposite sex for possible child abuse, the state’s supreme court ruled Friday.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) determined that child sex change surgeries constituted child abuse in August 2021 upon prompting by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and the DFPS began investigations of families for potential child abuse over treatments their transgender children were receiving in February. An appeals court had previously blocked these inquiries throughout the state, but the Texas Supreme Court ruled the lower court had “abused its discretion.”

Texas Judge Blocks State Investigations of Transgender Kids’ Treatments as Child Abuse

March 13, 2022March 13, 2022 Admin

Texas District Judge Amy Clark Meachum blocked the state’s Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) on Friday from investigating parents of transgender children for child abuse with regard to providing hormone therapy.

The decision is the most recent in a weeklong civil lawsuit filed by the parents of a transgender child and a psychologist from the Houston area who are challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order from last month calling for “prompt and thorough investigation” into reported instances of “gender-transitioning procedures” among minors.

Governor of Iowa Signs Bill Banning ‘Transgender’ Individuals from Women’s Sports

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 Admin

On Thursday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R-Iowa) signed a bill that will completely ban so-called “transgender” individuals from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, forcing them to remain with the teams of their actual biological gender.

The Hill reports that the bill, House File 2416, had previously passed the Iowa State House in February and was passed by the State Senate on Wednesday. Both chambers are controlled by Republican majorities.

The new law declares that “only female students, based on their sex, may participate in any team, sport, or athletic event designated as being for females, women, or girls.” The bill clearly defines “sex” as the “biological sex” listed on the individual’s birth certificate, and encompasses sports teams at all levels of school, community college, and college.

Texas District Attorneys Fighting Governor’s Order to Treat Sex Change Surgeries for Children as Abuse

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 Admin

District attorneys for five of the largest counties in Texas are defying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order to treat sex change surgeries for children as child abuse.

Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) Tuesday to investigate instances of children undergoing sex change procedures, including “reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen.”

Texas Attorney General Declares Puberty Blockers and Gender Transition Surgeries ‘Child Abuse’

February 23, 2022February 22, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The performance of surgical and chemical procedures on children for the purpose of gender transition “can legally constitute child abuse” under Texas law, declared Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Friday in a formal attorney general opinion.

Paxton responded to questions from State Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth), chair of the Texas House Committee on General Investigating, who asked whether “sex change” surgeries performed on children, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty, vaginoplasty, mastectomies, and removal of otherwise healthy body parts, constitute child abuse.

Report: Online Trolls Could Be Jailed for Two Years Under Proposed United Kingdom Law

November 2, 2021November 1, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Social media users that post certain kinds of offensive content could face a prison sentence of up to two years under a proposed United Kingdom law, The Times reported.

The Online Safety Bill, a piece of proposed legislation overhauling the U.K.’s online communications laws, will include a provision that criminalizes content that causes “likely psychological harm,” with sentences reaching up to two years, according to The Times. Examples of newly-illegal social media posts include “knowingly false communication” with the intention to cause “emotional” harm, as well as “pile-ons” in which a group of people coordinate to send unpleasant messages to one user.

Gov. Abbott Asks Department of Family Protective Services to Say Whether Trans Surgeries for Kids Are Child Abuse

August 9, 2021August 8, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Gov. Greg Abbott asked the state’s Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) Friday to say whether transgender surgeries for children constitutes child abuse.

The Texas Republican called on Jaime Masters, commissioner of the DFPS, to make a determination of whether “genital mutilation of a child for purposes of gender transitioning through reassignment surgery constitutes child abuse” in a Friday letter.

Apple Will Scan All U.S. iPhones for Illegal Child Abuse Imagery, Prompting Privacy Concerns

August 9, 2021August 8, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Apple plans to scan all iPhone in the U.S. for potential child abuse imagery.

The move announced Thursday generated shock waves among security experts who say it could allow the company to surveil many millions of phones for reasons unrelated to images of child abuse.

“This sort of tool can be a boon for finding child pornography in people’s phones. But image what it could do in the hands of an authoritarian government,” tweeted Johns Hopkins professor and cryptographer Matthew Green.

Commentary: No Schools are Safe from Critical Race Theory – Even in Tennessee

May 31, 2021May 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Williamson County? Never heard of it. What’s the big deal?

Well, a lot.

Williamson County, Tennessee is what you might call “Republican Heaven.” Just south of Democrat-stronghold Nashville, much of it is a gorgeous suburb, home to the likes of country star Luke Bryan of “American Idol” fame – on an 150 acre estate – and Senator Marsha Blackburn.

Its county seat, Franklin, has a downtown straight out of an updated version of Norman Rockwell, the kind of place you can get both great barbecue and haute cuisine.

That small city and county are growing like crazy in large part because they are also supposed to have one of the best public school systems in the country.

Supposed to…