394 results for author: James R. Marsh
Chinese Babies Kidnapped and Sold for Adoption
From today's New York Times:
The abduction of children is a continuing problem in China, where a lingering preference for boys coupled with strict controls on the number of births have helped create a lucrative black market in children. Just last week, the police announced that they had rescued 89 babies from child traffickers, and the deputy director of the Public Security Ministry assailed what he called the practice of “buying and selling children in this country.”
But parents in Longhui say that in their case, it was local government officials who treated babies as a source of revenue, routinely imposing fines of $1,000 or more ...
The Free Market in Child Pornography
More than six years after the international law enforcement community began desperately searching for the child pornography victim known as the Disney World Girl, justice remains allusive for Masha Allen. Despite two Congressional investigations in 2006 and pressure from Nancy Grace and Oprah, none of the perpetrators involved with her international adoption have been brought to justice.
Despite the involvement of almost 30 lawyers since Masha was rescued from Matthew Mancuso in 2003 (including the prosecutor and lead investigator in the much-hyped Caylee Anthony investigation), not one of the many child welfare institutions and organizations who ...
DOJ Video – Sexual Exploitation of Children
More PR than facts, this Department of Justice video discusses the Department's national strategy to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children. (For some bizarre reason, the video's imagery exclusively shows Black males as offenders. In reality, the vast majority of defendants who produce, distribute and collect child pornography are White males between the ages of 35 and 60. The video also mixes child prostitution, the online solicitation of children, and child pornography; they are all very separate problems with different perpetrators and victims.)
Francey Hakes, National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdi...
The ‘Secret’ – the key to understanding child sex abuse
The 'Secret' is the bond established by the abuser with the child victim. It ensures that nobody knows of the abuse other than the abuser and the abused. It is kept in place by embarrassment, fear or respect.
Embarrassment that friends or family will find out what happened. An emotion sometimes secured with photographs.
Fear for the safety of the child and their family should they disclose anything - fear that the abuser will inform - parents - friends, about the behaviour their child has been pulled into and subjected to.
Respect or love for the abuser - strange as this may seem - for the attention and concern that they have shown the child ...
Adoption Tax Credit Update
The IRS recently posted new language regarding eligibility for adoption assistance or subsidy agreements. The IRS clarified the documentation required for claiming the Federal Adoption Tax Credit for special needs adoptions. The official language indicates that Adoption Assistance or Subsidy Agreements are acceptable documentation of special needs. Visit the IRS website to learn more.
According to Voice for Adoption, the Federal Adoption Tax Credit is now refundable. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) made significant, short term, changes to the adoption tax credit. The credit per-child is now $13,170 for adoptions ...
Caylee Anthony – killed for child pornography?
Child advocate Wendy Murphy has a compelling piece about the Casey Anthony acquittal entitled "Not Guilty Verdict is the Right Result - But We're Not Done Yet."
Murphy argues that "Justice for Caylee is still possible, notwithstanding the acquittal, if people call for full disclosure of the entire investigative file - including an unsealing of the evidence thus far hidden from public view. Release of the photographs of Caylee that were seized from the Anthony home and placed “under seal” by the court would be a good place to start."
Law enforcement may have discovered "sexualized" images of Caylee on the Anthony family computers which ...
Abused Child Victim Denied Lawyer at Psych Exam
Last month, a federal judge ruled that a child who is suing the Boy Scouts for emotional distress for abuse at a faith-based military camp is not entitled to have his lawyer present during a psychiatric examination.
In M.S. et al v. Cedar Bridge Military Academy et al, federal Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson found that a lawyer's presence "interjects an adversarial, partisan atmosphere into what should be otherwise a wholly objective inquiry."
Judge Carlson explained that there is a conflict between federal civil procedure and the Pennsylvania rules. The federal rule and case law discourage any observers, while Pennsylvania's Rule 4010 permits ...